Envidan sets goal for equal distribution of men and women in 2030
08/03/2023
50/50. This is how the distribution of male and female employees in Envidan should be in 2030, according to the management in Envidan.
Today, the distribution of men and women among the employees in Envidan is 67 % men against 33 % women. The figures cover all Envidan employees across Denmark, Norway and Sweden and reflect the fact that women make up 33 % of those admitted to the Danish STEM educations (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), which also includes the engineering programmes.
Ambitious yet realistic goal
There is still some way to go if Envidan is to achieve its objective of a 50/50 distribution of men and women, with room for a margin of +- 10 %.
"We know that it will require a lot of effort to achieve our goal of an equal distribution of men and women in 2030, and we approach the task humbly. The first step is to set up concrete goals for equality, so we have something to work on and measure up against, and fortunately we have that now," says Managing Director for People & Culture, Gitte Mønsted Hansen.
Diversity leads to innovation
Envidan's vision is to become the Nordic region's leading water specialist, and if that vision is to be achieved, it requires a diverse workforce, according to CEO of Envidan, Ole Fritz Adeler:
"If future engineering solutions within water and energy are to reflect the society we live in, we need to include as many different perspectives and skills as possible. In that way we can come up with the best and most innovative solutions to the many societal challenges that the water industry can help solve, which includes everything from climate adaptation and securing clean drinking water to wastewater treatment and restoration of natural and aquatic environments.”
The business community joins hands to promote gender diversity
In addition to the set targets, Envidan has also signed The Confederation of Danish Industry’s "Gender Diversity Pledge", which consists of 16 principles that aim to ensure greater gender diversity within the business community. Among other things, the principles cover support for earmarked maternity leave for men, sharing data on gender composition and breaking down gender stereotypes when it comes to education.
"Gender diversity starts at the top of the organization. That is precisely why Envidan's management has incorporated it into our strategic work for the overall business," explains Gitte Mønsted Hansen.
However, dealing with gender diversity is not a new thing in Envidan. As part of the strategy to achieve greater gender diversity, Envidan set up a diversity group in 2018 with employees from different parts of the organization. The group’s job is to come up with concrete proposals for initiatives and actions that support Envidan's equality goals and the 16 principles in the Gender Diversity Pledge.
"Diversity is a must, and in the future, we will hopefully succeed in having a diverse workforce that is broadly represented in terms of parameters such as age, ethnicity and gender. Because one thing is certain: We need a broad range of knowledge and skills to develop the engineering solutions of the future," concludes Ole Fritz Adeler.
For further information contact:
Ole Fritz Adeler: ofa@envidan.dk, +45 30 90 46 64
Gitte Mønsted Hansen: gmh@envidan.dk, +45 30 29 31 21
