Diversity Management and Equal Opportunities Diversity – Respect – Rights

All human beings are born free and… … equal in dignity and rights UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 We live in a diverse society. People are different and it is necessary to respect these differences, in order to ensure the dignity of every single person and to guarantee the same rights for all people.

During everyday life countless numbers of people come into contact with each other and diversity occurs very well, more or less. However it is important to learn that mutual respect is the basis for well-functioning coexistence and cooperation. Everyone needs the respect of others in order to flourish. All people are equal on account of their humanity but also differ in so many ways. Many differences go unnoticed as they do not have any particular significance for us and they remain unrecognisable to us without closer acquaintance. Obviously people are physically different - different heights, different weights, different eye, hair and skin colours. It is sometimes difficult but sometimes easy to recognise a person's social background, such as how old he or she is, or whether he or she has a disability. However the languages we speak, what beliefs we have and who or what we love are not so obvious. Nevertheless as a part of our identity all of these aspects of our being need to be respected by everyone else.

Diversity represents a great opportunity Diversity represents a great opportunity. People with different backgrounds and lifestyles can bring new perspectives and approaches to a society. Mutual exchange, respect and learning from each other move to the forefront. The individuality of each and every one of us is a source of potential to be recognised and utilised. (Federal Equal Treatment Commission, Austrian Federal Ministry of Education and Women‘s Affairs)

Diverse potential is however frequently not exploited, and in contrast it is not unusual for discrimination to occur on the grounds of being perceived to be different. EU legislation does however prohibit discrimination of the diverse nature of society on account of: gender / sexual orientation ethnic origin skin colour language religion political views national or social background membership of a national minority economic status birth or other factors (Art. 14, principle of equality)