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The Belgian civil service, which was originally established on a unified basis, has been giving greater consideration to diversity as a result of three major institutional developments. Firstly, federalization of the state has led to new legal regulations on the recruitment and promotion of civil servants at both the federal level, where access to certain positions is now subject to quotas based on language community criteria, and the federated level, where the civil service of the communities and regions is now recognized as being independent. Secondly, Europeanization of the state has led to a relaxation of nationality rules regarding access to public sector jobs. Lastly, internationalization of society has generated new social concerns, for example the representation of women in elected and public positions, the participation of non-EU foreigners in local elections, and, more broadly, anti-discrimination efforts in public sector employment.