(“TSEs”).
At the core of the following reflections is the importance and interconnection of the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) as essential elements of human rights protection policies, integral to the values underlying sustainable management of companies, associations, entities, and organizations.
The concrete implementation of programs protecting human rights, including the adoption of concrete policies regarding inclusion and enhancing diversity, form the foundation of the credibility of every organization, both in the profit and non-profit sectors.
In the current international socio-political context, characterized by initiatives and stances that openly collide with the founding values of organizations and companies developed over decades, a thorough reflection on DEI policies as concrete tools for rights protection has become imperative. DEI policies are the basis of such protection: freedom of expression, valuing cultural differences, gender equality, integration, equal opportunities at the workplace, management transparency, inclusion, and pay equity are just some of the elements already found in the so-called “Diversity Charters” adopted following the issuance of Directive (EU) 43/2000 and Directive (EU) 78/2000.2
Since then, the EU regulatory framework has evolved into complex characterizations aimed at making declarations that were until then merely aspirational concrete, with sanctions now linked to non-compliance: e.g., the “pay transparency” Directive (Directive 10 May 2023 No. 970), nearing implementation deadlines, or the obligations and indicators (Key Performance Indicators, “KPIs”) imposed regarding human rights by the well-known CSR and CSRD (No. 2022/2464) and CSDDD (No. 2024/1760) Directives (currently under review for simplifications), aimed at clarifying the concrete tools to measure real change in sustainability centered on people.
Starting from supranational, EU and national normative sources, this document3 intends to offer reflections and inspiration concerning solutions to be adopted — also in light of the new complex international scenario — to identify concrete tools aimed at placing individuals at the center of social values that should inform the activities of companies and TSE.
