Gender diversity has been a key focus area at BearingPoint Finland during the past years, and work towards better diversity continues to be on the company’s agenda every day. During the past three years, the proportion of female employees has increased with 60 % at BearingPoint Finland, and today, 41 % of the company’s consultants are women. Even though there is still work to be done, consistent efforts are paying off.
Leena Venermo
Leena Venermo, Head of HR at BearingPoint Finland, shares examples of the actions Bearing point has taken, which have contributed to the positive changes.
Analyzing gender data and setting goals
Analyzing gender data has built the foundation for our activities. Details about the overall gender distribution and the gender distribution across career levels help us focus on the right things. Analyzing recruitment and retention data from a gender perspective can also shed light to where activities are needed the most. Together with our leadership, we have set specific goals, such as 40 % of our consultants being women by 2025 – a target we have already achieved! This means that we can set more ambitious goals for the coming years.
Employer branding and recruitment
We collaborate with various female networks, such as Women in Tech, Aalto Women in Business and Mothers in Business. In addition, we host an annual Women's Day event for students. With these collaborations, we aim to encourage women to apply to consulting and technology related fields.
When it comes to recruitment, we have had a diversity specialist review our job ads and suggest more gender-neutral wordings for them. During the recruitment process, our aim is that each candidate gets to meet to both male and female interviewers. Having several interviewers meet each candidate during the recruitment process ensures that the evaluation is based on diverse perspectives. Our interviewers also participate in a training, where we discuss unconscious bias in recruitment.
Involving the people
We have a dedicated team consisting of consultants and HR professionals, who work together to improve gender diversity. Anyone interested in promoting diversity is welcome to join the team and contribute to the planning and execution of different activities. Regular surveys about gender related topics provide an opportunity for all our people to make their voices heard.
Offering internal networks and development opportunities
Women@BearingPoint is an internal network that supports women in building internal connections. It is also a forum for women to coach each other and learn from each other, and to share inspiring career stories. Women’s Leadership Development Program was created to support the career development of the female participants. The program content was designed to deepen the participants’ understanding of our business, strategy and purpose, to increase self-awareness of own competencies and behaviors, and to develop critical leadership skills.
Providing family friendly benefits
As a family friendly workplace, we want to provide support for both mothers and fathers in balancing family and work. In addition to having flexibility in terms of when and where our people work, we offer various benefits for parents. Last fall, we introduced a truly equal and gender-neutral family leave benefit, which allows our people to have 3 months paid parental leave, regardless of how long they have been employed by BearingPoint. In addition, we offer a company paid nurse to take care of a sick child, as well as two paid days off when a child starts kindergarten or elementary school for the first time. Mothers are also offered a company-paid membership to the Mothers in Business network.
"We are committed to continue our journey towards a more diverse, inclusive, and equal workplace. Not only because we know that diversity has a positive impact on the organization’s bottom line, but because diversity, equity and inclusion are important values as such."
Mothers in Business on järjestö äideille, jotka ovat kiinnostuneita urastaan. Meidän tavoitteenamme on perheystävällisempi ja tasa-arvoisempi työelämänä sekä naisten työmarkkina-aseman parantaminen. Järjestämme vuosittain satoja tapahtumia, jotka kehittävät ammatillista osaamista ja lisäävät hyvinvointia. Yli neljän tuhannen MiB-äidin joukko takaa vertaistuen ja arvokkaiden verkostojen kasvamisen. Liity jo tänään - rakkaudesta uraan ja perheeseen.
