Representatives of 34 Croatian enterprises and organisations have signed the “Diversity Charter Croatia” which obliged them to implement the policy on diversity and antidiscrimination. Croatia is the 19th European country whose enterprises accept the Charter, it was said at the signing event, organised by the Croatian Business Council for Sustainable Development (HR PSOR). It is expected that the signatories abide by the policy on implementation and promotion of diversity and report on undertaken activities with this respect.

There are some big companies and organisations among the Charter’s signatories like INA, Atlantic group, HEP, AD Plastika, Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Coca Cola Croatia, Croatian Telekom and Tele 2, Končar, Podravka, OTP Bank, Pliva, Privredna Bank Zagreb and Splitska Bank.

Deputy Ombudswoman, Tena Šimonović Einwalter, emphasised the fact that almost 40 percent of interviewed citizens highlighted the discrimination as one of the biggest problems in our society; especially in the area of labour and employment. This was indicated in the „Survey on Attitudes and Level of Awareness on Forms of Discrimination“, conducted by the Office of the Ombudswoman, as well as in the citizens’ complaints. “Therefore, I am very pleased that the business community has an opportunity to significantly engage in the struggle against discrimination, including encouragement and promotion of diversity; as they have pledged by signing the Diversity Charter, added the Deputy Ombudswoman Šimonović Einwalter, who also participated in drafting the Charter.

Representative of the European Diversity Platform of the European Commission, Ana Ritz, singled out that antidiscrimination and equal opportunities are among major European Union priorities. She informed that the European Commission has since 2010 launched the “European Diversity Platform”, which currently gathers more than  7,100 signatories from 18 countries, thus, at the moment, more than 14 million employees enjoy benefits from implementation of the diversity policy.