Amanda Lundeteg; This is why gender equality work in Swedish listed companies is so slow!
2023-01-19
Amanda Lundeteg has been CEO at Allbright for the last 10 years. She is one of the speakers at Nordic Sustainability Expo. Allbright works for equality and diversity in leading positions in business. They do this in part by publishing annual reports where they map business life based on representation at the highest level. Allbright both celebrates companies that have succeeded and highlights companies that still lack women in leading positions. In addition to this, they support companies that want to work for increased inclusion, through training and advice.
We had a talk with Amanda about how it looks with gender equality in Swedish listed companies, why it looks the way it does and what barriers to change she sees. We also asked Amanda about her best tips to companies that wants to be better and we also asked about what she will be talking about on stage in May.
That we in Sweden have a long way to go to a more equal business life is a fact, why is that?
There is a real lack of will. Many business leaders believe that gender equality and diversity are important issues, but when the outside world is shaky, work is put on the shelf. It should be the other way around. In times of crisis, companies should make sure to fish from the entire talent pool. With the right person in the right place, the chance that the company will come out stronger on the other side increases.
What does it look like in Swedish management groups today, in actual numbers?
After a decade of progress, progress is exactly zero. For the second year in a row, women make up 27 percent of the stock exchange's management teams. In addition to this, the number of women in heavy roles such as CEO and chairman of the board is decreasing. It is a uniquely bleak development that bodes ill for the future.
What are the biggest barriers?
Nine out of ten listed companies consider diversity and inclusion to be critical business issues. But two out of three companies believe that the work for diversity is difficult or challenging in practice. Most companies state that they have challenges with methods or measuring the effect of measures.
What is your best advice to companies that want to improve gender equality in their organization?
Start at the right end and do the analysis first, not all companies have the same challenges. Some have challenges with culture, others with recruitment and promotions. With the analysis in place, the chance that efforts are directed correctly increases.
Where to start?
For companies that have succeeded, the recipe for success is the same. They have mapped challenges, set goals and set aside funds. It is not enough to make specific efforts, a comprehensive approach is needed for the work to have an effect.
Can you give some examples of organizations/companies that are good that we can be inspired by?
Allbright annually awards a prize to listed companies whose diversity work is worth celebrating. Last year, Axfood and Hemnet shared the prize. Common to the companies is the long-term approach. They have set aside resources, set goals, measure outcomes and follow up the results with relevant measures, such as training. A job that more listed companies could well emulate.
You recently released a noted report. Zero new women. Tell us a little about the most important insights from it.
The growth of female managers has never been weaker, despite the fact that equal companies show stronger profitability than companies without women in management. At the same time, nearly every second young adult has been subjected to discrimination in the workplace, often on the basis of gender or ethnicity. While Swedish business is going backwards, development in other strong industrial countries, such as the USA and Great Britain, is moving forward. Swedish listed companies lack goals, means and meaning in the work for diversity.
You are one of the speakers at the Nordic Sustainability Expo in May 2023. What will you talk about?
I will talk about the representation in leading positions, the explanation for why it looks the way it does and of course, how we do to create a business life where everyone's skills are taken care of. See you there!
Facts about Amanda
Amanda Lundeteg has a degree in economics from Uppsala University and is also trained in practical gender equality work. She also holds a degree from the Institute for International Business, in New York. Amanda has held several board assignments, including on the board of the Stockholm Women's History Museum and the board of the Royal Dramatic Theatre. She has also been vice-chairman of the Raoul Wallenberg prize's jury group.
Among other things, Amanda has been named number one on TCO's list of the future's 99 most powerful, one of business life's 150 super communicators, one of the year's most powerful opinion leaders by Veckans Affärer, one of Business Life's 101 most powerful women, one of Sweden's 101 super talents, one of the upstarts of the year , finalist for Young CEO of the Year and one of Framtiden's female leaders. Amanda has appeared as a speaker at TEDxSpeaker and Creative Mornings.