Today Germany celebrates its sixth Diversity Day. The initiative was set up in 2013 by the Charta der Vielfalt with the aim of promoting the recognition, appreciation and integration of diversity into Germany’s business culture.

So, what are the implications of diversity and how can firms and policymakers encourage a diverse workplace?

Paul Spoonley observes, “Empirical studies have found that achieving superdiversity—a substantial increase in the scale and scope of minority ethnic and immigrant groups in a region—can provide certain economic benefits, such as higher levels of worker productivity and innovation. Superdiversity can also provide a boost to local demand for goods and services.”

In terms of improving entrepreneurship in transition economies, Elena Nikolova suggests, “Exploiting diversity (in terms of gender or religion) can serve as a powerful policy lever in a number of ways, including by supporting would-be entrepreneurs who reside in culturally diverse areas and who are female, and by paying particular attention to those with extensive social networks. Female-friendly policies in the public sector can help more women to start their own business.”  

Further articles on diversity and the labor market include: 

• Do anti-discrimination policies work? by Marie-Anne Valfort

• Disability and labor market outcomes by Melanie Jones

• Can diversity encourage entrepreneurship in transition economies? by Elena Nikolova

• Superdiversity, social cohesion, and economic benefits by Paul Spoonley

• The usefulness of experiments (Deutsch) by Jeffrey A. Smith

• The labor market in Norway, 2000-2016 (Deutsch) by Øivind A. Nilsen

• Maternity leave versus early childcare—What are the long-term consequences for children? (Deutsch) by Nabanita Datta Gupta

• The Chinese labor market, 2000-2016 (Deutsch) by Junsen Zhang and Jia Wu

• Do anti-discrimination policies work? (Deutsch) by Marie-Anne Valfort

Visit the IZA World of Labor site for more concise, informative, evidence-based articles across the spectrum of labor economics.

All newly published one-pagers are also available to read and download in German. Find out more.

Disabled people, that is, individuals who report a long-term limiting health problem, are one of the most disadvantaged groups within the labor market. In the EU, for example, the employment rate among disabled people is just less than 50%. Moreover, the prevalence of disability amongst the population is sizable and often underestimated, with 1 in 8 Europeans aged 15–64 currently disabled. The substantial disadvantage experienced by a significant minority means the experience of disabled people within the labor market is an issue of key social, economic, and fiscal policy importance, with governments internationally looking for effective solutions. Read the full commentary.

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• ILO: Polarisation(s) in Labour Markets, June 19. The Directorate for Research, Studies and Statistics (DARES) of the French Ministry of Labour and the Research Department of the International Labour Organization (ILO) are organizing an international conference on “Polarisation(s) in Labour Markets.”

• The World Labor Conference 2018, June 26-29. The IZA will hold a World Labor Conference, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of IZA, in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday and Friday, June 28 and 29, 2018. There will be eight sets of two-hour parallel sessions, with each of the 48 sessions containing four papers

• 5th International Conference on Employer Engagement in Education and Training, July 5-6. The conference will focus on employer engagement in education and training, vocational education and how these relate to the UK Government’s plans for increasing social mobility, the implementation of its Industrial Strategy and improving the flow of skills into the labor market post-Brexit. 

• Call for papers: 2nd IZA/HSE Workshop: Ten Years after the Financial Crisis - Labor Market Adjustment in Emerging and Post-Transition Economies, October 11-12. This second IZA/Higher School of Economics workshop will bring together labor economists who are working on labor market adjustment in the post-Soviet states that emerged from the breakup of the Soviet Union, post-transition countries of Central Europe as well as China. Submission deadline: July 15

• Call for papers: ADAPT International Conference: Professionality, Employment Contracts and Collective Bargaining. November 30-December 1. The most recent evolution in work and production – stemming not only from the impact of technology, but also from globalization and demographic dynamics – opens a new and particularly attractive field of scientific debate. Submission deadline: September 1