Concept
The Canton of Neuchâtel is pioneering an initiative to monitor diversity within the Neuchâtel central administration. This is being done in collaboration with the University of Neuchâtel.
A first monitoring module will involve a census of around 4,000 staff being undertaken, to photograph the diversity, visible and invisible, of staff within the administration, including the municipality of Neuchâtel (with its 1,200 employees). On foot of this a second monitoring module will assess whether and how under-representation takes place through the recruitment processes.
Foundation
This roadmap is rooted in the “Roadmap for an Administration that is Open to Diversity, Egalitarian, and Non-Discriminatory” approved by the Canton (state) of Neuchâtel in May 2018.
Progress
The first monitoring module, as proposed, will establish the current situation of diversity among public sector employees. It will take a broad perspective on diversity, including: age, nationality and national origin, gender (including non-binary forms), language, and childcare responsibilities, dependents and work-life balance issues. It will include questions on whether discrimination has been experienced by the respondent at work or outside of work, and on what ground.
A short report is to be prepared, presenting and analysing the data, while protecting the confidentiality of all individuals. It will further support the development of diversity monitoring systems in the public administration.
The second monitoring module, as proposed, will involve collection of data on diversity during a recruitment process. This will be based on the results of the first module, and initially piloted over a period of months. It will use a separate diversity form where candidates self-identify their specific characteristics, that correspond with those addressed in the first module. The diversity form protects anonymity and is not made available to the human resources department.
A short report sets out the overall results and suggests any changes that might be required. This will analyse the data from a diversity perspective in terms of: groups not reached by the recruitment process, that is groups not represented among the applicants; and the recruitment procedure itself, where groups are not represented among successful candidates.
