Gertrud has made gender equality a board issue

Gertrud Jackson is the middle of Ragnar Sellberg’s three children. Just like her siblings, Erik and Kristina, she naturally acquired an environmental consciousness.

- Ever since we were small my father has talked a lot about the environment and about what is going to happen to it. We took on board how important it is to work for a change, Gertrud says.

Besides being a pioneer within Swedish recycling, Ragnar was a true humanist.

- He talked a lot about Ragn-Sells at home and above all about the people who worked in the company. My father is often described as an entrepreneur, and he was, but he was also a real humanist who was interested in people and their ideas. He wanted to get people engaged and that applied to us children too. He asked clever questions and involved us.

Has four daughters

Between 1979 and 1981 Gertrud worked at the head office, which was then located on Sveavägen in Stockholm.

- My father was very keen for me to work within the company and I did for a few years, in insurance and property.

Gertrud’s first daughter Sofia was born in 1981. Followed by Lisa in 1984, Julia in 1987 and little sister Josefin in 1991.

- After my oldest daughter was born I intended to return to Ragn-Sells, but there wasn’t the same child care then as there is today. So I chose to stay at home with my daughters, which I have to say has been a privilege and I am grateful that I had the opportunity.

Priority issue

However, she has nevertheless been highly involved in Ragn-Sells. Gertrud has been on the company’s board of directors for many years.

- It is great to follow the company’s development. We three siblings have an owners’ meeting at regular intervals where we discuss important issues. We also hold a family discussion, which we take turns in arranging, where we meet with all spouses, children and grandchildren.

As a woman and mother of four daughters, gender equality is close to Gertrud’s heart, an issue which she also addresses in Ragn-Sells’ board.

- Having an equal company is incredibly important and it is therefore important that the management prioritises this issue. There must be no glass ceiling for women within Ragn-Sells and we must highlight the issue – otherwise we will lag behind. It has been shown that equal companies have a better working environment and level of well-being and that they are ultimately more profitable.

Support each other

Ragn-Sells operates in a traditionally male dominated industry, which makes the gender equality issue a challenge.

- This is a homogeneous industry and it is therefore even more important to give women opportunities to develop within the company, otherwise we will miss out on important skills. Ragn-Sells must be a beneficial company for everyone to work in and it needs people with other backgrounds and perspectives – otherwise no change will take place. It must happen now and be a long-term process.

According to Gertrud, increasing gender equality requires a change in attitudes and that everybody, both women and men, work towards the same goal.

- We women must get better at supporting each other. But we can’t drive this issue alone, rather we have to do it together with the men for there to be true equality.