As a non-profit organisation with a strong and meaningful mission which is to increase cancer patients’ survival and quality of life, EORTC is committed to help improve the lives of people with cancer.

Its mantra: “Leaving no one behind” also reflects the diversity and inclusion which EORTC has demonstrated among its staff, members, and partners’ selection.

At the EORTC, we believe that everybody regardless of who they are or of their position in the organisation should feel equally involved and supported in the workplace.

core-values

Gender Equality

At the EORTC, we are convinced that people – regardless of their gender, nationality, sexual orientation, identity, etc. – must be treated fairly and given equal opportunities to contribute to EORTC’s mission.

We are committed to improving gender balance throughout the organisation:

Current numbers:

  • 71% of our staff are women
  • 55% of EORTC middle and upper management are women
  • Our current EORTC President (2022-2024) is a woman: Winette van der Graaf, a Medical Oncologist based at The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam.
    Numbers on January 1st, 2022

Our organisation also takes all necessary measures to avoid any form of gender-based violence at work by:

  • Organising peer-coaching sessions to allow employees to freely express issues they may be encountering in their work environment
  • Organising a biannual survey on well-being and psychosocial risks
  • Having an established process in case of problems and providing access to: an external psychological assistance for personal and professional issues, one member of the Human Resource team overseeing gender-based aspects and two members of the staff (one woman and one man) who have followed a training to become “trust persons”.

A balanced working environment & organisational culture

We believe that an organisation in which people can achieve a healthy work-life balance while being assured of safety and security, leads to a more sustainable employment model.

Increasing social or personal safety and security is seen as a foundational requirement for the EORTC to become a more inclusive non-profit organisation. Strengthening social safety is a constant concern and focuses on information and awareness, help and support, and a fit-for-purpose system for the processing of reports and complaints.

The EORTC has implemented and promotes inclusive work-life balance policies and practices – to support its people in realising their full potential while having a healthy work-life balance:

  • Since 2021, EORTC allows homeworking and office working in a hybrid way for full flexibility
  • Between 2019 and 2021, employees have benefited from a parental and/or a time credit leave which allow them to take a career break – in whole or in part – for a certain period of time: 39 members of the staff have benefited from parental leave and 14 of a time credit leave.

Recruitment & Training

At the EORTC, we make sure that all candidates have equal opportunities during the recruitment process.

Our staff represents over 35 different nationalities.

Preselection is done based on objective criteria such as experience and qualifications. Furthermore, our recruitment process is well defined and unbiased with regards to gender, nationality, etc.: a first interview with Human Resources to evaluate the candidate’s motivation, personality, and other practical information such as location, salary expectations, etc., followed by a second interview with the hiring manager to evaluate skills and experience more specifically in relation to the role.

Besides, we encourage internal evolution by regularly inviting our employees to apply when a new position opens.

With 55% of women in management positions, we demonstrate that we encourage both women and men to apply to people- and/or strategic management roles.

We have also created a salary grid for each department based on experience, seniority level and current job market to ensure fairness and homogeneity within each department.

Training development, material and process is based on competences to be acquired to perform the assigned tasks. The EORTC is promoting a learner approach that includes sufficient time to acquire competences, participation of each learner, discussion and feedback during the learning process. EORTC working practices such as respect, collaboration and communication including valuing others’ contributions, helping others to overcome obstacles, building trust, listening for understanding, actively sharing information, sharing expertise when helpful, and encouraging balanced participation in discussion promote a positive and inclusive learning and teaching experience. Training material expressing gender diversity and inclusion is encouraged. Support to trainers is provided through dedicated staff.

EORTC clinical trials

Cancer can affect anyone regardless of gender, nationality, age, sexual orientation, etc. EORTC research leaves no one behind and addresses all patients, including patients with rare tumours and specific patient populations.