It is guided by a range of factors, including number of directors, competence, experience, age, gender, and available time to fulfil their assignment. Limiting the screening for board members to different characteristics such as gender minimises the pool from which to recruit board members. Since 2014 AP4 has therefore explicitly set gender balance and diversity targets on company boards.

This measure has contributed to a higher share of women on the boards of companies where AP4 has influence as a shareholder. Ahead of the 2023 AGM season, AP4 worked on 56 nomination committees, of which 67% of final candidates and 54% of new board directors were women.

AP4 also actively works to achieve gender balance on company boards within the industry. Within the framework of the Swedish Institutional Owners Association (IÄF), it advocates for a more even gender balance ahead of initial public offerings. Outside Sweden, AP4 – together with other investors – seeks to encourage large listed companies to act in accordance with the Women’s Empowerment Principles. These are based on the UN’s Global Compact initiative and aim to create conditions for equal opportunities in the workplace where women and men can work on equal terms. The principles also stress the importance of transparency.

Internally, gender equality and equal treatment are a central part of AP4’s recruitment and development programmes. As such it has successfully increased the share of women in its investment teams. Currently 37% of all employees are women and the share of women among investment professionals is now 30%, an increase from 26% a year earlier. Furthermore, two out of four investment team heads are women and AP4’s management team, excluding the CEO, boast an even 50/50 split.