Mercan Properties signs the Portuguese Letter for Diversity

Driven by an increasingly global and diverse society, social rights have become pressing topics on global agendas. Moreover, social risks associated with the cost-of-living crisis, erosion of social cohesion, and societal polarization have been identified as risk factors for companies in the coming years.

In this context, organizational health heavily depends on the people within it, making the integration of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) measures a business-wide imperative. The concept of DEI encompasses three fundamental principles for promoting social justice:

• Diversity: Refers to the heterogeneity of individual characteristics, including similarities and differences in aspects such as gender, age, race/ethnicity, disability, nationality, religion, orientations, education, socioeconomic classes, etc.
• Equity: Encompasses actions and mechanisms that create conditions to promote diversity, ensuring fairness and impartiality across all areas of the organization.
• Inclusion: Involves recognizing and respecting diverse experiences, personal characteristics, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds, creating an environment where everyone feels valued.

Incorporating DEI measures makes companies more attractive to top talent, promotes employee engagement, boosts productivity, and consequently improves financial performance. Diverse organizations adapt better to markets and are more capable of expanding into new horizons. Furthermore, a workforce made up of people from different backgrounds, who feel encouraged to contribute unique ideas, drives innovation.