Comparative Case Study

Abstract

The differences between France and Sweden are important regarding the implementation of gender equal employment practices. In both countries however, diversity Management has been recently imported under the influence of Anglo-Saxon practices. This paper investigates how diversity management is put in place in two utility companies, one in each country. After studying which HRM practices it includes and the factors that influence them, we will discuss the relationships between equal employment and diversity management in both countries. The first part of this paper will explore the national contexts and their influences on diversity management, applied to gender, age and ethnicity. We will then compare the development of diversity policies in two companies in France and Sweden. EAU DE PARIS has been considered one of the most diversity oriented company in France. The Swedish group VATTENFAL is a leading actor in the energy sector of the Nordic countries, whose diversity policy is part of a global sustainable development programme. National contingencies account for differences in policies' arrays and paces. However, Diversity management converges in both companies towards Equal employment human resource practices oriented by strategic business goals. We also discuss the relevance of the Anglo-Saxon debate between Diversity and Equal employment in the two countries.