Initiative

Winner of the “Golden comforter” 2012

Summary of the initiative

The Boliden Group operates mines and smelters in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Ireland.

Boliden is keen to recruit employees with different backgrounds and types of experience and from different age groups. It is also active on gender equality.

The metals industry is traditionally male-dominated and although some progress has been made in this respect (e.g. through technological development that has reduced the number of heavy, manual aspects of the job), Boliden still faces a challenge when it comes to attracting women. One important factor in this context is the establishment of a good workplace culture. Boliden’s goal is for 20% of its workforce to be made up of women by the end of 2018 and if this goal has to be achieved, one in every three recruits must be female.

Work-life Balance: Boliden regards a work environment that offers work-life balance as a pre- requisite for successfully attracting and retaining talented employees. Some of the countries in which Boliden conducts operations offer economic compensation to employees on parental leave. Employees on parental leave are also kept informed of what is going on and how things are developing at their workplace.

Boliden has received external acknowledgement of its efforts to create this balance, and in 2012, the trade union Unionen declared Boliden to be Sweden’s most parent-friendly workplace, awarding Boliden the “Guldnappen” (Golden comforter) prize. The award rewards companies that create parent-friendly workplaces. Boliden regards ensuring the opportunity for employees to strike a balance between work and leisure as a competitive advantage when it comes to securing tomorrow’s talent pool.