We believe that business is one of the main forces of societal change. Diversity and inclusion have long been a priority area for Axel Johnson. Our driving force is that we want to have managers and employees who reflect our customers and society at large. That makes us a more successful company, we understand our customers better and recruit from the entire talent pool. We also want to contribute to increased inclusion in society.
In 2014 we set goals for diversity and inclusion at Axel Johnson. 2021 we are setting the bar higher with new goals for Axel Johnson’s managers and employees. We want to become a leader in diversity and inclusion.
The data shows the results for Sweden. We measure the Group’s diversity through anonymized and aggregated data sets from Statistics Sweden. Our definition of international background is the same as Statistics Sweden’s definition of foreign background, which comprises individuals either born abroad or having both parents born abroad.
We track our development annually and our companies undertake several activities to reach the goals.
A competence-based and inclusive recruitment process is a foundation for reaching our diversity and inclusion goals. In 2022 we developed a best practice for inclusive recruitment that summarizes our most important recommendations so Axel Johnson can achieve broad diversity and inclusion in all its recruitment and promotion processes. Find the recommendations here.
Axelerate supports our companies through Group-wide activities, training and knowledge-raising initiatives. It also works with the development of knowledge-based tools for inclusive recruitment and promotion, as well as with KPIs and goals. The ambition is for Axel Johnson to become a leader in diversity and inclusion.
The driving force in our efforts is that we want leaders and employees who can best understand and meet our customers and the society we operate in. We want to ensure that we recruit and develop employees on objective grounds, and thus are using 100 percent of the talent pool. Axelerate has identified the following five focus areas to make Axel Johnson’s companies leaders in diversity and inclusion:
1. Inclusive recruitment and promotion
Ensure that recruitment and promotion processes are based on knowledge and skills.
2. Inclusive workplace
Equip leaders and employees to be inclusive in practice and to follow up when employees experience inclusion and discrimination.
3. Marketing & communication
Ensure diversity and inclusion in marketing and communication.
4. Product and service development
Strengthen innovation and development of range and offers for possible new customer groups.
5. Community involvement
Collaborations and new initiatives to reduce exclusion in society.
