Diversity and Inclusion

In order to give itself the means to achieve its ambitions, LIST wanted to establish a clear framework by drawing up a Diversity Strategy.

After a preliminary analysis, a working group composed of the D&I manager, the equality delegate and representatives of the different research and corporate departments finally identified three areas of intervention:

• Equal opportunities: LIST's organisation and internal processes are designed to ensure equal opportunities in work, training and career, regardless of a person's biological, gender and social characteristics.
• Well-being: Working conditions must be sufficiently flexible to enable everyone to achieve the right work-life balance.
• Protection: new measures should be put in place to ensure that employees with specific personal circumstances that require special accommodation and/or consideration receive personalised support.

Each area of intervention will have specific objectives, detailed in the Strategy and implemented by different working groups. The creation, responsibilities, timing and logistics of each will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The following objectives were set for the period 2021-2022:

• Participate in the "Positive Actions" programme of the Ministry of Equality between Women and Men (MEGA) to enable LIST to improve its equality policies, refine its gender analysis and readjust certain measures accordingly by the end of 2022;
• Sign the Luxembourg Diversity Charter of the public organisation Inspiring More Sustainability (IMS) to enable LIST to reaffirm its commitment to diversity and inclusion on the national scene and to invest in IMS working groups;
• Participate in workshops on gender equality, notably the National Gender working group, coordinated by the Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR) to address this issue in the Luxembourg research sector;
• Launch new training courses to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion issues among all our staff;
• Analyse and, if necessary, review recruitment, training and promotion processes to ensure full equality of opportunity; 
• Supporting the LGBTIQ+ community through various communication campaigns;
• Adapting workspaces and certain positions to people with disabilities;
• Implementing an adapted D&I communication plan.

Discover LIST's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy

As a condition of funding under the Horizon Europe programme, the European Commission requires all higher education institutions, research institutes and public bodies to make a commitment to gender equality, including the adoption of a Gender Equality Plan.

LIST has therefore made gender equality one of its priorities and implemented a Gender Equality Plan (GEP), providing a brief overview of the most important goals and measures related to gender equality.

Participation in the Positive Actions programme of the Ministry of Gender Equality (MEGA) will allow LIST to refine its internal analysis with the help of a specially commissioned consultant. The consultant will focus on equal treatment (recruitment, remuneration, promotion), decision-making and work/life balance, and the consideration of skills and merit.

Following the signing of the "Actions Positives" agreement, a survey and an external consultant's study of the status quo have been initiated and analysed.

The findings of the study were communicated to all staff, and a working group has been established with the mission of formulating an action plan that may act as a road map for future initiatives aimed at improving the situation.

Through its Diversity Charter, the public organisation Inspiring More Sustainability (IMS) proposes to entities established in Luxembourg to commit to diversity and inclusion, beyond their legal obligations.

It supports signatory companies and institutions in implementing measures to promote social cohesion and equity, in particular through workshops and conferences.

On 30 September 2021, LIST officially signed the IMS Diversity Charter.

As a member of the National gender working group coordinated by the FNR, LIST is willing to cooperate more closely with other research institutes, the University of Luxembourg and the FNR to develop a concrete action plan.

The creation of an internal network on diversity and inclusion issues, as imagined by our research department ERIN for example, also allows for the possibility of raising awareness among some collaborators and to encourage exchanges. 

Download our D&I Annual report 2023

In 2023, we made significant progress in implementing Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) measures. Our mission remains to foster a corporate culture in which diversity is celebrated, and inclusion is actively practised. Through comprehensive measures, collaborations and targeted initiatives, we have not only driven positive change internally, but have also strengthened our presence in the external D&I community. The most important actions and measures implemented are described in detail below.

Diversity day – Quiz

In celebration of Diversity Month, our organization proudly hosted the "Did You Know That…?" quiz, an engaging and enlightening event aimed at fostering understanding of and appreciation for the diverse tapestry of cultures, histories and identities within our community.

At the same time, the quiz challenged participants to broaden their perspectives and deepen their knowledge. Through a series of questions spanning various topics, such as history, art, cuisine and traditions from around the globe, participants embarked on a journey of discovery and exploration.

Newly launched Development Programme for High Potential Women

Ten colleagues from all departments took part in the High Potential Women Development Programme launched at LIST in December 2023. This eight-month initiative, launched as part of the “Actions Positives” programme (co-financed by the MEGA), offers coaching and training sessions to prepare participants for future leadership positions.

The aim is to improve gender balance in leadership positions in research and technology.

Continuing to support the importance of LGBTQIA+ inclusivity

For the third year in a row, LIST was an official sponsor of the Luxembourg PRIDE Week. This event celebrates diversity, equality and LGBTQIA+ rights. Sponsors provide financial or other resources to support the organization and promotion of the week-long series of events, which includes parades, parties, panel discussions and cultural activities. Through its support, the institute promotes the values of diversity, equality and social progress. This year, LIST also showed its solidarity with a stand at the PRIDE Street Fest.

Continued Progress: Advancing the Actions Positives Programme

In 2023, LIST continued to promote gender equality by actively participating in the Ministry for Gender Equality and Diversity (MEGA) Actions Positives programme. This included creating the LIST Action Plan, which was presented and approved by the Actions Positives committee at MEGA. Our dedicated working group is driving initiatives to ensure equality in recruitment, decision-making and work-life balance.

Women & Girls in Science video series nominated for the Diversity Awards 2023

Since 2022, the Women & Girls in Science video series has been showcasing women in science, aiming to empower girls and foster inclusivity in science and research. LIST has been a partner of this initiative, coordinated by Research Luxembourg, from the very beginning. The video series was nominated for the Diversity Awards 2023, organized by IMS Luxembourg. These awards recognize exemplary diversity management and equal opportunities practices within organizations in Luxembourg.

Download our D&I Annual report 2022

Here are some highlights:

• September and December 2022

“LISTeners" video campaign: Discover two episodes of our original face-to face video campaign, reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Institute were launched.

> “LISTeners #4 Malgorzata Gregorcyk”
> “LISTeners #5 Thomas Gibon”

• 22-23 September: Managers trainings session

Christina Constantinidis, Entrepreneurship professor at the University of Montreal, Quebec, led four on-site training sessions on ‘’The value of building a Diversity and Inclusion Lens within Research Institution’’, specifically designed for the different levels of management at LIST.

• Participation to IMS working groups

LIST is part of the intergenerational working group as well as the LGBTQI working group. This collaboration with different parties aims to develop catalogues of best practices to raise awareness and foster inclusion of different underrepresented groups within the Institute.

• 3 July 2022: Official sponsor of Luxembourg PRIDE week

This year, LIST has been upgraded from a classical to a traditional sponsor.

The representative group under LIST banner participated in the PRIDE March 2022 and other pride week events.

Internal actions were initiated, like designing Ally cards to put in the badge holder and switching to rainbow wallpaper on MS teams to make every employee feel included, no matter who they love or how they identify.

A social media campaign was also started to show the public that the Institute supports the LGBTIQ+ community.

See the campaign on Instagram

• 20 June 2022: E-Learning Program

A training curriculum on D&I aspects was developed for all LIST community as well as for different target groups. It is intended to raise awareness of the various aspects of D&I and will be carried out throughout the year.

• 21 May 2022: National Diversity Day: DIVERSITY AT BELVAL Photo Exhibition

As a joint contribution to National Diversity Day 2022, coordinated by IMS Luxembourg, LIST, together with Luxinnovation and DeWidong and with the kind support of FondsBelval, celebrated this occasion by launching the photo exhibition "Diversity at Belval".

The exhibition showed portraits of 47 professionals and aimed to shed light on the diversity that hides behind our walls.

#DiversityAtBelval is also a social media campaign. Employees as well as visitors to the exhibiton, were invited to share it on social media, using the hashtag #DiversityAtBelval, to spread the richness of our culture.

Check it out here  diversityatbelval.lu

• 8 March 2022: Women's International Rights Day: Round table Discussion with Joëlle Welfring the Minister of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development

A round table discussion with our guest Joëlle Welfring provided an opportunity to draw inspiration from her success story and to discuss in depth the journey of women on the road to professional advancement.

Download our D&I Annual report 2021

Here are some highlights:

• 03-11 July 2021: Luxembourg Pride

LIST was keen to publicly support the LGBTIQ+ community on this day, as a tribute to the LGBTQI community of the 1960s who, for the very first time in their history, rioted with bottles and stones after yet another police raid on a New York bar, giving rise to the current movement.

See the campaign on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter

Luxembourg Pride

• 20 May 2021: National Diversity Day

LIST took advantage of the National Diversity Day to launch the first episode of its video campaign "LISTeners". An original face-to-face video, which wonderfully reflects the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Institute.

LISTeners#1 : Dimitra Anastasiou

LISTeners#2 : Lari Cujko

LISTeners#3- Divya BALAKRISHNAN

• 8 March 2021: International Women's Rights Day

Our CEO Thomas Kallstenius sent a message to all employees on this special day and joined the campaign launched on social media under the hashtag #ChooseToChallenge.

See the campaign on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter

• 11 February 2021: International Day of Women and Girls in Science

On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, four female colleagues agreed to talk about their experience and their motivation to pursue a career in a very male-dominated world, if we take into account the studies recently published by UNESCO.

• 19 January 2021: LISTen Up! (internal webinar) Dealing with Unconscious Bias

In January 2021, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr Steve Kremer, co-chair of the Equal Opportunities and Parity Commission at the National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Nancy), and Dr Christina Constantinidis, a professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), specialising in gender, diversity and inclusion, for a webinar on Unconscious Bias.