The majority of a surveyed group of Finnish companies plan to continue investing in diversity programmes, despite developments in the opposite direction in the United states.
That is according to the results of a poll published by Fibs, the Finnish Business & Society, a corporate responsibility network serving the Nordics.
A survey of 180 large and small-to-medium sized companies found nearly all of them (95%) saying they were committed to promoting DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) initiatives.
For many companies in the United States, that is not the case, at least for now. Shortly after US President Donald Trump re-entered the White House earlier this year, he banned DEI programmes at government agencies, schools and universities.
In turn, several huge US companies also announced plans to change their DEI policies and programmes, including firms like Google, Amazon and Disney.
Trump's efforts to quell diversity initiatives has also spread beyond the borders of the United States.
Earlier this year, major corporations in the EU received letters from the US government, demanding they follow Trump's order to ban DEI programmes, according to Euronews, which cited the Financial Times.
US embassies sent out letters to companies in Finland and the rest of Europe that want to sell services to American diplomatic missions, asking whether the firms are committed to Trump's initiative to eliminate diversity initiatives. The recipients of the letters include property maintenance, security and telecommunications firms serving embassies, according to media reports.
Different in Europe
Greta Andersson, Fibs' corporate responsibility expert, said that there are major differences between what's happening on either side of the Atlantic.
"Investments in DEI programmes, and recognition of their need, are increasing in Finland," Andersson told Svenska Yle, the public broadcaster's Swedish-language news unit.
The expert explained that as US efforts to eradicate DEI programmes grow, Europeans are taking a tougher stance about strengthening diversity.
"If they're not doing it, we will. We're building a good society for everyone," she said.
But Andersson pointed out that diversity in the US is kind of unavoidable.
"If you think about how multi-faceted society is in the US, companies cannot afford to start communicating or reacting in ways that shut out parts of the workforce," Andersson explained.
Svenska Yle asked the expert whether Finnish companies have adjusted their practices in response to Trump's DEI efforts.
"I haven't noticed that. Generally, I can imagine that at most some [corporate] language has changed, but it hasn't changed to the extent that affects the underlying work. I have a difficult time imagining that companies would allow such things to affect their business operations," she said.
According to Andersson, workplace diversity has increased in Finland as more foreigners live in the country.
"The companies leading the way here in this regard understand that increasing diversity and inclusion is a competitive issue. You get a significantly bigger selection of skilled workers to hire when you open up the workplace to a broader group," Andersson said.
However, Anderson also pointed out that while some Finnish companies are trying to broaden employee diversity, that's not always reflected in their staffing.
"Although there are positive attitudes about diversity, the work to achieve it remains at a fairly early stage at most companies," Andersson said.
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