Skip to content

Policy and action plan for gender equality

At Statistics Denmark, we are making an effort to attract and retain skilled and dedicated employees and we regard diversity in the composition of employees and management as a strength. For that reason, our objectives are:

  • balance in the gender distribution among employees and managers at all levels
  • equal recruitment and career opportunities for women and men
  • elimination of gender bias in pay structures.

Initiatives

To achieve our objectives, we are working on implementing concrete initiatives in the fields of recruitment and career.

Recruitment

We want our positions to be attractive to everyone irrespective of gender, and we aim for a recruitment practice that provides equal employment opportunities irrespective of gender. To support this objective, we have initiated a number of actions in connection with our recruitment process, e.g.: 

  • Job advertisements are checked for unconscious gender bias
    We continuously focus on describing vacancies in job advertisements and Statistics Denmark in a way that appeals to everyone irrespective of gender.
  • Both male and female candidates are invited for interviews and represented in the interview board
    In addition, we aim for both sexes to be represented in interview boards and for at least one person of each sex to be invited for an interview.
  • Increase awareness of unconscious biases 
    In collaboration with external experts in the area, we are building knowledge and awareness of the unconscious gender biases, focusing especially on managers, HR staff and others who make decisions about recruitment and career development.

Career

We want equal opportunities for everyone to develop and be promoted in terms of responsibilities and pay, irrespective of gender. This applies regardless of the different conditions of life, which may be gender-specific, e.g. in connection with parental leave. To achieve this objective, we support the dialogue on competence development, new assignments, increased responsibility and pay, e.g. with the following initiatives:

  • Talent development opportunities are made clear to everyone
    E.g., in connection with employee appraisal interviews, we have focused on making it clear for everyone what talent development opportunities the organisation offers, making it easier for everyone – regardless of gender – to see how their competences, ambitions and abilities can be developed to the benefit of both their personal career and the organisation.
  • Interviews to ensure sufficiently challenging tasks after parental leave
    Before and after parental leave, we hold parental leave interviews to ensure that the employee returns from leave to tasks of a corresponding nature and complexity and does not experience a setback in his or her career because of the parental leave. In support of the interviews, HR has prepared material for the managers on the rules regarding parental leave as well as an interview guide.
  • Transparency in reasons for pay rises and appointments
    Managers, the Supervisory Board and the Cooperation Committee continuously focus on providing clear reasons for appointments and pay rises. It promotes transparency in the decision process and reduces the risk of unconscious gender bias affecting the decisions. 

We have made an effort to incorporate the continuous work on implementing the actions in the organisation’s existing processes and to ensure the widest coherence possible with the general staff policy.

Data support

We use relevant data and statistics to support our work towards gender equality. E.g.:

  • An annual gender equality report
    Each year, we prepare a gender equality report showing e.g. the gender distribution of different staff groups and management levels as well as gender-specific earnings statistics, which allow us to regularly assess the extent of the gender equality gap and the effect of the activities initiated.
  • Surveying the prevalence of gender discrimination on a regular basis
    As part of surveying emotional health in the workplace and employee satisfaction in the organisation, permanent questions are included on gender-specific discrimination, harassment and offending actions. The survey is conducted every two years.

Follow-up

Statistics Denmark’s Supervisory Board regularly follows up on the initiatives and identifies any needs to adjust the plan.

Every year, the Supervisory Board and the Cooperation Committee discuss the gender equality status based on an annual gender equality report. The discussions result in identification of any need for new activities.

The policy and action plan for gender equality has been approved by Statistics Denmark’s Supervisory Board.