Tíðindi

– Nordic societies often assume that because institutions are formally open to everyone, everyone has the same opportunity to participate. But formal equality does not remove informal barriers, hidden expectations, social networks, language hierarchies or unconscious bias. 

Runa Preeti Ísfeld says the Nordic countries often see themselves as egalitarian societies, but representation is still uneven. Diversity is often acknowledged socially, but not always structurally. In many public institutions, decision-making spaces are still dominated by the majority population, even as the people served by those institutions are increasingly diverse. 

– In the small-scale society of the Faroe Islands, this is particularly visible. Migrants are present in workplaces, families, schools, care institutions, and local communities, but they remain less visible in leadership, governance, policy development, and public debate. So while diversity exists in everyday life, it is not yet fully reflected in institutional power. 

“Allow underrepresented professionals to enter decision-making spaces and stay there” 

In her policy recommendations as a member of the Nordic Migrant Expert Forum, Runa Preeti Ísfeld highlights the need for transparent, structured and supported pathways from participation to influence. 

– For example, many minoritised professionals are invited into projects, consultations or diversity initiatives, but not necessarily into permanent leadership structures. Policymakers should create concrete mechanisms that allow underrepresented professionals to enter decision-making spaces and stay there.  

To move from symbolic inclusion to structural inclusion, helpful approaches include mentoring schemes, leadership training, targeted and inclusive recruitment, recognition of international experience and transparent appointment processes. Preeti Ísfeld says policymakers should avoid tokenism. 

– It is not enough to invite one migrant or one minority professional into a room and then claim diversity has been achieved. Also, representation should not be seen as charity or a symbolic gesture.  

Representation is never neutral 

Runa Preeti Ísfeld works at the University of the Faroe Islands in the Department of History and Social Science. Her academic work and interests are mainly focused on migration, gender, integration, belonging, small-scale societies, and minority rights. 

– I came to the Faroe Islands as a marriage migrant and have now lived here for many years. Over time, the Faroe Islands became both my home and my academic field of interest. 

Preeti Ísfeld says both her studies and her own experience of migration have shaped the way she understands belonging, inclusion and participation. She says representation is never neutral. People’s access to voice and influence is shaped by gender, ethnicity, language, class, legal status, family responsibilities and access to professional and informal networks. 

– Migrant women, for example, may be highly educated and resourceful, but still find themselves positioned outside formal influence. Representation cannot only be about “including migrants” in a general sense. We need to ask: Which migrants are included? In which roles? Under what conditions? And with how much real influence? 

Progress is made when minority professionals move beyond diversity projects 

In her policy recommendations, Runa Preeti Ísfeld also calls for embedding diversity targets and structural support within recruitment, including diverse hiring committees, recognition of international education and professional experience and leadership programmes for underrepresented employees, among other things. 

She also calls for safe spaces for professionals from underrepresented backgrounds. They could be professional networks for minoritised employees, mentoring groups, confidential peer-support forums, or regular meetings where underrepresented professionals can share experiences without fear of being judged or penalised. 

– Safe spaces can take many forms. They are not about separation. They are about creating the conditions for people to participate more fully and confidently in the wider institution. 

An early indicator that the Nordic institutions would be moving towards better representation, according to Runa Preeti Ísfeld, would be that underrepresented professionals would no longer be visible only in diversity projects but also be present in ordinary leadership and decision-making structures. 

– For example, when migrants and minority professionals are represented not only when the topic is migration or integration. That would show that institutions understand representation as part of democratic governance rather than as a special-interest issue. 

– What are you looking most forward to in your role as a member of the Nordic Migrant Expert Forum? 

– I look forward to contributing with a Faroese and small-society perspective to Nordic discussions on migration and inclusion. I love working with the NMEF group of experts, exchanging knowledge across the Nordic region, and helping develop recommendations that are not only symbolic but also practical and policy-relevant. For me, the key question is how we move from talking about inclusion to actually building institutions where diverse voices have real influence.

 

Text: Sebastian Dahlström

Photo: Martin Thaulow

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