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Commentary: Women represented well in management

Article published
19.3.2021 at 09:00
Finavian henkilöstöjohtaja Kaarina Soikkanen
Responsibility
Equal treatment is the foundation of Finavia’s operations. Our aim is for Finavia to be a good place to work, regardless of age or gender. “We have worked actively for decades to promote equality,” writes Kaarina Soikkanen, Finavia’s Senior Vice President of Administration and Personnel.

We will be able to succeed only if we use everyone’s abilities and best resources. In a male-dominated field, working long-term to promote equality in working life is particularly important. This work is not yet finished, but we are making good progress.

The number of women working for Finavia has grown continuously for the past five years. Right now, women make up about 30% of Finavia’s employees. According to Finavia’s latest report from 2019, the gender pay gap is narrower than average at Finavia. A woman’s euro is 91 cents at Finavia, while the average in Finland is 84 cents. The share of women at training days arranged by the employer has also grown. This is something we can be proud of.

We promote equality at Finavia by balancing the gender ratio of our units when possible, making it easier to combine work and family life and supporting coping at work. The equal treatment of employees at Finavia is guided by ethical principles, the company’s HR policy and an equality plan that is updated every other year and includes equality goals that have been agreed with employee representatives.

At Finavia, working continuously to promote equality is a key part of ensuring well-being at work and implementing the company’s values. We actively monitor the equality and gender distribution of pay as well as make sure that applicants are treated equally also during recruitment.

The work to promote equality is done in everyday life

In order for working life to be truly equal, we must make sure that everyone can make their voice heard. The share of women in Finavia’s Executive Group is the same as in its staff: one third. Three of the seven members of Finavia’s Board of Directors are women.

There are also women among the senior management of our network airports and business operations. For supervisors, the share of women is about 30%. The share of women working in a supervisory role has been growing steadily in recent years. This diversity supports the development of responsibility and the company’s business and provides new perspectives.

However, equality is not a percentage: it is an attitude that we all should foster so that everyone can feel good going to work in the morning. The real work to achieve this is done every day when we are considerate of others, respect each others’ opinions, stop to listen and help our co-workers across departmental boundaries. Most of all, we all need to keep doing small things that promote equality in our everyday lives.

This is important because it helps us build good workdays, work years and entire careers for everyone, regardless of gender. I hope that the excellent service attitude we display to customers is also conveyed to our co-workers, with whom we spend the lion’s share of the day. It’s up to all of us what kind of Finavia we build.