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Month: November 2020
Forest industry gathers strength for greater equality
The forestry sector should be an attractive workplace for all. This is the view of the Forest Technical Cluster, which recently conducted a gender audit and signed a letter of intent together with the Forest County of Västerbotten to act for future gender equality.
Gender equality work has been a fundamental part of the Forest Technical Cluster since its formation in 2010. During the first years the focus was on creating insight, today more emphasis is placed on allowing gender equality to take place early in the processes.
During the autumn of 2020, the Forest Technical Cluster conducted a gender equality audit, together with several other forest actors in the county, as part of the County Administrative Board's work for an equal forest sector. It is the first gender audit to be carried out and it will follow up on an earlier letter of intent that the forest actors will work individually and together for future gender equality.
Inclusion should be self-evident
"By 2030, the forest industry will be attractive and accessible to all, the industry has realised that diversity creates pleasant and good workplaces. Then I want to see that women and men have equal opportunities to step into leadership positions as managers and board representatives," says Linda Nyström, CEO of the Forest Technology Cluster.
"It should be obvious that a working group is composed of representation and inclusion, but also that the product that is created should be able to be used by all people. Gender equality should not stay in individual projects or groupings, it should permeate everything from the conversations in the coffee room to the products that are manufactured and to which customer the product is created for.
At a seminar on 11 November, participants in the gender audit presented what they had seen in their own organizations and how to work with gender equality going forward. Participants from Viable Business Hub were Komatsu Forest and the Forest Engineering Cluster. During the seminar, Linda Nyström presented the gender equality work of the Forest Technical Cluster over the past decade.
"What we have to work most on are cultures and attitudes. We want both young women and men to see the entire forest sector as an attractive labour market," she says.
Participation throughout the organization
Linda Nyström believes that the management of an organization must take the lead and show initiatives, but also that every part of the company must be involved in gender equality work in order to achieve long-term and comprehensive development on several levels.
"It is a critical success factor to spread insight and understanding at all levels of the business.
Over the years, the Forest Technical Cluster has participated in several projects, created films, lectured and inspired other organizations to the next stage in their work on gender equality.
"We have come a long way, but we still have a lot to do. It is important that everyone steps up so that we can attract young people to the industry. It should be remembered that little is better than nothing at all. Do not allow gender equality work to become a frighteningly large project to inject into the future when resources are scarce. Instead, start in the small and switch up," says Linda Nyström.
Here you can read more about the gender audit: