Profitable gender equality
Gender equality is not only politically correct, it's also financially profitable, says the founder of SHE Conference and SHE Community, Heidi Aven. We had a chat with Aven on Women's Day itself.
Dekode Interactive 
Happy birthday to you!
Today we celebrate International Women's Day at Dekode, but this year's SHE Conference - an annual conference focusing on gender equality and diversity in working life - kicked off on Friday.
The conference is organized by SHE Community - a network with the aim of bringing together women and men across industries and sectors to get more women into business and management. The woman behind it all, Heidi Aven, believes that forward-thinking Norway has an international social responsibility to spread knowledge.
"We want to bring about change, and you can't just focus on yourself. Norway is a pioneering nation when it comes to gender equality and we have a responsibility to be a driving force for gender equality and diversity in the rest of the world.
Heidi Aven, Founder and CEO of SHE Community
What is the status of gender equality in Norwegian companies today?
- You can go to the SHE Index and see the status of 100 of Norway's largest companies. Things have improved, and we see that many companies are achieving good results when it comes to gender equality and diversity by implementing a number of incentives within recruitment, talent development and management. But - there's still a long way to go. Change doesn't happen overnight," says Aven.
"It's not just right, it's profitable
According to Aven, equality and diversity are necessary factors for the companies of the future - on several levels.
- It has been shown that gender equality and diversity are not only politically correct, but also economically profitable. The world is developing at a rapid pace, and employees and managers are increasingly required to adapt to new markets," says Aven. She emphasizes that a good gender balance is a prerequisite for knowing your market best:
- It's essential that both teams and leaders are representative of the market they're trying to reach. That's why we need both gender equality and diversity. We like to say that "It's not just right, it's profitable."
Equality = Competent men AND women
What is the most important thing for Norwegian companies to consider when hiring people in 2021?
- "I think it's important to focus on gender equality and diversity. That doesn't mean you shouldn't focus equally on competence, but it's nonsense to say that there aren't competent people of both genders for boards and management," emphasizes Aven.
Today is Women's Day. What would you like to say to all women in the workplace who want to move up and forward?
- Keep going - and don't give up.
We at Dekode are proud to work with the SHE Community website, which communicates news about gender equality and how we can, and why we should, reduce inequalities in working life. We also encourage women to apply for the positions we currently have available.