Diversity and inclusion

Diversity makes us stronger

To be the world’s best investment manager, we need to be a diverse and inclusive organisation.

Equal opportunities and diversity provide the best starting point for good results. We are therefore working systematically on improving in this area, and this is reflected in the way we approach recruitment, pay and other benefits, employee development and the working environment. We believe that the more diverse we are, the broader our horizons will be, the more creative we will become, and the better the decisions we will make.

As an international organisation, we work in global processes and collaborate closely with colleagues all around the world. This means that we are constantly working with, and learning from, people with different professional and cultural backgrounds. Our international working environment helps us build cultural awareness and an understanding of different cultures, languages and backgrounds.

Working actively on diversity

Our commitment to diversity is not just a paper exercise. We actively seek diversity of skills, experience and outlook regardless of nationality, gender, age, background or education. To enhance this work, we launched a diversity and inclusion initiative across Norges Bank in 2020. We want everyone to be able to be themselves and realise their full potential. Equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion not only benefit the individual and the working environment, but also boost performance and growth.

Gender balance

We want to increase the proportion of women both in the workforce as a whole and in management. We are therefore working actively on career progression for women into senior roles and have set a target of at least 40 percent of management positions to be held by women. We have a strategy of actively highlighting the important role women have to play at Norges Bank, and we ensure that they are well represented at events we attend. Female staff are also encouraged to participate in networks and external events.

We have drawn up policies on setting and reporting pay levels to prevent gender discrimination.

Talented and ambitious professionals are also human beings with different family situations. They may be carers or have disabilities. We therefore aim to offer a flexible working day, for example by providing solutions for working from home.

Eliminating unconscious bias

We regularly evaluate our recruitment process to ensure that we are hiring the best people without any unconscious bias. We are actively building skills and awareness internally to avoid unintentional discrimination. An unbiased recruitment process means that we do not subconsciously favour candidates who are like ourselves, but see the potential in individuals who could add fresh perspectives.

We make diversity and gender balance a requirement when using external recruitment agencies. We also consider it important that the people doing the recruiting come from a variety of positions, backgrounds and mindsets.

As part of our active learning culture, we provide training and raise awareness in areas such as unconscious bias, and we have a programme to eliminate harassment and discrimination throughout the organisation.

Drawing inspiration from others

We are working actively on broadening our horizons in every part of the organisation. We are keen to learn from the best and seek inspiration from other employers that excel at diverse recruitment and providing an inclusive workplace. We therefore engage actively with other organisations and companies that we can learn from.