Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020
629. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has a diversity and inclusion policy in place; the measures taken to promote diversity and inclusion from 1 January 2019 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11820/20]
View answerMy Department is fully committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment.
Since January 2019 there have been a number of initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion. These include;
- Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace E-Learning training was rolled out to all staff in 2020.
- An Unconscious Bias E-Learning module has issued to all staff.
- Human Resources staff attended Ireland's first National Diversity and Inclusion Conference hosted by the DCU Centre for Excellence for Diversity and The Irish Centre for Diversity in 2019.
- The Department also recently issued an internal Pride themed weekly staff newsletter in June 2020.
- There will be 2 Pride themed talks for staff this month.
- Consistent promotion of flexibility initiatives and continued provision of equal opportunities for promotion to all staff
The establishment of a staff led Diversity and Inclusion working group in Q3 this year is a key goal for the Department. This group will lead the creation of a number of employee networks and will work closely with the HR team in the Department to promote diversity and inclusion awareness.
