Gender Equality Plan for VTT
As part of the European Commission's Gender Equality Strategy for 2020–2025, the European Commission is committed to promoting gender equality in research and innovation. This is alongside the well-established regulatory framework within the EU on gender equality, which applies widely across the labour market, including the research sector.
Addressing gender equality issues in the research and innovation sector is crucial to breaking down structural and cultural barriers within the sector. Key factors in resolving these research sector deficiencies have included:
- funding instruments such as Horizon Europe
- the European Research Area in collaboration with member countries and research organisations.
VTT has published the commitment to enhance gender equality and has actively collected, analysed, reported and published data as a part of annual reporting for several years. The personnel responsible for this topic have thoroughly analyzed VTT's actions, identifying areas for development and topics that still need improvement and skill development.
Gender equality as part of corporate responsibility
At VTT, gender equality is part of a broader Corporate Responsibility framework, including the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion framework. We are strongly committed to promoting gender equality within our work community and the entire research community.
VTT supports and promotes a diverse and inclusive working culture where everyone is treated equally, respectfully and inclusively, regardless of their background. VTT's Code of Conduct clearly states that employees will not not be discriminated against based on age, gender, origin, sexual orientation, political activity, or other personal reasons. All VTT employees accept the Code of Conduct and commit to following it.
VTT is committed to gender equality through various measures and is a member of the following associations and organizations:
VTT supports developing structures and targeted measures that advance gender equality and social equality. Equality (both in terms of gender and more broadly) is emphasized in all processes, including recruitment, skill development, talent programs, and career development.
Gender equality plan
At VTT, the gender equality plan, in accordance with the Act on Equality between Women and Men (609/1986), is included as part of the Workplace Development Plan. The plan is evaluated and updated by representatives of the employer and employees. The plan systematically addresses actions that promote equality and defines goals, measures, metrics, and responsible parties.
Below are the measures, actions, and practices developed and implemented to support gender equality. These measures belong to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion framework, which is strongly supported from the top management and continuously developed and supplemented with new actions. Each measure includes related training and capacity building.
Targeted Resources
VTT has a manager from HR leadership team responsible for diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, and VTT's top management is strongly committed to advancing this area. Additionally, the work is supported by an HR legal expert and personnel development specialists committed to implementing the gender equality plan. In 2024, VTT published comprehensive guidelines on diversity, equity, and inclusion and set measurable goals.
VTT also has several experts who support researchers in preparing and implementing European research project plans. This support includes integrating the gender dimension and monitoring gender balance, carried out in close cooperation with VTT's Ethics and Responsibility of Innovations research team.
Moreover, the HR unit and the QEHS (quality, environment, occupational health, and safety) unit have their own resources (four full-time employees) focused on employee well-being, health, and safety. A healthy work environment also covers psychological safety.
Data collection and monitoring
VTT collects and monitors gender-disaggregated employee data, published in the annual report.
Internal data collection and monitoring are conducted regularly, and reporting is done at the company and business area levels, following the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. The collected data includes:
- The relative proportion of men and women in VTT
- The relative proportion of men and women in different employee groups (executive team, top management and middle management, team leaders, researchers)
- The relative proportion of international personnel
- The average age of personnel
- The relative proportion of men and women in different age groups
- Salary statistics
Work-life balance and organisational culture
VTT recognizes that organizational culture and work-life balance are key factors in creating an environment where all employees can succeed and have equal opportunities for meaningful career development. Organizational culture and work-life balance is a broad area that covers, among others:
- Gender-sensitive communication
- Childcare provisions and flexible working arrangements
- Maternity/paternity/parental leave provisions.
VTT provides tools and implements agreed practices. Diverse services are already available to support mental health and healthy lifestyles and promote mindfulness and time management.
Additionally, VTT offers the possibility of flexible working hours and supports remote and hybrid working, helping to balance work and private life. VTT strongly supports the Finnish legislation enabling part-time work for parents of young children, aiming to be a family-friendly employer.
VTT has implemented company-wide employee training to raise awareness of gender equality and unconscious biases. VTT has offered training on tools and skills to avoid or reduce biases in common work processes, such as inclusive recruitment and employee selection, orientation, and communication.
VTT encourages all its employees to spend as much valuable baby time at home as possible. Employees are entitled to maternity and parental leave and childcare leave according to Finnish legislation and collective agreements. Maternity leave usually lasts 40 weekdays (Mon-Sat). Parental leave usually totals 320 weekdays, which parents can split equally, or one parent can transfer up to 63 weekdays to the other. Employees are also entitled to childcare leave for full-time care of a child under three years old and two years for adopting a child after adoption with certain restrictions.
If an employee's child under 10 years old suddenly falls ill, the employee is entitled to temporary childcare leave according to the Employment Contract Act and collective agreement.
Gender balance in leadership and decision making
VTT aims to be a gender-balanced research community where members have equal and fair opportunities to participate in leadership and other decision-making roles.
VTT collects data on gender-balanced representation and monitors it at various levels of leadership and decision-making.
VTT has a training program for all new line managers, which they undergo when starting their new role. As part of the program, diversity, equity, and inclusion are addressed.
Gender equality in recruitment and career development
VTT's recruitment goal is to attract top researchers and professionals in various fields, regardless of gender, country of origin, or other irrelevant factors for job performance. All VTT's recruitments are based on competence. This means that at the beginning of the recruitment process, key skills and criteria are selected to assess candidates during the process. This aims to ensure equality and objectivity. All line manager and recruiter training emphasize how important it is to recognise biases that affect hiring decisions, and the process is supported by related materials. In all recruitment processes, a representative from the recruitment team always supports the supervisor, promoting decision-making with expert knowledge and ensuring equal treatment of candidates.
VTT has unified competence development practices. Personal development goals are derived from the strategy, the needs of the team and the individual's tasks. Career development is based on competence, performance, VTT's needs, and the employee's own initiative. VTT aims to provide fair career development opportunities for all employees. Diversity is particularly monitored in managerial positions in terms of gender, nationality, and age.
Gender as a factor in research and training content
Gender is considered in funding proposals and projects targeting the EU and other entities. VTT has developed specific support resources (tools and advisors) for researchers to address the gender perspective in their research contexts. Additionally, VTT has an Ethics and Responsibility of Innovation team that actively promotes responsible research and innovation, including gender and diversity.
VTT has developed a "Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)" course for its researchers, which includes a module on engagement, gender, and inclusiveness. The module provides information on implementing the gender dimension in research. Additionally, VTT has developed its guidelines and examples for addressing ethical and gender issues when preparing research project plans. VTT also holds regular internal training sessions and resources to support the implementation of these guidelines.
Against gender-based violence, including sexual harassment
VTT’s values are Respect, Together, Passion and Forerunner, and they leave no space for violence or harassment. Respect is described as follows: We show empathy and collegiality in all situations. We take ownership of our work & show leadership. Together is described as follows: We want to build on community and trust. Working together brings us joy, and we are inspired to co-create with high ambition. Passion is described as follows: We are passionate about staying curious, continuously learning and driving customer-centricity. Forerunner is described as follows: We have the courage to go beyond the obvious and pave the way for a better future. With us, you dare to try, fail, learn and excel.
VTT does not tolerate any form of harassment. VTT has a statutory duty as an employer to address workplace discrimination. Finnish criminal law defines sexual harassment as a crime (Chapter 20, Section 5a). Harassment is prevented and interventions facilitated by providing guidelines and tools to address workplace harassment and inappropriate behavior.
VTT has a reporting channel for employees to report all types of misconduct. There is another tool to report harassment observations. Reported topics are investigated by VTT's Compliance Committee or an appropriate body.
VTT has trained all line managers to recognise behavior that does not adhere to VTT's values, ethical norms, or principles of good management and to address it strongly. Training begins when moving into a managerial role and is updated regularly.
Recognising emotions and understanding their impact on decision-making are key to good management. Therefore, VTT has held training sessions for line managers and all staff since 2020, strengthening emotional intelligence skills.
VTT is a member of the Zero Accidents Forum and committed to this goal. Our Zero Accidents policy covers various topics, including zero tolerance for bullying and violence and harassment cases.