The new legislation for gender and management places responsibility for the development of the policy with the executive board, and specific requirements have been set for the policy.

The following appears from the Danish Business Authority's latest guidance for legislation:

"The company is free to choose the policy that is best suited for the company in question to increase the proportion of the underrepresented gender. However, it is crucial that a policy is supported by concrete measures, including specific actions and results as a result . It is thus the opinion of the Danish Business Authority and the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority that a declaration of intent that the company "will work to get more women in management" is not sufficiently concrete to constitute a policy."

It thus appears that the policy must contain specific actions and their results.

It makes sense to draw up an overall policy and a more specified action plan that contains concrete measures within relevant areas, as well as setting targets, sub-targets and indicators, so that it is possible to monitor the efforts on an ongoing basis.

The overall purpose of the policy is to create better opportunities for the recruitment of women to the upper management levels.

DEI for change can help you prepare an effective policy and action plan that is based on the organization's current situation and ensure that the organization achieves its objectives.

When you have to draw up an effective policy and action plan to implement DEI and get more women in management, it is important to address both structure and culture, and do it systematically. There are often embedded problems that are conditioned by many years of unconscious bias in the organizations themselves, and these must of course be thoroughly weeded out.

DEI for change is happy to advise through the process and make concrete recommendations based on many years of experience and knowledge in the field.

It is possible to bypass some consequences of unconscious bias by simply introducing more modern and transparent structures. But that requires knowing exactly what is going on.

DEI for change recommends that you prepare a knowledge base that is based on data from your own organization plus professional knowledge about DEI, gender, organization and management.

A serious policy and action plan should include the following themes, all of which must be elucidated and transformed in a DEI perspective, if a long-term and successful effect is to be ensured.

1. Leadership and values

Here, work should be done on whether the management values ​​support diversity, whether they are translated into concrete management skills and whether these are implemented throughout the organisation. There will also be a focus on the value of management education and training, as well as monitoring the values ​​in practice.

2. Formal and informal culture

Here, we should take a closer look at how an informal culture can stand in the way of new development, diversity and real competence-based recruitment. Methods can be worked on to create a common new culture that is inclusive and connected to the management values. Finally, a loose and incoherent structure can be a contributing factor to the emergence of an unhealthy informal culture.

3. Recruitment practices

Work should be done with concrete tools for a general professionalization of

the recruitment processes by integrating diversity and transparency, in order to

ensure that competences and qualifications come before personal preferences and networks.

4. Working time, performance and efficiency

Here you can take a closer look at how to develop more inclusive methods to measure efficiency and results instead of visibility and long working hours.

5. Salary, respect and recognition

Here you can see how to systematize new methods to ensure recognition and respect for managers and employees, and how to develop new pay systems that promote equity.

6. Career development, networks and mentors

Efforts should be made to develop transparency around career opportunities that ensure diversity and how to work with healthy professional networks that are not exclusionary. Possibilities for diversity-promoting sponsorship and mentoring schemes can also be included.

7. Communication

Communication is crucial in relation to working professionally with diversity, and work should be done with both language, information and external/internal communication. Furthermore, it is important to look more closely at the use of microaggressions and dominance techniques in internal communication and in decision-making rooms.

8. Work-life balance

Here, the focus should be on how to ensure a good balance between leisure and work life for everyone, regardless of gender, and how and which measures can be implemented to the benefit of everyone. There should also be a focus on both the formal and the informal culture.

9. Leave

Efforts should be made to implement gender-neutral leave options, and to integrate parental leave as ordinary leave. The focus should be on how to secure methods and processes in the organization to replace employees/managers on leave and how to secure the transitions. Finally, the latest legal regulations on parental leave must be integrated.

10. Sexual Harassment

Work should be done on methods to register and counteract sexual harassment, as well as the development of methods to handle cases. In addition, there may be a focus on culture change, language and the organisation's social events etc. There is also new legislation in the area that must be implemented.

Knowledge base II - Policy and action plan will uncover the above themes and at the same time make clear recommendations for the design of policy and action plan.