Carmen Vaucher de la Croix
C. Vaucher - Diversity that drives innovation
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Carmen Vaucher de la Croix is Chair of the SUPSI Gender and Diversity Working Group. She has been a professor and researcher at SUPSI in the field of social policies and professional reintegration, and Head of Continuing Education at DEASS.
Why is it important to promote and defend equal opportunities in the workplace?
Equal opportunities policies in the workplace value people’s diversity, recognising it as an asset with positive effects on business strategies and outcomes. An environment where everyone feels welcome upholds essential ethical values and fosters healthy personal growth, whilst also benefiting the entire organisation.
It has been shown that diverse teams are more likely to draw on creativity and innovation to deal with the unexpected, a crucial quality given the increasingly frequent sudden changes. By valuing socio-cultural diversity, age, gender identity and family circumstances, the pool of candidates is also broadened and better results are achieved from multiple perspectives.
Furthermore, a diverse, motivated and inclusive workforce is also better able to understand the needs of customers and users, paving the way for new processes, approaches, products and solutions that are more in tune with reality.
How do younger generations view equal opportunities in the workplace?
Younger generations are seeking a quality of life that involves a good work-life balance. They increasingly desire workplaces that are open and respectful of differences, and that put environmental and social sustainability values into practice. Work is no longer the primary source of fulfilment, but forms part of a broader concept of personal development. They are very attentive to issues of equal treatment, pay gaps and discrimination, and tend to reject homogeneous leadership – for example, an all-male leadership team – as ‘normal’.
Especially for the younger generations, equal opportunities cannot be merely a stated policy, but must become an intrinsic and demonstrated value of the organisation. This may mean reviewing key processes such as recruitment, appraisal and development, to create fair conditions for everyone. It also means promoting inclusive language and behaviour and encouraging flexible working arrangements.
How does SUPSI contribute to training professionals with skills relating to equal opportunities?
SUPSI integrates the themes of diversity, equity and inclusion across its various degree programmes, both at a theoretical level and in terms of personal and professional skills. Depending on their course of study, students acquire knowledge, for example, of the regulatory framework for equal opportunities, stereotypes, the mechanisms of cognitive bias and the structural inequalities that influence social, cultural and economic participation.
In line with socio-cultural and labour market changes, SUPSI aims to integrate these themes ever more systematically into its study programmes, with a view to promoting greater awareness and understanding across various professional sectors.
These topics translate into practical skills to be developed through specific courses and dedicated activities such as workshops, seminars, conferences and practical sessions. Some examples include: accessible design; the fair and inclusive management of services and organisations; attention to gender and cultural diversity in social and healthcare contexts; the development and responsible use of data systems and AI; inclusive teaching; and the promotion of diversity in the classroom.