Equal opportunity
Our continuing objective is to be a truly open and inclusive employer. In this environment, with zero tolerance for discrimination, all employees have equal opportunity to achieve their full potential – resulting in a more diverse workplace.
Our commitment
We are committed to non-discrimination in all employment practices, policies, benefits and procedures and we work diligently to make sure that all our managers and employees understand that there is zero tolerance for discrimination. Neither employees, nor potential employees, should feel that they are or could be the subject of discrimination at Swedish Match.
At Swedish Match we put equal opportunities first and foremost in our work toward non-discrimination and diversity. We are dedicated to having an open and inclusive work environment where all our employees shall have equal opportunities to achieve their full potential, regardless of personal status. We take a proactive approach for diversity and against structural discrimination and norms that may stand in the way of equal opportunities.
The scope of this focus area is our own operations.
Our goal
Our continuing objective is to be a truly open and inclusive employer. In this environment, with zero tolerance for discrimination, all employees have equal opportunity to achieve their full potential – resulting in a more diverse workplace.
- No employees should feel that they are, or could be, the subject of discrimination at the workplace.
- To have at least 40 percent of each gender in senior management1).
- To increase diversity in cultural backgrounds.
1) Defined as participants in the Company’s Long Term Incentive (LTI) program, composed of 39 individuals in 2020.
Our approach
Tone from the top for equal opportunity
We are convinced that a diverse workforce and diverse management groups are positive for our business. Diversity creates value in and of itself, and a balanced workforce improves our chances of recruiting and retaining the best talent. We have identified gender and cultural background to be the areas where the Company could benefit most from an increased focus.
We believe that the most important element of our efforts is to foster a genuine culture of equal opportunity with the right tone from the top. The Group Management Team (GMT) is fully committed to our equal opportunity efforts. Progress is continuously being monitored and senior managers are mindful to set clear examples that help developing and fostering the culture. Many actions are taken each year to ensure that we create and maintain an inclusive work environment. We continually have initiatives to assess and improve our culture from a diversity perspective. We monitor our recruitments and promotions, organize gender equality programs, perform detailed equal pay analyses and conduct other equal employment opportunity efforts. Employee satisfaction and perceived ability to advance and develop are tracked through a global employee opinion survey which also includes parameters on discrimination.
How we achieve equal opportunity
The processes for promotions and recruitments are very important aspects of shaping and developing a company culture. They are also key elements in achieving a more diverse workforce. We work hard to make sure that these processes are non-discriminatory. This will benefit our equal opportunity efforts both in the long and short term. We consider it to be strategically important to develop and promote internal personnel and we have been successful in filling many vacancies for senior positions with internal candidates. We, therefore, consider a diverse talent pool to be a key element of achieving a more diverse workforce at the senior management level over time. The GMT thoroughly reviews the pool of often relatively junior talented employees from several perspectives, including diversity, and discuss means to become more effective in ensuring a large and diverse pool of employees with a mixed set of skills that can advance far in the organization. For more immediate effects external recruitment is an important tool. We view every external recruitment as an opportunity to truly ensure that we scan the entire market for the very best candidate. Experience has taught us that norms and existing structures, (e.g. candidate pools at recruitment firms) mean that we need to be prepared to make extra efforts and extend the search processes in time to ensure that the group of identified candidates becomes more diverse. We challenge our managers to try to have diversity among the final candidates for any position to make sure that we find the most skilled and promising candidate.
Specifically related to gender balance at senior positions, we have identified that inequality and norms related to parental leave creates structural inequality in several countries and societies where we operate. At Swedish Match, the rules and policies related to parental leave vary from country to country, but the culture of encouraging a more equal sharing of parental leave is promoted from the top.
In Sweden, a policy has been implemented with additional parental leave compensation provided that the employee can show that parental leave has been equally shared with the partner. This will encourage both our male and female employees to share the parental leave equally and in 2020 this policy was updated to create further incentives for equal sharing by employees at the most senior positions.
Swedish Match derives its revenues and earnings mainly from outside Sweden. The Corporate functions, to a large but not complete extent based at the headquarters in Sweden, interact on a daily basis with colleagues across the globe. A diverse and international organization at the headquarters is a clear benefit in this environment. Colleagues from several continents work at the Stockholm headquarters, and the Company is proactively engaging in specific employer branding activities targeted at highly qualified international students.
We have procedures in place where any employee who feels that there has been a breach of our policy of zero tolerance for discrimination can report such breach. We also make sure that we have procedures in place to ensure that swift action is taken to investigate and resolve any such employee concerns without fear of retaliation.
How we monitor our progress
To follow up on diversity goals throughout the organization, KPIs have been established for the Group. We have a Group goal of having at least 40 percent of each gender in senior management. Gender balance targets, and subject to legal limitations targets relating to cultural background, are also set locally striving for greater balance over time, particularly with regard to more senior levels within the organization. Analysis, identification of relevant initiatives and following up of targets and KPIs are integrated into normal processes for strategic, financial and general business planning and reviews.
All divisions as well as Corporate functions present status and changes in gender balance within their organizations. These status updates are reviewed by the Group Management Team and provide greater awareness and involvement in the organization. They are also followed up in business and talent review meetings between the CEO and Division Presidents, typically five times per year.
Our businesses in both the US and Sweden present status reports within their organizations, concerning to protected groups and those from other cultural backgrounds or country of origin. In Sweden, information is being gathered to identify the percentage employees and managers who are either born in countries outside of Sweden, or who have two parents born in another country. In the US, ethnic or racial background is a factor which is reviewed.
Our progress
Highlights 2020
- Continued strong Group-wide focus on always ensuring diversity among applicants in order to find best candidates.
- The 2020 global employee survey results showed improvements on every parameter measured compared with the survey from 2018 and very good net promoter scores among both females and males compared to benchmark.
- The share of female managers was 38 percent in both Europe Division and Corporate functions.
- A diversity and inclusion committee was formed at the US Division head office in Richmond to further advance efforts within equal opportunity in the division and the office was awarded a Top Workplaces regional award for the 6th consecutive year.
- An anti-harassment and discrimination training was completed by almost 100 percent of the employees in the US.
- New policies were implemented to promote equal distribution of parental leave between caretakers for Swedish Match employees in Sweden.
Progress update
In the group of all employees, Swedish Match considers its workforce balanced from the gender perspective. However, women are still underrepresented at the management level. By the end of 2020, the share of female employees had increased to 41 percent but the share of female managers remained at 26 percent. In the group defined as senior management, the percentage of females was 18 percent up from 17 percent last year. The popularity of Swedish Match as a workplace and the resulting high retention rates both for managers and senior managers have resulted in slow progress but we noted positive trends in some parts of the Company. In some organizational units we are close to reaching our goals. We remain confident that our current and future focus on equal opportunity eventually will increase the share of females in management positions. What we do today will have effect in the long run.
A global employee survey was conducted during 2020. Overall the results are strong with improvements in every area compared to 2018. At Group level, the Company is above other similar companies in most areas where benchmarks are available. Most notably, the survey showed very strong results on how likely it is that an employee would recommend Swedish Match as an employer to a friend. This is true for both female and male employees which is encouraging in terms of assessing our culture from an equal opportunity perspective. It shows that our focus on culture has made a difference. Areas where results were weaker will be followed up in divisions and departments for further actions.
The Company has a goal that no employees should feel that they are, or could be, the subject of discrimination at the workplace. This is continually followed up in performance management discussions between managers and employees, and in 2020 it was also specifically followed up in the global employee survey. The survey showed that the share of employees who agree that their working group is free from discrimination at work (with regard to gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability and age) increased to 93 percent in 2020. Even if the result is on par with benchmark, it is not satisfying. The result will be followed up within all divisions and guide the development of further action plans.
A number of planned activities to specifically promote a culture of equal opportunity and diversity were planned for 2020 but could not be carried out as scheduled due to COVID-19. The planned activities will resume once the situation in relation to COVID-19 allows.
In Europe Division and at Corporate functions the work with equal opportunity has continued to be guided by our local equality plans. We have seen good progress over time in terms of gender balance at managerial level. The share of female managers was 38 percent in both Europe Division and at Corporate functions. During the year, new policies were implemented to promote equal distribution of parental leave between caretakers. At Corporate functions there were also specific activities to promote cultural diversity in our talent pool. This included recruitment efforts targeted at students who do not have Swedish as their first language.
The US Division completed an anti-harassment and discrimination training for almost all its employees. The work with Affirmative Action Plans was also carried out as planned. A diversity and inclusion committee was formed at the Richmond office to further advance efforts within equal opportunity and preparations were made to launch a division wide diversity and inclusion training initiative. During the year the US Division’s head office in Richmond was awarded Top Workplaces1) regional award for the sixth consecutive year.
1) An employer recognition program in the US. The event is hosted by the Richmond Times Dispatch. For more information, please refer to https://topworkplaces.com/company/swedish-match-north-amer/richmond/)/.
| Gender representation | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior management | |||
| Share of female members in senior management, %1) | 18 | 17 | 21 |
| Board of Directors | |||
| Total number of members in Board of Directors appointed by the Annual General Meeting | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Share of female members in Board of Directors appointed by the Annual General Meeting, % | 38 | 43 | 43 |
| Share of female members in Board of Directors appointed by the trade unions, % | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Employees2) | |||
| Share of female employees, % | 41 | 40 | 41 |
| Share of female managers with direct reports, % | 26 | 26 | 27 |
1) Defined as participants in the Company’s Long Term Incentive (LTI) program, composed of 39 individuals in 2020.
2) Represents figures at year-end.
| Cultural background, affected group’s share1), % | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | |||
| Sweden | 24 | 24 | 26 |
| The US | 16 | 16 | 17 |
| Managers | |||
| Sweden2) | 12 | 11 | 13 |
| The US | 11 | 10 | 10 |
1) In Sweden, the affected group is defined as employees born outside Sweden or born in Sweden with two parents born outside Sweden. In the US, the affected group is defined as non-caucasian.
2) In Sweden, the managers are defined as managers and any other employees with one of the hundred highest salaries in the Swedish Match workforce.
| Employees on discrimination1) | 2020 | 2018 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of employees who agree that their working group is free from discrimination at work, % | 93 | 92 | 94 |
1) The Group employee survey is conducted regularly. The difference between 2016 and 2018 was partly explained by the rephrasing of the question in the survey.
Sustainability tables in XLS format
Going forward:
- We will resume various planned initiatives to work with our culture from an equal opportunity and diversity perspective which have been postponed by COVID-19.
- We will continue our focus on managerial recruitment to promote diversity among final candidates.
- Our long term efforts related to diversity in our pool of talents will continue.
