Diversity policy in employment and service provision - Case study: Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark is a welfare state in a rather pronounced form. It has inclusive policies, not only for its citizens but also for all legal residents. Equality and equal treatment are keywords in the political discourse. The city of Copenhagen follows the national model to a great extent, but also deviates from the national model in framing the integration process as a mutual process and naming diversity as a potential asset, by stressing less the mandatory nature of measures and more the engagement of various actors in society. Diversity as personnel policy has a longer history in Copenhagen, going back at least to 1998. It has always been broadly defined, including diversity of gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation. The major focus seems to lie in recruitment, which corroborates the main political motivation, namely that the work force of the city should reflect its demographic composition.