Page 27 - BEST PRACTICES_SOCIAL

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Description

Finland has always been among the best-performing countries in the EIGE’s equality index. Yet levels
of segregation in the labour market are relatively high in Finland, and women spend significantly more
time on housework and childcare compared with men. Netlight is an IT company providing a variety of
services. The share of women in the company is followed in order to maintain a relatively high
proportion of women across diverse roles. The number of women in consultant roles with a more
technical background is also followed; the proportion of women here is 25%, compared with a total
share of 30%.

Netlight considers equality to be its cornerstone, and a competence that is valued and reinforced in
all activities. All Netlight partners sign the company’s Declaration of Equality, and an equality clause is
included in all agreements signed by the company. Netlight has a policy on harassment and an internal
group that continually develops new initiatives to promote equality.

The outcomes of the different measures to strengthen equality, enhance work–life balance and increase
the proportion of women the company are measured regularly. The company makes every effort to
take into account the national characteristics of the work–life environment; for example, by developing
country-specific benefits. Netlight provides support in terms of both salary and time to those on
parental leave: in Norway, the company covers up to 49 weeks, including the state’s 12 weeks

Major achievements

- In order to strengthen equality and in the company, a strategic initiative called Vostok was launched in
2012. It includes activities such as Code Pub and Tech EQ, which aim to build networks and share
know-how among women working in ICT.
- The Code Pub initiative sprang from Vostok. A meet-up event for women who wish to learn more
about IT, the Code Pub is open to beginner as well as professional developers. If a woman would like to
join a Code Pub event, all she has to do is go to the local meetup.com site. For more information, visit
www.netlight.com/we-are-all-equal/, and see previous tech meet-ups on social media here via
#thecodepub.
- TechEQ, another initiative that grew from Vostok, works for gender equality in the IT and tech
industries in Sweden and Finland. The network has grown to around 100 companies, all of which are
listed on techeq.se. The Code Pub in Finland, Women in Tech and Girls in Tech joined forces and
created an events calendar for female tech enthusiasts at http://techeq.fi. The WordPress site was built
by female hackers during a Code Pub event at Netlight Helsinki.
- The latest initiative inspired by TechEq movement is “He for She” practice, where men at Netlight
are included in the work towards a more equal IT industry. This makes the equality work in itself more
equal. The CEO of Netlight Erik Ringertz (a man) is very engaged in driving diversity and equality.