DEI coaching

In Finland, the renewed Non-Discrimination Act, which came into force in 2015, forms a key pillar of DEI work, and based on it, authorities, education providers and employers are obliged to assess the realisation of equality in their operations. The Act also obliges organisations employing 30 employees or more to compile an equality promotion plan. Furthermore, for example, since 2019 the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture has required recipients of its general grants to take into account equality perspectives in their operations.

DEI work is always beneficial, regardless of the size of the organisation, as equality perspectives are only set to grow in importance moving forward. There is a direct link between DEI and both occupational wellbeing and the profitability of operations.

In client work for example in the field of therapy and other wellbeing services, understanding diversity helps to create a safe and good customer experience. Even small things like an accessible website, description of the space, and use of inclusive language can promote customer acquisition and engage customers.

As a neurodivergent queer person who has spent more than 10 years working on research relating to minorities, I am highly familiar with diversity issues from both theoretical and practical perspectives. I have developed and implemented DEI principles as part of my own brief therapy work from the summer of 2023 and coached entrepreneurs with client work from the fall of 2023. The coaching I offer is based on efficient solution-focused tools: I graduated in June 2024 as a solution-focused brief therapist, and as part of my studies we also learned about coaching groups and communities. I have also completed more than 10 hours of training on handling and managing diversity in different communities. Read more about me here.

Taking into account the challenges faced by people of different backgrounds, members of the LGBTIQA+ community, disabled people, or neurodivergent people is a topical matter and is only set to become more so in the future – so now is the time to get on board!