Knowit is keen to raise awareness of its own organisation in terms of equality and unconscious partiality – so-called “bias”. A balanced equality regime means that there is always an awareness of the cultural journey the company is participating in and the cultural changes the organisation is looking for. We face challenges as regards equality, related to gender, ethnicity and minorities. The project is particularly relevant when it comes to recruitment and career development. We believe that Knowit is neither better nor worse than others, but we choose to share the experiences we have had in our project.
“We call the project Genus, and it’s about a major change initiative at the Group level that transcends national boundaries and encompasses different companies. All Knowit companies are giving the project high priority, and all senior and middle management in the Nordic region are carrying out a number of workshops. We also use our own expertise in innovation, change processes, culture and structure under the guidance of our own management advisors and organisational psychologists. The initiative creates ‘aha’ experiences, and stimulates us in both our HR work and our recruitment”, says CEO Per Wallentin.
"Bias is to disproportionately and unconsciously arouse a sense of being for or against a thing, person or group when compared with another – and usually in a way that is deemed unfair."
Research shows that we are a long way from the conscious rational and independent beings we would like to believe we are. A “bias” is an unconscious psychological pattern that causes a person's subjective image of the outside world to deviate from reality. The result is an unconscious assessment of certain individuals as being inferior to others, without there being any difference in their performance.
In this article, we take up the issue of gender awareness between women and men. We are aware that not everyone identifies themselves according to binary gender roles, and hope that everyone is able to recognise themselves in the article.
Our ambition is to develop
• a modern workplace with an inclusive climate where employees are recruited, thrive and develop their careers.
• a leadership that is inclusive.
• managers and staff to be ambassadors for ensuring that an equal workplace is the best workplace
• a recruitment process that better responds to equality issues.
• increased cooperation and more efficient use of common experience and competence
• zero tolerance and proactive action against harassment and discrimination
"Research shows that women usually seek a job only when they feel they meet all the recruitment requirements. Men, on the other hand, are looking for positions where they only meet about 50-60 percent of the requirements."