Ilmatar has signed The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), which are created by UN Women and the UN Global Compact corporate responsibility initiatives. The aim of WEPs and reason for our commitment is to showcase the importance of gender-equality for us as a company and take meaningful action according to the WEPs’ seven principles. We want to offer an inclusive and equitable workplace for all.
Committing to WEPs is a continuation for our DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and social responsibility. It is also in line with our ESG strategy where one of our goals is to increase the proportion of women in highest management position to more than 40%.
“Ilmatar is proud to join WEPs as it highlights our commitment to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace. It is a great opportunity for us to deepen our knowledge and gain best practices. We are making progress while having recognized the importance of taking concrete steps by updating our policies and practices,” comments Ilmatar’s CEO Juha-Pekka Weckström.
Concrete actions and follow up
We operate in the energy industry where women are often underrepresented. WEPs stems from the UN Global Compact’s efforts aiming to enhance women’s participation in the workforce. In 2023, 33% of our employees were women. It is a slight increase from the previous year when the same figure was 29%.
“We hope that by promoting women and the possibilities renewable energy branch has to offer, as well as working hard on gender-equality, we can increase the number of women at Ilmatar and in energy branch in general. I am also personally very pleased to see that the number of women in our managerial and even in some very technically demanding positions has significantly increased”, says Anna-Maria Palmroos, Ilmatar’s HR Director and General Counsel.
WEPs includes seven principles that signatories are expected to advance and report on progress:
1. High-level corporate leadership
2. Treat all women and men fairly at work without discrimination
3. Employee health, well-being and safety
4. Education and training for career advancement
5. Enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices
6. Community initiatives and advocacy
7. Measurement and reporting
Following these WEPs’ seven principles, Ilmatar has set its own internal targets to meet each one of them. The internal targets reflect the concrete actions we are doing to live up to our commitment.
Ilmatar, UN Global Compact signatory since 2021, has actively this year brought DEI questions to the table e.g. by organizing a DEI training for the whole company according to the wish from the employees. Ilmatar will also renew its equality and non-discrimination plan during spring 2024.