Discover how we at SALTO are celebrating International Women’s Day, and the actions we take to promote equality all year round.
8 March marks the annual celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD). Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1975, this commemoration is an opportunity for our global community to stop and reflect on women’s social, economic, and political achievements. It’s also a time to reexamine the obstacles we must overcome to achieve gender equality.
At SALTO Systems, we strive to do our part in creating a more just world where everyone is provided the same opportunities and resources. That’s why, in honour of IWD 2023, we’re taking stock of the initiatives we’ve created to promote equality in our organisation and community.
Social responsibility in the tech sector
This year’s celebration of International Women’s Day comes with an important theme, as established by the UN: ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality’. The goal is to address the global inequalities that exist within the world of technology – including access to internet and digital education – and to celebrate the women who are already leading the tech revolution.
In our modern world, we’re increasingly dependent on internet-powered interactions. Everything is backed by tech, from attending work meetings to calling loved ones, making a purchase, booking a doctor’s appointment, or even unlocking our front doors. More and more daily activities are being digitalised and automated in order to make our lives better and more efficient.
Yet, in 2022, an estimated 37% of women around the world still don’t use the internet, according to the ITU. But the same isn’t true for men: roughly 259 million fewer women have access to the internet than men, even though they account for nearly half the world's population.
As a leader in the tech sector, SALTO believes we have a social responsibility to empower and celebrate women in the digital sphere.
Sustainable Development Goal #5: Gender Equality
Gender equality has become a hot topic in the last few decades. The issue has sparked meaningful conversations amongst governments, organisations, and individuals on the best ways to promote equity. The United Nations lists Gender Equality as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5, aiming to empower women and end all forms of gender discrimination by 2030.
SALTO supports SDG #5, paying close attention to issues like women’s employment and access to leadership roles.
DEI and ESG at SALTO
We believe gender equality fits into the greater picture of intersectional social progress. However, it can only be tackled by firm DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives. DEI is a key part of our ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) strategy – reflected in both our company policies and the activities we participate in throughout the year.
Our interpretation of DEI translates into the following policies:
- Diversity: our employees reflect a wide range of attributes, views, identities, and backgrounds;
- Equity: all employees in the company receive adequate support and opportunities for growth; and
- Inclusion: every employee feels respected, valued, and safe at SALTO.
For SALTO, these policies act as not only promoters of equality and peace, but also drivers of innovation, productivity, and growth.
We also spearhead various social responsibility initiatives, including but not limited to:
- The Corporate Equality Plan, aimed at promoting equal opportunities and social inclusion in the workplace;
- Robust safety and security measures, including comprehensive training, information, and supervision; and
- Health and sports initiatives, including the SALTO Running & Cycling Team and Free2Move.org, our in-house program empowering disabled athletes to reach their goals.
Our commitment to the SDGs>
In September 2015, all 193 UN member states agreed to adopt the 17 official SDGs. In 2020, SALTO Systems joined its ranks, making a commitment to promote progress by becoming a member of the Global Compact.
This pledge implies a promise to align our operations with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour-safety standards, the environment, and the fight against corruption. With this move, SALTO joined thousands of companies worldwide in carrying out corporate actions, policies, and practices that help to create a better world.
SALTO takes this responsibility very seriously. In addition to our strong policies on DEI and gender equality, we’ve achieved ISO 14001 certification. We are also ranked Silver by EcoVadis and have become 100% carbon neutral at our factory and in all offices across the world. These are significant steps in making keyless, smart access technology more sustainable.
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating International Women’s Day now and every day by embracing policies and initiatives that promote equality, progress, and a better future.
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