ECAS’s ambition is to be a frontrunner in Inclusion and Diversity in the focus areas of its work by taking an active stance against discriminations based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, age or residence.
In the framework of the third European week of Gender Equality, organised by the European Parliament (23 – 31 October), ECAS is conducting a campaign highlighting three themes impacting the organisation and its work: ECAS’ Ambitions in Equality and Diversity, ECAS’ stance on Equal Pay in the Brussels and EU context, Freedom of movement Mobility of Rainbow families in the EU. These articles will summarise our experience with key issues of gender equality in ECAS’s focus areas and shares ECAS’s good practices as an employer.
The European Citizen Action Service is driven by good governance principles. In 2022, ECAS set up its Equality and Inclusion strategy with two main objectives:
In order to achieve its objectives, ECAS is working closely with experts from its Gender and Non-Discrimination Advisory Panel. Their specialisation in inclusion of people with disabilities and vulnerable mobile citizens offers ECAS valuable insights.
ECAS is an organisation under women leadership, when asking about how the principles of gender equality are upheld by the organisation, the answers of team members are:
“The moment you set foot at ECAS, you are treated with equity. ECAS is not an environment that would allow mansplaining to happen. Your voice is as important as anyone else’s as long as you demonstrate your skills and reliability and this feels very empowering.”
“The team of ECAS is resilient: when a team member has personal issues to attend to, colleagues are ready to replace them as everybody is aware of the work of other colleagues and is ready to fill in. This resilience is one of the strengths of our organisation. We can offer flexibility to the team members that would need it the most and it makes us more inclusive. When facing a crisis, we always find a solution.”
“At ECAS, teleworking has continued to be an option even after the pandemic. This flexibility is especially beneficial for some of us that are young parents. It is easier to have a good work-life balance in this context. We are not penalised for starting a family which can unfortunately be the case elsewhere.”
“Working under the leadership of women at ECAS is empowering. For a young woman entering the professional world like me, it provides examples to follow. Senior members of the team act like our mentors and help us to reach our professional goals and enhance our skills. ECAS is a safe environment to thrive as young professionals.”