Diverse cultures and grassroots networks help drive inclusion at Electrolux

On World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, we celebrate over 120 nationalities across Electrolux Group and reflect on our diverse employee networks established to promote equality.

There are currently over 15 local grassroots employee-driven networks in Electrolux around the world that set their own agenda based on local needs and priorities, but with a common focus on promoting equality and diversity. The networks rely on people giving their time to contribute to promoting equal opportunities and a more inclusive company.

A force for racial equality in the Americas

Two employee networks in the Americas have racial equality and ethnicity in focus – Misture-se in Latin America and MOSAIC in North America.

“Our Misture-se network supports our regional ambition to be a diverse and inclusive company and aims to ensure that the diversity of our internal population reflects the countries in which we operate,” explains Lorenna Oliveira, D&I and Social Responsibility Supervisor for Latin America and Chair of Misture-se. “Everyone is welcome to join, and we engage with employees throughout Latin America through our five subcommittees – ethnicity, gender, generations, people with disability, and LGBT+.”

“MOSAIC was formed in 2020 in response to the climate of racial injustice in the United States and aims to make ethnic diversity, inclusion and equality top of mind in Electrolux North America,” says Omotoke Oloruntoba, Senior Manager, Product Line Finance and Outreach Lead MOSAIC. “We are representative of everyone in North America and our aspiration is to drive greater empowerment, more diverse talent and raise awareness around diversity and inclusion topics. I even see the potential to roll out similar initiatives in other parts of the world where there is local need.”

Promoting gender equality and diversity

Many of our employee networks have gender equality as a core theme, such as the “WE” employee networks, including WE Stockholm in Sweden, WE Charlotte in the US and WE Australia & New Zealand. Originally established to promote women at Electrolux, these networks often go beyond just working with gender diversity by taking a broader perspective.

“Our goal is for WE Charlotte to be a resource for women working at Electrolux by providing a group to connect with that offers inspiration, career advice and other support,” says Andrea Jabon, Engineering Service Specialist and Chair of WE North America. “Our network is diverse with 19 different nationalities and we actively encourage male participation.”

“WE Stockholm has three types of activities – raising awareness, inspiring action and networking – which we do through events, newsletters and workshops,” says Joana Granjo-Oliveira, who is Product Manager for Small Domestic Appliances (SDA) in Europe, and the Chair of WE Stockholm. “An important project has been an ‘unconscious bias’ workshop that we developed and have now handed over to HR for global roll out. We are now focusing on other types of workshops, such as ‘inclusive communication’, which is part of our ‘inclusive leadership’ theme in 2021.”

“Working with diversity and inclusion is much more than just promoting gender diversity – it’s about embracing the full diversity of our employees and universal respect for all people,” says Tania Rooney, Continuous Improvement Specialist and Chair of WE Australia & New Zealand (ANZ). “WE ANZ creates a transparent environment that encourages different ways of thinking and ultimately ensures everyone at Electrolux feels they have a voice and a sense of belonging.”