50/50. This number represents how the distribution of male and female employees in Envidan should be in 2030, according to the management in Envidan.
Today, the gender composition of Envidan’s workforce is 67% men and 33% women.
The figures cover all Envidan employees across Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and also reflect the fact that women make up 33% of those admitted to the Danish STEM programmes (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), which includes engineering.
Ambitious yet realistic target
As such, there is still some way to go if Envidan is to reach its target of a 50/50 gender balance with a margin of +/- 10%.
“We know it will take a lot of effort to reach our goal of gender equality by 2030, and we are approaching the task in a humble manner. The first step is to set concrete targets for gender equality so that we have a point of departure for our work. 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 leading water specialist in the Nordic region, and achieving that vision requires a diverse workforce, according to Ole Fritz Adeler, CEO of Envidan:
“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 competences as possible.”
“This way we can create the best and most innovative solutions to the many societal challenges that the water industry must contribute to solving, which includes everything from climate adaptation and ensuring clean drinking water to wastewater treatment and restoration of natural and aquatic environments,” continues Ole Fritz Adeler.
The business community joins forces to promote gender diversity
In addition to the targets set, Envidan has also signed the Danish Industry Association’s Gender Diversity Pledge, which consists of 16 principles aimed at ensuring greater gender diversity within the business sector. The principles include supporting earmarked maternity leave for men, sharing data on gender composition and helping to break down gender stereotypes as regards to educational choices.
“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, addressing gender diversity is not new to Envidan. As part of the strategy of achieving greater gender diversity, Envidan established a diversity group with employees from different parts of the organization in 2018. The group regularly makes concrete proposals for initiatives and actions that support Envidan’s gender equality goals and the 16 principles of the Danish Industry Diversity Pledge.
“We believe that diversity is the way forward and hopefully in the future, we will 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 wide range of knowledge and skills to develop the green and blue solutions of the future,” Ole Fritz Adeler concludes.
