ESF Becomes Hong Kong’s First Educational Organisation to Sign Equal Opportunities Commission Racial Diversity and Inclusion Charter

The English Schools Foundation (ESF) has become the first educational organisation in Hong Kong to sign the Racial Diversity and Inclusion Charter of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).

“Signing the EOC’s charter is an important milestone for ESF and signals our commitment to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) which is one of our strategic priorities. We are honoured to be a signatory as our beliefs and values strongly resonate with the charter,” said Belinda Greer, ESF Chief Executive Officer.

The EOC is a government body established in 1996, which works towards the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, family status and race.

ESF joins other long-established Hong Kong companies such as John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Limited, HSBC, Manulife (International) Limited, EY, the British Consulate-General Hong Kong, Mayer Brown and PCCW in signing the Charter. To date, the EOC has at least 200 signatories from mostly the private and business sector in Hong Kong.

As a signatory, ESF affirms its commitment to the nine goals of the Charter. These include supporting the principles of racial diversity in the workplace, establishing fair recruitment that does not discriminate against any person or groups of persons on the ground of race, and providing a safe and collaborative work environment for all employees.

ESF is an Equal Opportunities Employer; in the last school year, ESF also developed its DEI Strategic Action Planning 2021 and Beyond. This action planning sets the direction of the work that ESF is now undertaking in key priority areas that include policy and student and staff agency.

“We want our students and staff to feel safe, happy and valued. This can only happen when our schools create the conditions for everyone to feel valued and respected, ensuring, everyone has equal opportunities to be the best that they can be,” said Belinda Greer.

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ESF Bradbury School students support the Box of Hope charity project

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