Metsähallitus continues its determined efforts to strengthen diversity, equality and non-discrimination by publishing an updated plan that sets out concrete actions for building a safer and more inclusive work community. This plan is underpinned by internationally recognised human rights and responsibility principles, including the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Our aim is to ensure that these principles guide Metsähallitus’ daily actions, promoting equity and safeguarding everyone’s equal opportunities to act and be treated without discrimination.
Respect for human and fundamental rights underpins everything Metsähallitus does. The updated plan strengthens our commitment to a work environment in which diverse backgrounds, languages and identities are recognised and considered strengths. The aim of the plan is to actively prevent discrimination and harassment as well as to improve the experienced equity of both personnel and customers. The key is ensuring that everyone can feel appreciated, regardless of their age, gender, ethnic or national background, language, beliefs, functional capacity, health, sexual orientation or any other personal characteristics.
In Metsähallitus’ strategy, the plan is placed under the theme Competent and equal personnel and serves as a concrete tool for putting it into practice. Director General Juha Niemelä stresses the importance of the plan as part of the organisation’s strategy:
“The work on diversity, equality and non-discrimination plays a key role in terms of our responsibility to develop the value of nature and our shared wealth. We wish to ensure that our activities are equitable for our personnel, customers and partners alike, and that everyone can do their work as themselves, trustfully and feeling appreciated.”
Niemelä explains that the updated plan will improve Metsähallitus’ capabilities for building our shared future and continue the good work towards a fairer and more diverse organisation done previously.
Versatile data have been collected to support the plan update, including a survey titled For a more equitable work community directed at the personnel, the results of the annual personnel survey, an evaluation of measures taken during the previous planning period, and a current state analysis based on the personnel structure and a diversity management tool offered by the corporate responsibility network FIBS.
HRD Specialist Sanni Hagman, who was in charge of preparing the plan, describes the process:
“Having this opportunity to prepare the plan was great. We made excellent progress during the previous planning period, took concrete measures and improved the personnel’s competence regarding the themes of the plan. This work laid a strong foundation for continuing the journey towards a more diverse, equal and equitable Metsähallitus.”
Over the next three years, Metsähallitus will focus on building up a diverse, equal and equitable work community as well as preventing discrimination and harassment, both in employer activities and in services offered to customers, partners and stakeholders. The plan also contains measures based on the previous document for promoting Sámi people’s equality in Metsähallitus’ actions as an employer.
Highlights of the plan period:
1. Diversity, equality and non-discrimination in the work community
- We will continue to provide training on diversity, equity, inclusive communication and unconscious prejudices.
- In our efforts to develop management and supervisors’ work, the themes of equity and diversity will be strengthened.
2. Recruitment
- We will continue the use of anonymous recruitments in the next planning period.
3. Inclusion and non-discrimination
- We will make systematic efforts to prevent harassment, discrimination and inappropriate treatment.
- We will create stronger rules for ensuring psychological safety in the work community.
- We will develop intervention models and find better ways of bringing up shortcomings.
4. Accessibility
- We will provide the personnel with training on how to produce accessible materials.
5. Promoting the Sámi languages and the rights of the Sámi
- We will translate recruitment ads into the Sámi languages when recruiting in the Sámi Homeland.
Click on this link to read Metsähallitus’ new Diversity, Equality and Non-Discrimination Plan.
Further information:
Sanni Hagman, HRD Specialist, Metsähallitus sanni.hagman@metsa.fi tel. +358 405272740
Juha Niemelä, Director General, Metsähallitus, juha.niemela@metsa.fi, tel. +358 (0)40 500 3681