COBALT signs Latvian Diversity Charter

2020 - 11 - 16

On 16 November 2020 at the online ceremony in the presence of representatives of the European Commission Representation in Latvia COBALT signed the Latvian Diversity Charter.

The Diversity Charter is a voluntary declaration striving for respect and inclusion of diversity groups. Together with COBALT the charter was signed by Riga Technical University, airBaltic, Cognizant, IPF Digital Latvia, International College of Cosmetology, the development financial institution ALTUM and Circle-K. As of February 2019, 50 organizations, including private companies, non-governmental organizations, state institutions and municipalities have joined the charter.

Sandija Novicka, Partner of COBALT Latvia: “We are convinced that safe, open and inclusive work environment unleashes and facilitates creativity and development, therefore we consider the Latvian Diversity Charter as an important platform for an exchange of significant values, knowledge and experiences. We are excited to join an excellent group of organizations and we hope that with our commitment and practical example we will not only improve ourselves but also support the spread of these, in our opinion, core values of every sustainable and progressive society outside our office.”

By signing the charter, COBALT expresses the support and commitment to 15 charter’s principles, including:

  1. work towards an organisational culture that fully values mutual respect, diversity, inclusion and the principle of equal treatment; we shall create the conditions within the company that these values are respected, shared and lived; management has a special responsibility in this respect.
  2. in the management of the company, we shall emphasise consideration for diversity and inclusion, ensuring that this reflects in every aspect of the company’s operations; we shall include diversity and inclusion objectives in management performance goals.
  3. we commit to assessing all recruitment and staffing policy process to ensure that they guarantee the optimum use and equal treatment of all employees’ expertise and talents, eliminating discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnic background, skin colour, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and religious or political views;
  4. we shall work to ensure that the diversity of Latvian society is reflected in our workforce;
  5. we shall defend our staff against discrimination;
  6. we shall inform our staff of their rights and obligations in implementing the principle of equal treatment and create a dialogue amongst our workforce to ensure ownership of the diversity charter by all employees;
  7. we shall communicate routinely internally and externally about the implementation of the diversity charter
  8. we shall create opportunities for staff and clients to better understand the need for and benefits of the principle of equal treatment and ensure that cases of discrimination are resolved impartially and effectively;
  9. we shall respect all families, including non-registered couples and same-sex couples, their families such as civil partnerships, married couples and all have equal access to company benefits;
  10. we shall provide leadership and professional development for all diversity employees; we shall provide diversity and inclusion in specific training;
  11. we shall inform our staff, our clients and the public of other companies and institutions that have signed up to the charter and of success in fulfilling its objectives;
  12. support and encourage visible participation for events promoting diversity and equality;
  13. we shall develop and implement diversity inclusive marketing and advertising strategies;
  14. we shall be a visible role model for diversity workplace equality;
  15. we shall support public policy efforts that protect diversity workplace equality.