At Nokia, we believe that inclusion and diversity (I&D) are not just buzzwords or nice-to-haves, but critical to our culture and our success. They are must-haves in which we want to invest.

We are proud of our diverse teams. We truly believe that bringing people together from different cultures and backgrounds and with different skills, identities and perspectives creates a better employee experience and makes us stronger on innovation, customer engagement and operational performance. We are committed to a culture that values and respects everyone and provides all our people with an equal opportunity to grow. 

We are starting 2023 with a bang. It is great to see that our progress has been acknowledged by three awards recognizing organizations that go above and beyond to create an inclusive and diverse workplace: the 2023 Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, the Nordic Business Diversity Index and the Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion. 

Nokia is committed to rooting out gender inequality, so we are pleased that that we are listed on Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index (GEI) for the fifth year in a row. Our ranking shows we are firmly on the right track. It is very satisfying to say that we achieved a Bloomberg GEI overall score of 83.03 percent – our highest score so far and considerably higher than the tech industry’s average score of 72.36 percent. 

Bloomberg developed its GEI to track the performance of companies committed to supporting gender equality through women’s representation in the leadership and talent pipeline, policy development, transparency in data publishing and other important activities that drive gender equality, and it feels very gratifying to have been recognized. 

Our scores in Equal Pay & Gender Pay Parity (88.24 percent), Inclusive Culture (87.76 percent), Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies (80 percent), and External Brand (75 percent) were all above the industry average, as well as above the overall multi-sector average. If you’re interested in seeing a breakdown of the scoring system, please visit Bloomberg’s site.

We are not perfect, however. We do know that. Our GEI results dipped in 2021 and we are pleased they have recovered so well but also remain aware there is still much work to be done. Our lowest-scoring section is in women’s representation in our ‘Leadership & Talent Pipeline’. With a score of 47.5 percent, we are below the industry average (48.28 percent), so we will be working hard to continue detecting bias in our processes and providing impactful development opportunities to ensure a more representative pipeline. 

The Nordic Business Diversity Index (NBDI) ranked Nokia among the top-performing companies in the Nasdaq Helsinki Large Cap category. The NBDI is published every second year and studies diversity in senior leadership positions in Nordic countries. This year, it focused on Finland and Sweden. Assessed across the gender, age, nationality and educational background of the Board of Directors and the Group Leadership Teams in 2022, the NBDI once again ranked Nokia as the second-best company in the region. 

I was also delighted that the Finnish Foundation for Share Promotion awarded Nokia as the ‘2023 Promotor of Diversity’. This award recognizes Finnish companies that nurture and advance I&D in the workplace. 

All three awards are recognition that we are heading firmly in the right direction. But they must also spur us on to continue striving towards an even more inclusive culture. 

As well as being the right thing to do, embracing I&D is the smart thing to do. It’s critical to our success, leading to a more positive and creative working environment, fostering our innovative mindset, helping us to attract and retain talent from diverse backgrounds, and strengthening our relationships with customers and stakeholders. That is what we at Nokia will continue to work towards in 2023 and beyond.