Diversity as key to success – information and practices through collaboration of 55 Rise and Shine, Alma Media, Jobly and Talouselämä

In 2024, Alma Media, Jobly, Talouselämä, and the 55 Rise and Shine movement joined forces to combat age discrimination in Finnish working life and to promote diversity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace. The collaboration included a comprehensive series of panel discussions aimed at highlighting perspectives on age equality.

– For Alma Media, it is crucial to promote diversity, equality, and inclusion in working life at the societal, corporate, and individual levels. The goal of the discussion series has been to bring attention to the challenges related to age equality and to dismantle age-related prejudices. The shared knowledge and practices are available for companies to use in promoting inclusion and diversity in the workplace, describes Elina Kukkonen, Alma Media’s SVP, Communications and Brand.

– Our aim is for organizations operating in Finland and every individual to take their responsibility for achieving age equality. In collaboration with Alma Media, Jobly, and Talouselämä, we have reached a large number of business decision-makers, and understanding of phenomena related to age equality has increased, complements Reetta Rajala, founder of the 55 Rise and Shine movement.

“Experience to Use, Finland to Rise Up”

In the first event in June, entrenched misconceptions and beliefs about Finland’s labor legislation and pension system were exploded. The panel included lawyer Kirsi Eksymä, Ilmarinen’s Kristiina Halonen, and Reetta Rajala from the 55 Rise and Shine movement, facilitated by Jussi Kärki from Talouselämä. The keynote speech was given by SOK’s Annina Hyvönen.

The panel unanimously agreed that age discrimination in Finland will be eliminated mainly by reshaping attitudes and hidden structures and recognizing one’s own cognitive biases, and that everyone can contribute to this: individuals, companies, societal decision-makers and influencers, and the media. On a societal level, concrete incentives can also be considered to promote the issue.

In August, attention was focused on employers’ expectations in personnel selection and the responsibility of the employee. The keynote was delivered by Kari Paananen from Bridge Impact, with the panel facilitated by Jussi Kärki from Talouselämä, and included Minna Rouru from KONE, Sari Nevanlinna from Veikkaus, and Reetta Rajala from the 55 Rise and Shine movement.

The panelists agreed that job seekers need to be able to succinctly summarize their skills and motivation specifically for the position they are applying for. Openness, authenticity, and clarifying one’s situation and goals in the job application process were seen as the best, if not the only, way to advance in recruitment processes.

Reetta Rajala challenged employers to be more open to candidates who may no longer be looking to advance their careers traditionally. They may have a genuine desire and strong motivation to return to an expert role, despite previous managerial positions.

In September, the focus was on the role of HR and supervisors in achieving age equality and the structures in companies that ensure optimal personnel selection and career services. The event heard views on how age equality can be promoted and attitudes changed in the daily lives of companies. The keynote was given by Kati Korhonen-Yrjänheikki, Director of Working Life at Elo, and the discussion included CGI’s Saada Lindfors and Fennia’s Mikko Huhto, alongside Reetta Rajala from 55 Rise and Shine. In October, the responsibility of top management in achieving age equality was considered. The keynote speech was given by Jari Jokinen, Executive Director of Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK). The panel discussion on the topic included Reetta Rajala, Hannu Krook, CEO of SOK, and Anne Larilahti, Sustainability Director at Amer Sports, facilitated by Anni Erkko from Talouselämä.

Leadership always flows from the top down, and top management sets the example. Good leadership is good leadership – there is no special leadership for different ages. One must listen to people, and flexibility is needed at all stages of life. Age equality must be part of the business.

It is in the company’s interest to have a diverse group of people working within the organization. This applies to age, gender, and ethnic, experience, and educational backgrounds. Diversity has been proven to improve the quality of decisions, productivity, and the company’s success.

The final event of the year in December focused on themes of diversity and age diversity from the perspective of the owner-board-management chain. The keynote was given by Niclas Ahlbom from SAM Headhunting, and the discussion panel facilitated by Reetta Rajala included board professionals Elina Piispanen and Tuomo Haukkovaara, and Kirsi Nuotto from VTT.

Ensuring companies’ future success requires a competent, well-being, and high-performing workforce, and this is also the responsibility of the board. Age-related issues come to the board’s table in the big picture through diversity and inclusion, but also strongly through the diversity of skills. It is essential for companies to evaluate what kind of skills can be recruited and retained.