Orkuveitan signs three-year gender-balance partnership

Orkuveitan and Jafnvægisvogin, a gender-balance initiative, have signed a three-year partnership agreement aimed at increasing gender balance in the senior management of companies, public institutions, pension funds and municipalities, mbl.is reports.

Under the agreement, Orkuveitan will share its experience and support the continued development, promotion and work of Jafnvægisvogin.

Orkuveitan has worked on equality issues for many years, basing its progress on clear targets, measurements and targeted action. Erla Ósk Ásgeirsdóttir, chair of the Jafnvægisvogin council, said it was particularly important for the initiative to work with a company that had demonstrated that real progress on equality was possible.

“Orkuveitan has not been satisfied with good intentions alone, but has set clear goals, measured its results and followed them up with action,” she said. “Such examples matter because they show other companies that change is possible and that equality strengthens both workplaces and operations.”

Long-term equality work

Orkuveitan’s equality work dates back to its predecessor, when Reykjavik Electricity set an equality policy in 1996. The policy included increasing the number of women in positions of responsibility, addressing the gender pay gap and promoting technical and industrial jobs to women.

An equality group was established within Reykjavik Electricity in 1997, and the status of equality issues was assessed. That year, measures were introduced to correct pay differences, and scholarships began to be awarded to women studying industrial and technical subjects.

When Orkuveitan was established in 1999, an equality committee began work immediately. The following year, the company set targets to reduce the gender pay gap, increase the number of women in management and positions of responsibility, and help employees balance work and family life.

In 2011, Orkuveitan adopted a clear policy of equalising gender ratios in management positions and eliminating unexplained pay differences. By 2017, the unexplained gender pay gap had been reduced to below 1 per cent and has remained within that limit since then.

“Equality does not happen by itself. It is a decision that must be followed up with clear goals, targeted action and active participation from managers,” said Sævar Freyr Þráinsson, Orkuveitan’s chief executive. “Orkuveitan has worked on equality issues for a long time and achieved good results, but we are nowhere near finished because there is always room for improvement.”

He said the partnership would allow Orkuveitan to share its experience, learn from others and contribute to faster change in Icelandic working life.