Swedish PE Firms Push for Diversity as Boardrooms Slow to Change
Swedish PE Firms Push for Diversity as Boardrooms Slow to Change
(Bloomberg) -- A trade group representing the private equity and venture capital industries is rolling out an educational program to tackle a lack of diversity across the Nordic region and Baltic states.
Improving diversity in boardrooms and top management “has come at a much too slow pace,” according to Monalotte Theorell Christofferson, chairman of the Swedish Private Equity & Venture Capital Association.
The new initiative, which is being run by the association, Nasdaq Inc. and Allbright, will offer a course to raise awareness that “greater diversity leads to better decisions and better returns,” the chairman said.
A report from AllBright recently showed that equality has worsened slightly during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the share of listed firms with no female representation in top management increased to 21% in 2020 from 20% the year before.
“This is an issue that the business world has to continue to work a lot with,” Theorell Christofferson said by phone. “Despite the awareness and many important measures already taken, it takes a lot of time, unfortunately.”
Theorell Christofferson, who is also Chief Financial Officer at Stena Sessan AB, says she has also seen “great interest” for discussing these topics from the investor community.
The new course will be offered to Nasdaq’s listed companies in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Baltic states, as well as firms linked to the Swedish association and its counterparts in Denmark and Finland.
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