Yesterday, March 8^th, marked the date of the International Women’s Day. A day, according to Wikipedia, dedicated to the respect, appreciation and love towards women for their economic, political and social achievements. And while people around the world posted images of themselves wearing pink hats, at NetEnt we know that the work and dedication put into a creating a gender-equal and divers-accepting society needs more than just one dedicated day. Every day work and effort is fundamental to promote a positive change.

With offices in 7 different countries around the world, games offered in 22 languages, a workforce representing nearly 50 nationalities, a gender balanced Senior Management Team and a 39/61 ratio among all employees, one could say NetEnt is the definition of diversity; Something we actively work on developing and promote proudly. Research shows that a diverse set of employees improve the effectiveness in an organization by providing a more diverse set of skills. It also shows that cooperation increases when employees perceive their company as accepting of diversity and they show to be more satisfied and happier. Other studies have shown that gender diverse companies also perform better and show better financial return. Having access to the right talent is crucial and at NetEnt we’re committed to not lose out on skills of half of the population.

50/50 by 2020
Since 2012, the implementation of a gender balanced work environment it has been a part of our corporate strategy. We have set a clear corporate goal: 50/50 in all teams throughout the entire organization by 2020, and to reach it, we’ve established a series of actions that we continuously work with:

• Diversity Group: a representation of NetEnters who meet quarterly to discuss what work and actions are needed to progress towards creating a divers and gender balanced NetEnt
• Equal Opportunities Policy: We offer equal opportunities, rights and obligations for all employees, regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, transgender identity or expression.
• Statistics: Monitor our progress to make sure we are on track
• Knowledge: Awareness and continuous training of management and all employees.
• Recruitment process: We make sure we always have a diverse candidate list to work with require external recruiters to present this to us as well and have a divers representation while conducting the interviews.
• Role models: We know that the tech, especially the iGaming, industry are far behind when it comes to gender diversity. Therefore, we want to be role models and help lead the industry in the right direction. Our work has been recognized, for example, we annually make AllBright’s white list of gender equal companies, been nominated two years in a row for the AllBright prize, and scooped second place amongst all the publicly listed companies in Sweden and been ask to speak at public conventions on our gender balance work.
• Communications: Our  progress is frequently communicated internally and we proudly promote our goal externally.

To sum things up, at NetEnt we’re taking gender diversity to the next level. The goal is clear: 50/50 by 2020, so we together can create an environment in where we all can thrive, innovate and have fun at the same time.

“It’s not a zero-sum game, but a win-win that will result in more opportunity and more happiness for everybody.” – Michael Kimmel