Estonian society is diverse

All human beings differ from one another in their appearance, interests and activities, choices and abilities, but we are all equally human beings. This means that social rules and norms must take into consideration these differences in order to ensure equal opportunities for everybody in society. All people should be able to maximize their potential in society. This means, on the one hand, respecting their differences and, on the other hand, promoting a society that is based on equal treatment.

As human beings, we differ in a lot of aspects: we have different life experiences, and different education and work experiences. We are also from different nationalities, genders, age groups – and namely these differences provide each of us with a unique life experience and an opportunity to contribute.

Although diversity has always existed in society, it was only rather recently when diversity started to be taken into consideration and under protection deliberately. So, for example in the United States, a national committee was established in 1961 with the aim to improve the status of women on the labour market, followed by the Equal Pay Act in 1963. The history of the diversity issue in the European Union dates back to the time when we could still talk about the European Economic Community. The Treaty of Rome signed in 1957 included the principle of equal remuneration for equal work. To date, the European Union has passed several documents that protect gender equality and equal treatment on other bases and launched a pan-European network that promotes diversity in business in cooperation with Member States and companies.