Generali : Joint declaration on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

On 14 November 2023, the EWC and the management of the Italian insurance group Generali signed a Joint Declaration on Inclusion, Equity and Diversity. The text is not prescriptive and contains no specific binding measures, but it lays down a number of principles that each group entity must adhere to. The text strengthens a previous Joint Declaration on Inclusion and Diversity, signed on 26 June 2019, by adding the concept of equality. The text makes reference to the European directive on pay transparency, with a view to achieving the group’s target of a zero “pay gap”, and to the right to disconnect. This initiative is motivated by a desire to enhance the group’s appeal, at a time when companies in the sector are struggling to attract and retain talent. Carole Bourner, the EWC secretary, comments: “while most of the group’s large countries – in terms of the size of their workforce – already have collective bargaining agreements covering these issues, the declaration will serve as a starting point for employee representatives from other countries when they come to discuss matters of diversity, equality and inclusion with their management, in accordance with their own country’s industrial relations practices”.