”We have a more important role than ever.”
Culture - key to accessing everything managers and employees have to offer
Since 2023, Petra Karmteg, COO DNB Sweden, has been the Chair of Diversity Charter Sweden. Under her leadership, the network has made strategic changes to strengthen its influence and increase member benefit. Here, Petra shares her reflections on the successes achieved, the challenges ahead, and why the role of the network is more important than ever.
Three success factors for Diversity Charter Sweden
Diversity Charter Sweden: What have been the biggest successes so far during your presidency?
Petra Karmteg: - I would like to highlight three things in particular:
Clearer vision and strategy.
We did a lot of work at the beginning of my Presidency to ensure that our activities really help us achieve our vision.
Greater focus on member benefits.
In my first year, we conducted a membership survey which showed that our members needed more support to get more out of their membership. This led us to adjust our strategy, we now spend more time strengthening existing members and have slightly slowed down the pace of bringing in new ones.
Stronger voice in the public debate.
We have met with most political parties and our first opinion piece was published in the spring. We have now laid the foundations to become a bigger force in the discussion on diversity and inclusion in Sweden.
Global turbulence a risk for diversity work
Diversity Charter Sweden: What are the biggest challenges you see right now?
Petra Karmteg: - There is, of course, a risk that the turbulent external environment, such as the US administration's decision to drop the concept of DEI, may influence Swedish companies to back off in their diversity efforts. Fortunately, we are not yet seeing any clear signs of this - on the contrary, we are noticing some counter-reactions.
- But the greater the real impact on companies' balance sheets, the greater the risk that diversity efforts will be deprioritised.
Diversity Charter Sweden: How do you see Diversity Charter Sweden's role in driving diversity issues forward?
Petra Karmteg: - Given the challenges we face right now, we have a more important role than ever! With our link to the EU and our network of European Charters, we can truly be a counterweight to countries like the United States - and I think that will be extremely important going forward.
Diversity issues of the future
Diversity Charter Sweden: What do you think are the most important diversity issues to focus on in the future?
Petra Karmteg: - We will continue to work broadly and highlight all aspects of diversity. But we also need to focus even more on the external trends we see.
- AI is a particularly important issue. If companies around the world stop prioritising diversity work, it will affect how AI systems are trained. The risk is that the bias we see in humans today will be transferred to AI, and I hardly dare to think about what consequences that could have in the long run.
Diversity Charter Sweden
Diversity Charter Sweden has been a driving force for diversity and inclusion in the workplace for 16 years - and the work is more important than ever. With strong leaders and committed members, we can continue to make a difference, both in Sweden and internationally.
Diversity Charter Sweden 2010-2026, together we create change
Diversity Charter Sweden is one of the world's largest and official networks for diversity and inclusion at work, operating in all 27 EU countries.
