A Cultural Diversity Barometer is a strategic tool designed to assess and track the level of cultural diversity within a workplace, institution, or society at large. It provides the organisation with clear insights into the diversity of their workforce.
These insights can be used to inform and guide personnel policies, recruitment strategies, and inclusion initiatives, helping to foster a more equitable and culturally responsive organisation.
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Proposal Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER)
The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) is the country’s principal advisory body to the government and Parliament. The advisory body brings together employers, employees, and independent experts to reach consensus on major social and economic issues.
In autumn of 2019, the SER published an advisory report addressing the underrepresentation of diversity in leadership positions across organisations. The government endorsed the report’s recommendations, one of which was the implementation of a Cultural Diversity Barometer to enhance the measurement and understanding of workforce diversity.
And thus as per their recommendation, Diversity At The Top in the Netherlands, Time for Acceleration, is being implemented; The Cultural Diversity Barometer.
Cultural Diversity Barometer
At the request of the Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) provides an online dashboard displaying national and regional statistical figures on cultural diversity (as indicated by migration background) in the labour market.
Organisations can use these figures as a benchmark. Organisations, with 250 or more employees, are also able to request CBS to take their barometer readings. This gives them the opportunity to compare the organisation’s cultural diversity with regional and national figures.
Cultural Diversity Barometer Dashboard
The Cultural Diversity Barometer provides useful insights; it shows the percentage of employees with and without a (non) Western migration background, in subgroups, such as functional group, or number of years of employment.
The Barometer does not provide information about the origin of individual employees. The barometer is available to employers via CBS, and they provide the statistics on cultural diversity in business sectors and in the labour market, plus statistics for individual employers.
The Barometer is not the only or the last step towards equal opportunities, but an indispensable link to a more evidence-based diversity policy. This makes it an important means to equalise the opportunities on the labour market of all talents, with and without a migration background.
Participation
Employers who request to participate on a voluntary basis must have (for reasons of traceability) at least 250 employees and agree to the statutory publication obligation on the website of CBS.
The Barometer is not the only or the last step towards equal opportunities, but an indispensable link to a more evidence-based diversity policy. This makes it an important means to equalise the opportunities on the labour market of all talents, with and without a migration background.
Employers can apply at CBS for participation in the barometer at cost price.
Results of the Cultural Diversity Barometer
Since 1 July 2020, CBS has offered the opportunity for organisations to request a barometer reading. At the start of February 2022, over 200 organisations have shown interest and over 45 organisations’ specific barometer readings have been published on the website of CBS.
- Website of the practice with general information (in Dutch language)
- Website of the dashboard with data (in Dutch language)
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