- It is important to have a common arena for women in the company, and increase the focus on diversity in technology
With over 8,000 member companies in various industries, ODA-Network has been working since 2005 to improve diversity in tech. Some of the women in GSGroup attended Oda Inspiration day earlier this year. It gave a lot of insight and value for the company, and now Head of Marketing at GSGroup, Anne Melsom Bjerke, is joining the Oda network as a volunteer.
- To get this opportunity is a lot of fun. I hope I can contribute to a good Inspiration Day in 2024 in collaboration with a well-established team. After the first meetings with the volunteers, I am really impressed by the work that has been put in, and I am proud to have the opportunity to participate, says Melsom Bjerke.
Magnhild Agerup-Faxvaag, CFO and COO in GSGroup, says that attending the ODA Day is of great value to the company for several reasons.
- This engages the female employees, builds networks and increases awareness related to increasing the amount of women in tech. For us, it is important to have a common arena for the women in the company and this is a very good initiative for us to participate in, says Agerup-Faxvaag.
ODA Network is "non-profit". It is driven by the voluntary efforts of women in tech – for women in tech. The proportion of women and diversity is a global issue, which is also recognized in the UN's Millennium Development Goals, writes Oda Network on its website. Oda Inspiration Day 2023 gathered around 1400 participants and Elin Hauge, Jeremy White, Sophia Adampour and Marit Strømøy were among those on stage.
Personal growth and corporate benefit
- The fact that our employees choose to spend their free time volunteering is always positive. In this case, our Head of Marketing, Fleet and Asset Tracking, Anne Melsom Bjerke, leads the way with voluntary efforts, where personal growth also becomes a corporate benefit, says CEO of GSGroup, Espen Ranvik.
Ranvik points out that it is through cooperation that change takes place, and that concrete goals have been set for the next few years.
- Gender balance in the workplace strengthens the dynamics. Here we recognise room for improvement and commit to learning for a more inclusive future, Ranvik says.
At a time when digital transformation and technology both provide unimagined opportunities, to solve some of the greatest challenges of our time, but also contribute to increased risk, diversity is absolutely essential for society's development, writes Oda network on its pages. When asked why such initiatives are important, Agerup-Faxvaag answers this.
- This says something about our focus and commitment to promoting more women in technology. We hope that this will help to highlight our commitment to women in tech and that this hopefully in the long term helps to increase the proportion of women in the company and in technology in general.
Since 2016, ODA-Network has measured the proportion of women in ICT in Norway, in collaboration with Kantar TNS. Although they have seen an increase from 17% to 29% in 2019, this is far from their target of 40% female share. Both in general within ICT, but also in top management, writes Oda further.
Ranvik says several concrete measures are being worked on over the next few years.
- We look forward to continuing our journey towards a more diverse, inclusive and efficient work environment, and we are grateful for each person's contribution.
