According to a new report from the Allbright Foundation, the growth for gender equality, in listed companies in Sweden, has come to an halt.
But there are companies that defies the trend. During the last year Ework Group has appointed a number of female leaders and now takes place among green listed companies when it comes to gender equality.
“Today we have a balanced gender distribution between male and female leaders in many key business areas and in all the five countries we operate in. For us it’s about finding the right person for the job and not about quota. That gives us the right foundation for sustainable results and creating value” says Karin Schreil, CEO of Ework Group.
Every year the Allbright foundation in Sweden compiles a report over how well the listed companies in Sweden are progressing on the road to gender equality. After a decade of steady growth in appointing female leaders the progression has come to an halt. When it comes to female CEO:s there has even been a decrease. Every female CEO that has left her position in 2022 has been replaced by a man. The consequence is that the number of female CEO:s has dropped from 12 percent to 11 percent during the year.
Defies the trend
One company that has defied the trend is Ework Group. The company was founded in 2000 and has been listed since 2008. Since the beginning the company has worked proactively with inclusion and gender equality and in 2021 their first female CEO Karin Schreil was appointed. During the past year numerous female leaders has been appointed in key positions. This has contributed to a huge step forward for the company in the list over gender equal companies. Since the last report in 2021 the company has risen from the yellow list, position 195, to position 38 on the green list.
“To work with equality and inclusion is a part of our DNA and is something that we are very proud of. Today our management team is equally divided and we have several female leaders in the organization. This is something that has not only impacted the work climate positively but also our result.” Says Karin Schreil.
One of five companies lack female representation in the management team
Even though many companies work actively to increase gender equality. There is still a long road ahead before the Swedish business life is equal. One of five of the listed companies in Sweden lack female representation in the management team. Many among the companies that has managed to reach equality lack the ability to stay on course. Therefor the number of companies on the green list doesn’t grow from year to year.
“It’s time that all business leaders start to seek in the whole pool of talents. That will naturally create a more coequal work climate in Sweden. If the ways of finding talents doesn’t change we risk losing valuable skills and therefor missed opportunities” CEO Karin Schreil concludes.
The Allbright report 202
In 2022 69 of the 361 listed companies in Sweden made it into the green list. 224 companies where on the yellow list and 68 companies ended up on the red list.
The companies are ranked in accordance to how well they perform in terms of reaching 50/50 when it comes to appointing females in the management team, the number of female leaders in line positions to the management team and female representation on the board.
Read the report here (Swedish)
