The number of gender-equal companies is increasing in Sweden.
The Allbright Foundation stated this when they presented their report this week, listing the publicly traded companies in Sweden in terms of gender equality.
Ework Group is among the 89 companies out of 361 that have achieved gender equality (40/60) in their management team, earning them a spot on the green list.
When Allbright presented their list at the end of last year, they delivered a bleak message and a significant setback for gender equality in publicly traded companies in Sweden. However, the list for 2023 provides more positive reading. The number of companies on the green list increased by a total of 20 companies, going from 69 to 89, while the number of companies on the red list decreased from 68 to 62. The increase in the number of green-listed companies this year is believed to be primarily due to companies adopting long-term thinking, resulting in fewer companies losing their position on the green list.
Increased representation
The percentage of women in leadership positions increased by one percent, from 27 to 28, while the percentage of women on boards remained at the same level of 36 percent. When looking at the positions where the percentage of women has increased, it can be observed that women have broken into previously male-dominated fields, such as IT and Supply Chain, and there has also been a significant increase in the percentage of women in the role of Chief Marketing Officer. This year, the representation of women has improved in eight out of twelve positions.
Family-owned companies
In this year's report, Allbright took a closer look at family-owned companies in Sweden. Approximately one-third of the publicly traded companies have a family as the major shareholder. Many of these companies do not meet the 40/60 gender equality threshold and, therefore, do not qualify for the green list, despite comprising a significant portion of the publicly traded companies in Sweden. The best-performing companies in terms of gender equality among family-owned businesses were those owned by Mats Paulsson, with a representation of 44 percent women.
Diversity lags behind
Sweden has received criticism from both the EU and the UN for not adequately addressing and combating discrimination related to racism. Therefore, for the first time, Allbright has examined the management teams with regard to skin color. The numbers show that 95 percent of individuals in leadership positions in publicly traded companies can be categorized as white, while the figure is as high as 98 percent for boards of directors. Both non-white women and men face difficulties in reaching leadership positions, but women face the greatest challenges, accounting for only 0.5 percent compared to men's 4 percent.
Ework Group was also on the green list in November 2022. You can read more about it here.
