Empowering Women in Tech: A Norwegian Perspective
Norway stands at the forefront of innovation and progress in the tech industry. However, amidst all this progress, a crucial component remains underrepresented – women.
The industry has a disparity in how many women are involved in senior management roles and key decisions at technology companies. There needs to be more commitment from organisations to bridge the gender gap in Norway's tech workforce.
Our CEO Maria Amelie sat down for an episode of Future Business with fellow guest Veronika Heimsbakk, head of knowledge graphs at Capgemini to discuss the issue and tangible actions to take to improve the gender status quo. Abelia and UN Impact organised the podcast and the podcast host was the Administrative Director of Abelia, Øystein Eriksen Søreide (LinkedIn).
Understanding the Disparity
Statistics paints a picture of gender inequality in the Norwegian tech industry. According to recent reports, women make up 29% of the workforce in tech-related fields in Norway (SOURCE).
This underrepresentation stifles diversity and hampers innovation by limiting the pool of talent and perspectives the tech industry can have. This is a key issue that Norway should tackle to maintain its competitiveness and economic growth.
How Should We Tackle This:
Our CEO Maria Amelie discussed her journey from a young immigrant to a prominent figure in the Norwegian tech scene throughout the podcast. These experiences have given her a unique perspective on encouraging and cultivating women aspiring to the industry.
Maria (Linkedin) and Veronika Heimsbakk(Linkedin) advocate for several key strategies to promote women in tech:
1. Early Exposure to Technology
Encouraging girls to engage with technology from a young age lays the foundation for their interest and participation in the tech industry. By providing access to educational resources like coding camps, video games and mentorship programs, we can nurture their passion for technology and allow them to express their creativity. Programs like Lær Kidsa Koding have tremendously impacted coding education in Norway.
2. National Pride and Recognition
Recognising and celebrating Norwegian technological achievements instils national pride and fosters interest in the tech sector. Promoting and supporting homegrown talent and innovation initiatives from Norwegian women can inspire the next generation of tech leaders. Initiatives like 50 Women in Tech help discover and promote talented women in the tech space, and EU initiatives like Women in Tech provide a financial boost for women-run businesses.
3. Role Models and Entrepreneurship
Successful companies and entrepreneurs serve as role models for aspiring individuals, irrespective of gender. Effectively communicating the accomplishments of women in tech today and showcasing their entrepreneurial endeavours, can inspire others to follow in their footsteps. A consistent communication plan that contains these messages can go a long way to help women envisage themselves as the next leaders in the Norwegian tech industry.
Factiverse's Commitment to Fostering Gender Inclusion
At Factiverse we strive to build a more diverse and equitable tech workforce. Currently, out of our 9 employees, 4 are women including Maria Amelie in the founding team. Our team consists of 6 different nationalities, there is diversity in education, life and work experience.
Achieving gender parity in the tech industry is not just communicating the right to equality. It's about incorporating these principles in the development of new tech products. Although women represent half of the planet, the innovation of new products has often been from the male perspective.
For example, studies show (SOURCE) that when using some LLMs to create job ads, the output usually will make the ad more appealing to men than women, assuming automatically that women won't be relevant for the job. Being aware of and mitigating these types of biases when building AI is something we care about at Factiverse.
Through our actions and hiring for our team, we aim to have a positive impact on diversity in the tech industry.
Working together to build a future where diversity is celebrated, and every voice is heard in Norway's tech landscape should be a mission every tech company should have.
