We are speaking to Tove Möller about multiculturalism, equality, equal representation, accessibility and inclusivity. There are many ways to describe and talk about diversity & inclusion. This has been your area of business for many, many years, Tove, and for a few years, you are helping companies to embrace this topic and to make companies bridge the gap between the employees and the company, as well as make the companies more accessible. You do this out of your own company The Accessible Society.
Why is this topic so important to you?
Diversity, for me, is the fact that we are all different from the next person.
"Even identical twins are different from each other!"
Many are too eager to try to place people around them into boxes, often without considering that person's obvious right to define themselves. I think diversity is more connected to human rights than to anything else. I also think we need to stop using ourselves as the template for how others should be, think, act and live, as we often tend to do.
Why should Swedish companies embrace diversity and how can Swedish companies see the added value on this topic?
My experience is that more and more are working towards creating diversity now. That is really good of course, but we also do need to advance from the “slogans” and all the talking. I am hoping that we all by now are aware of the benefits, such as better innovation and more creativity, increased revenue due to more perspectives before decision-making.
And we also know that there is a fight for attracting the competence we need, and how well a diverse company is doing when it comes to finding talents. So the next step would be to create more universally designed work environments. Where there would be no need to adjust surroundings “just because you were hired” – rather than the environment permitting you to be yourself and not the odd one out, both when it comes to accessibility in the physical sense and also the social sense. The labour market is facing major challenges today. The welfare sector is in an acute state with a rapidly growing need for competence, and in the coming years, the sector is responsible for a major generation shift. This is also true for many companies in general. Questions about recruitment and skills supply will therefore be of great importance.
At the same time, we also see today that different groups find it difficult to enter the labour market - people with disabilities, people with foreign backgrounds, and young people without completed schooling.
"In order for us to have a long-term sustainable and inclusive working life, we need to be better at taking care of people's differences "
- And having jobs that reflect the whole of Sweden's population. Working life needs to be designed, planned and organized based on an inclusive basis; a physical and social work environment and a workplace that works and serves everyone - that is, universally designed workplaces.
A perspective shift in the view of our workplaces and a working life designed for everyone, a working life where differences are accommodated and taken into account.
You work for a company owned by the Swedish state. It is obvious that Swedish is your company language. However, you do embrace diversity within your organization.
I have the great fortune to have worked within Swedavia where the management is truly committed to creating a diverse company. We have come far but no one is ever going to be able to say that they are done. It is continuous everyday work, but the goals and targets are clear. We had quite a few different approaches to reach our objectives, and we were always positive to try new avenues for better results. We worked through all the policies and adjusted them, we were active in different networks to find the best partnerships. We also had interns, trainees and a diverse group consisting of approx 40 colleagues that were active every day, in many ways, they were the bearers of culture, in their everyday work.
Another specific that I am extremely proud of is the fact that we introduced a unisex choice for our uniformed staff. We had a dialogue with the customers using the assistance services for travellers with special needs, which means that competence within the field of different disabilities is key. And another example, was when publishing pictures on social media text-describing the pictures to facilitate for the customers with vision loss. The written text is possible to read through voice synthesis, so we added the pictures so to speak. There was so much to be proud of, every single day!
You have said you have come further than just talking about ‘diversity’ and you wish to formulate the content of the word differently. Explain?
This is an important topic because, as I see it none of us choose the way we look, where we were born or what year, male or female, or how tall we are or whatever else and else on the surface. When it comes to opportunities such as getting a job, what matter is competence, and not in general, the right competence for the vacant job. No one has the right to out of their bias obstruct others.
A friend of mine once said: "Diversity is like receiving an invitation to the party (representation), Inclusion is the opportunity to dance at the party. If you don't get to dance you will not come back to the party another time". Possibly true both when it comes to attracting new members of staff, as well as customers?
Tove, thank you for your valuable insights!
