Carol Nolan
Question:5. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Taoiseach if his Department has a diversity and inclusion policy in place; and the measures taken to promote diversity and inclusion from 1 January 2019 to date. [11832/20]
View answerTuesday, 23 June 2020
Questions (5)
Written answers
My Department, in line with the rest of the Civil Service, is strongly committed to equality of opportunity in all its employment practices and actively supports diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This is aligned with the Civil Service Renewal Plan and the People Strategy for the Civil Service (2017 -2020) which seeks to achieve greater diversity and build a Civil Service that reflects the society in which it works and the communities it serves. This also extends to ensuring equality of opportunity in recruitment through the Public Appointments Service and internal competitions where all interview boards undergo unconscious bias training.
Since 1 January 2019 the measures taken by my Department to promote diversity and inclusion include:
- Participation of 3 staff members at AP level (2 of whom are female) in the 2019 IMI/30% Club Cross-Company Mentoring Programme;
- Participation by staff of my Department in the Civil Service Women’s Network;
- Participation in AHEAD’s Willing Able Mentoring (WAM) Programme 2019;
- Participation in Dublin Pride 2019;
- Implementation of Gender Balance measures linked to talent management opportunities, supporting staff returning from maternity leave and promoting work life balance; and
- Progressing the Department’s well-being programme which provides staff with a regular platform to input into measures and activities to help shape an inclusive and supportive workplace.