22 January 2018, OECD Conference Centre                              

 #DiversityForum

Key links

• Agenda
• Issues note (en francais)
• Speaker profiles
• Full programme guide
  
• Opening Remarks by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General
• Complete selection of photos from the International Diversity Forum
• Videos of keynote speeches, presentations and plenary sessions

Our economies and societies have become more diverse than ever before, yet progress to ensure that all groups in society are given the same opportunities has lagged behind. This has led to erosion of trust in governments and institutions, reinforced social barriers between groups and at times contributed to intolerance and discrimination. Governments, businesses and citizens urgently need to take action to ensure that vulnerable groups who suffer disproportionally from inequalities do not get left behind. This requires a concerted effort to reap the advantages diversity can bring to our societies.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

The International Diversity Forum took place over four plenary sessions, moderated by Alex Taylor,  and covered the following topics:

• The diversity challenge
• The business case for diversity
• Effective strategies and policies around diversity
• The future of diversity

Also at the International Diversity Forum:

• A keynote speech by Ahmed Hussen, Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
• An introduction to the debate on “The diversity challenge” by Jennifer Brown, CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting and author of the best-seller Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace and the Will to Change.
• An interactive presentation by Reza of his photo exhibition “One World One Tribe” featured at the OECD Conference Centre.
• An interactive presentation by Anilore Banon of VITAE, a sculpture containing a million handprints that will be sent to the moon.
• A lunch prepared by the refugee cooks “Les cuistots migrateurs” served in the conference room to every participant.
• The video projection of “Women and Men” (52’) by Frédérique Bedos during the lunch break.
• A photo exhibition: “Parisiens du monde”, by Rémi Hostekind

ORGANISERS AND PARTICIPANTS 

Nearly 500 people participated in this event co-organized by the OECD Centre for Opportunity and Equality and the Club XXIe Siècle, from government, the private sector, academia, civil society, international organisations and the media. The high quality of the speeches and discussions provided many concrete examples of policies and strategies that help promote diversity in the workplace and society at large. 

The OECD is carrying out a number of work streams to make societies more inclusive of their increasingly diverse components. A particular attention is paid to the following five groups:

Women

• OECD work on Gender Equality
  

Young and older people

• OECD Action Plan for Youth
• OECD scoreboard on Ageing and Employment Policies
• OECD work on Preventing Ageing Unequally
  

LGBTI people

• OECD work on LGBTI inclusiveness

Immigrants, their descendants and ethnic minorities

• OECD Indicators of Immigrant Integration
• OECD International Migration Outlook

People with long-lasting health problems or disabilities

• OECD work on Labour Market Integration of Sick and Disabled People
• OECD work on Long-Term Care

The OECD is also deeply involved in making digital transformation inclusive, a major issue that will be debated in the 4^th plenary session on “The future of diversity”. For more information on this please see:

• The OECD Future of Work initiative
• The OECD Jobs Strategy
• The OECD Going Digital project