In October 2012 the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, under the patronage of the Ministry of Family Affairs and Integration, became the 12th European country to adopt a national charter promoting diversity. On 11 March 2013, at the second signing session of the Charter, the heads of eight Luxembourg entities of the BNP Paribas Group made a public commitment in the presence of Minister Marie-Josée Jacobs to continue building a more inclusive company that will benefit the 4,000 or so Luxembourg employees as well as customers.

The Charter’s signatories were Carlo Thill for BGL BNP Paribas, Frédéric Perard for BNP Paribas Securities Services, Fabrice Bagne for Cardif Lux Vie, Sylvie Baijot for BNP Paribas Investment Partners, Robert Christophory for BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, Noël Didier for Fidupar, Gerry Wagner for Arval and Jean-Yves Marquet for BNP Paribas Real Estate.

In addition to signing the charter, the eight BNP Paribas entities in Luxembourg have already embarked on an inclusive culture by appointing “diversity officers”, preparing training and awareness programmes, and seeking appropriate indicators for human-resource processes that look beyond employees' differences to identify their skills. 

During the signing ceremony, Thierry Schuman, Country Head of HR, spoke on the subject of “Diversity: a need for a company, a duty for management”. He explained the three diversity issues that BNP Paribas intends to engage with: complying fully with law to prevent harm to the company’s image or employee climate; fostering growth and development by identifying and committing to talent while ignoring difference; and satisfying and respecting customers who, in Luxembourg, represent a wonderful mix of cultures that must be listened to and understood.

For some time, BNP Paribas has recognised and valued diversity as one of the keys to performance and social responsibility. In a changing world, the diversity of both staff and customers is a reality that every company needs to recognise in order to ensure employee harmony and business continuity.