Eramet is pursuing his partnership with JFD and les Margaret Awards. What does this commitment mean to you within the Eramet Group in Norway?
First, I am very glad about the partnership. I believe this partnership aligns with Eramet goals for Women empowerment and career development. For example, at Eramet Norway business alone, there is a target of 30% female managers & specialists and 20% female operators accumulating to 50% of female recruits, which is quite a motivating target in a process industry.
The corporate group has several trainings directed for female talents for both personal & career growth. Hence the activities offered by JFD would further provide a positive contribution for cultural diversity and gender equality in the company.
Personally, my ambition to support women to succeed in their careers would be fulfilled with the support of the JFD partnership.
In January, Delphine Remy-Boutang was in Norway to expand the JFD network. How could that help increase Norway visibility within the European tech ecosystem?
I think there are definitely some good possibilities here:
- JFD network expansion in Norway could help building collaborative networks and conduct tech events among Norway networks and other networks in Europe giving accessibility for learning and sharing .
- Norway could get more accessibility to partnerships, collaborations and fundings with institutions beyond Norway, expanding to Europe.
- The expansion could promote business by increasing customer -suppliers relationships network and attract more international talent and investors.
Can you tell us more about the maturity of the Norwegian tech ecosystem?
The Norwegian tech ecosystem has started to grow considerably since last decade joining the ranks of other Nordic countries and Europe. There is significant increase in VC funding for technical start-ups in Norway as well the local government strongly promoting the tech ecosystem through financial investments, establishment of supportive infrastructure for R&D innovation and business growth. Several laws and policies were developed for the betterment of the tech sector. There are still huge possibilities and growth opportunities in the Norwegian tech Industry.
It seems that Norway is rather more advanced than France on gender equality issues in tech. Why do you think that is?
I have lived and worked in Norway for almost 15 years now and I think I never hardly experienced any gender inequality in my work. Though I did notice the ratio of female versus male colleagues is highly varied especially for technical roles at all levels; the work attitude, support and opportunities provided felt the same. I believe this is because Norway promotes gender equality in all subjects through strong policies, gender quotas, anti-discrimination laws etc.
