Hafnafjörður receives the equality balance recognition award 2023

Hafnafjörður receives recognition for the second year in a row

56 companies, 11 municipalities and 22 public bodies are recognized by the Balance scale, FKA’s power project. Hafnarfjörður is in this group, but the recognition goes to those who have achieved gender equality at the top levels, of at least 40/60. Hafnarfjarðarbær was one of the municipalities and companies that in 2019 signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work towards the goals of FKA’s Balance scale and to encourage greater gender balance within their respective areas. The town also received the recognition in 2022. In 2023, 31 new participants were added to the group of participants in FKA’s Balance scale.

The FKA website

Excellent results among the participants in FKA’s balance scale

The equality balance scale, the power project of the Federation of Women in Business (FKA), recently held a digital conference, We all lose on homogeneity – Equality is a decision. There, Eliza Reid introduced the recipients of the balance scale award, who have achieved gender equality on executive levels. This year, there was a record number of recognition award winners, 89. Excellent results among the participants in FKA’s equality balance scale. In addition to FKA, the Prime Minister’s Office, Creditinfo, Deloitte, PepperTBWA, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Corporation, the Icelandic Fisheries Association and Sjóvá, stand behind the recognition award.

Gender equality has a direct impact on our environment

At the 2020 conference of the Balance scale, a new “Jafnréttislundur” (equality grove) was introduced, which the Reykjavík Forestry Association provided. The grove is located at the main entrance to Heiðmörk, on the Vífilsstaðir side, and is the first thing people see when they enter Heiðmörk. Many species of trees were chosen as a symbol of the diversity that the Balance scale is promoting. This year, 89 trees will be planted, for each recipient of the award in 2023, and a total of 262 trees will have been planted in the Equality Grove in the last 4 years. It is the goal of the Balance scale to repeat this every year and it would be a pleasure to see the slope filled with trees in the coming years, with increased equality.

Accessible and clear presentation of information

The balance scale maintains a dashboard designed to keep track of statistics on gender equality. That shows the situation as it is at any given time. The Balance scale’s dashboard contains all key information on the status of gender equality in the Icelandic workforce, such as the gender ratios of founders of companies, CEOs and board of directors. There you can also find information on gender ratios of university graduates, gender status within industries and the GemmaQ gender scale for listed companies. The dashboard, developed by Creditinfo, Deloitte and the Equality Balance Council, makes the information available in a simple and clear way. There has been a strong desire among companies, municipalities and public individuals, to work on gender equality issues when it comes to senior management in Iceland. There are now 239 participants in the Balance scale.