In celebration of International Women’s Day, Q-Free considers gender equity within its ranks and pledges to increase diversity.

It might feel as if women’s presence in the workplace is a given considering they make up 50% of the population. Yet when it comes to work, women are still restricted in terms of job opportunities, earn 23% less than their male counterparts, and bear a disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care and domestic work. And that’s just the beginning.

At Q-Free, we believe women’s rights are human rights and gender equity in the workplace positively effects the entire organization. But it doesn’t stop there. We believe gender equity at work encourages gender equality at home and even positively impact global communities and the economy.

Having greater gender equity into the workplace brings different knowledge, skills, and points of view to the table. This multiplicity of perspectives sparks creativity and innovation and helps us spot and seize new opportunities. In essence, it is a crucial component of our past and future success.

As a company in the traditionally male-dominated transportation industry, Q-Free can make a difference. We have the opportunity to be part of the solution and take a proactive approach to gender equity. This is part of why we selected Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) as one of our Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Set forth by the United Nations, the 17 interlinked SDGs are designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” For Q-Free, this means we want to do our part to create sustainable economic growth, diversification for economic productivity, and decent work with equal pay. Accordingly, we aim to prioritize and improve gender equity and diversity within our ranks in the coming years.

“At Q-Free, only 18% of our employees are women; among managers the share is even lower,” said Q-Free President and CEO Håkon Volldal. “I genuinely believe our company would be more successful and a better place to work if the ratio of men and women was more balanced. Currently, we are simply not taking full advantage of the available talent pool.”

Underscoring the company’s commitment to gender equity and SDG 8, Volldal added, “As a first step, I would like to set a short-term goal for us to increase the share of women working at Q-Free to 25%. This means that we need to actively look for women in our ongoing recruitment processes. We also need to become better at promoting women to top positions and understand how Q-Free, as a company, can retain and develop female talents.”

In celebration of International Women’s Day (March 8), several team members joined the International Women’s Day Challenge for 2021, #ChooseToChallenge and also shared one trait they appreciate the most about working at Q-Free: Together we are changing the movements of life.