Prönö’s CEO Helene Auramo was interviewed, and she shared her concern about how poor the situation is: “This year’s results were disappointing, of course. There really is no room for celebration. The number of women on the boards was still small, but the fact that the amount hasn’t increased is not good at all.”

In 2021, a total of 19 companies did not have female members on their board, compared to 17 last year. The percentage of boards with only one or no women was 48%.

“I’ve heard a lot of stories that women and young people are hard to find for boards or women wouldn’t be so interested in board seats. This is not the case. It is clear from the Prönö platform that women are interested in board and advisory positions,” says Auramo.

If you are curious, you can read the article at Kauppalehti. (Sorry, the article is only in Finnish.)

See the study highlights and download the full study. To learn more about what Finnish company boards look like, click the image.

• A typical Finnish board member is a 56-year-old Finnish man
• Only 27% of board members are women, and only 7% of board chairs are women
• Not a single woman sits on the boards of 19 out of 176 companies listed on the Helsinki stock exchange (in 2020, the number was 17).  The total number of companies in Helsinki stock exchange is 176

A study published by Prönö today reveals some disappointing statistics about the boards of directors of listed companies in Finland. Unfortunately, the statistics for 2021 are very similar to those for 2020 and show that there is still a long way to go.

Only 27% of board members are women, and 7% of board chairs are women

The percentages were the same last year, which means we haven’t seen any growth in these numbers, although there have been changes in board seats, and new companies have joined the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

“Despite the fact that 69 percent of these companies have made changes in their boards in the last year, we didn’t see improvement in the representation of women. We really need more women on those boards, and it would be good to see this change without any mandated quotas,” Helene Auramo, CEO of Prönö, says.

Women are underrepresented on boards

According to the study, a typical Finnish board member of a listed company is a 56-year-old Finnish man. 

An increasing number of Finnish listed companies have no women on their boards. There are currently no women on the boards of 19 companies, up from 17 boards last year, and boards with only one woman or no women at all make up 49 percent of listed companies in Finland.

“I have often heard that it is challenging to find women interested in being on boards, but it is not true. This is clear from our data at Prönö, where we can see that there are plenty of women available for board and advisory board positions,” explains Auramo.

Young people rarely get to the top

Professionals under 40 are rarely seen on boards. Only 7% of board members were born in 1980 or later, and just 34% of those young board members are women. Most often, they are Masters of Economics graduates, and many of them have worked as CEOs. 

“I am one of the youngest women on the board of a listed company in Finland. I didn’t realize that it was this rare to be in your thirties and on a listed company board before seeing these statistics. I must admit that it shocked me,” says Auramo.

If you are interested in joining a board of directors or an advisory board, you can make yourself available on Prönö. Join now!

If you are with a company that is interested in building a diverse board of directors, read more & contact us here. 

In their article, Helsingin Sanomat wrote about how boards of listed companies in Finland lack young people and women. Only six percent of all board members are under 40 years old.

Prönö’s CEO Helene Auramo was interviewed, and she shared her concern about how poor the situation was. Three out of four boards operate without any millennial views, and only seven percent of the chairpersons are women.

“When I saw the results, I realized how bad the situation is. I feel like I must help other young people and women who are looking for a position on a board.”

Even though there are 17 boards with no women at all, Auramo thinks that a gender quota for boards is not the best solution for the issue.

“Forcing is not a good way to accomplish anything. I think that young people and women should feel welcome and equal. That’s how innovations and new thinking can emerge.”

If you are curious, you can read the article at hs.fi (Sorry, the article is only in Finnish.)

To learn more about listed company boards in Finland, click the image:

(Now with more than 1200 users, Prönö has started to grow and show its true potential. On the platform, prönös are seeking and offering help, finding new opportunities and new relationships with mentors, connecting with future colleagues and so on. The number of prönös on board grows every single day, and the feedback is promising and supportive. So far, 75% say that they are happy with their experience after onboarding.)

In the article, Helene shares many interesting points about her background that have guided her. When Helene was in business school, their class was asked: “Who of you might want to be entrepreneurs in the future?” Helene raised her hand without even completely understanding why. 

Soon after that, Helene took the big leap and started a business with her fellow students.

“I was 24 when I was the CEO of my first company. At that time, being an entrepreneur wasn’t trending, and many of my friends criticized my decisions. They thought that I should have pursued a career in big corporations. But I didn’t care, because I had found my own path.”

For Helene, it was important to try all kinds of things at a young age. It’s so valuable to understand one’s own strengths and values, and experience truly helps with this. And now, Helene is focused on building Prönö, a platform for entrepreneurially-minded people. 

Being a serial entrepreneur was not Helene’s original career plan, but now she sees the full picture. Prönö is her way to leave her mark and make the world a better place. 

“I always want to challenge myself to think bigger. How can I make the greatest possible impact? I’m afraid that our world is heading in a bad direction, and I feel a responsibility to change it.”

This week, we made big news inside and outside of Prönö! We are thankful that some of the biggest business media outlets in Finland have noticed our new Prönö platform, which we have intensively been working on for the past months. 

Kauppalehti, the biggest business newspaper in Finland, wrote about how Prönö is here to take entrepreneurs on a journey to change the world for the better. And this is exactly what we are aiming for.

Markkinointi & Mainonta is a magazine targeted at marketing communications and media professionals in Finland. They wrote about Prönö’s aim for strong international growth and precisely how Prönö challenges conventional professional social media. To succeed, you need to aim high (although sometimes you might be scared). 

Tekniikka&Talous is Finland’s leading innovation media that targets technologically trained professionals and decision makers. They wrote how prönös can easily tell about their availability to their network on the platform.

Tivi is the only B2B media on IT in Finland. It tells about new technologies, shares success stories in Finland and internationally, and sheds light on the strategies and future of IT companies.

If you are curious, you can read what Kauppalehti, Markkinointi & Mainonta, Tekniikka & Talous, and Tivi wrote about us. (Sorry, the articles are only in Finnish.)

Kauppalehti: https://www.kauppalehti.fi/uutiset/slushin-perustajalta-tyoelaman-prono-alusta-haluan-vaikuttaa-siihen-etta-maailmaa-rakennetaan-patevien-tyyppien-avulla/3a25efde-e8f4-41a2-9a4d-885e9e9f89df

Markkinointi & Mainonta: https://www.marmai.fi/uutiset/mm/c66845e3-6147-460f-a82e-535a491a3b3c

Tekniikka & Talous: https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/uutiset/slushin-perustajalta-uusi-prono-alusta-tyoelamaan-tekija-voi-kertoa-verkostolleen-etta-han-on-huomenna-kaytettavissa/c49e86da-9e2c-4407-938e-f5218a6add38

Tivi: https://www.tivi.fi/uutiset/tiedatko-mika-on-prono-slushin-perustajan-alusta-haastaa-vakiintuneet-some-palvelut/7b8b7563-ecd3-4477-b7b3-30964c30221c