𝐖𝐢𝐋𝐃 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐲’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬
Last night, WiLD Norway officially launched its first event at Forskningsparken, with nearly 120 attendees and a room full of energy. Kicking things off, our Founder & Chair, Chelsea Ranger, set the tone for an impactful evening.
🌟 We were privileged to hear from inspiring speakers like Solveig Østby Vitanza (Labour Party), renowned equality researcher Mari Teigen (CORE), and Kari Holm Hejna (First House). Menon Economics, represented by Kari Rolfsjord and Erland Skogli, shared fresh data on the gender gap in Norway’s life sciences, highlighting that while progress is happening, it's far too slow.
Chelsea captivated the audience with a personal story of her upbringing around the oil industry, asking the room whether they were picturing men or women. The twist? The central figure was her mother, a leader in a male-dominated field. This powerful moment illustrated just how deeply unconscious bias runs. 🎤
💡 The evening’s panel, led by Board Member Ole J. Dahlberg, discussed the importance of role models, allyship, and how gender differences can be strengths. Sponsors Sarsia Partner Farzad Abdi-Dezfuli, Sponsor Novartis Norge GM Veronika Barrabes, Ekvi Femtech CEO Cathrine Delp, and Mari Teigen reminded us that real change requires both men and women stepping up.
🍽️ We wrapped up with a wonderful Networking Reception, sponsored by Bayer Norge, where professionals across academia, health care, and big & small industry connected & celebrated. We were also treated to speeches by life science veteran & Ambassador Bjørn K. Pedersen and immunology expert & Board Member Gunnveig Grodeland, who left everyone inspired for the work ahead.
👏 A big thank you to all who attended. A big thank you to our Partners, Sponsors & Supporters! We’re just getting started, and we look forward to continuing this journey towards greater gender equality and leadership in Norwegian life sciences.
*𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒂 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒃 (𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔) 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏!*
Chelsea Ranger Cathy Capdeville Ole J. Dahlberg Morten Egeberg Charlotte Berg-Svendsen Agnete Fredriksen Ishita Barua, MD PhD Spiros Kotopoulis Gunnveig Grodeland Marthe Brovold Løberg Mariann Dønnum Elizabeth Smethurst
#WomenInLeadership #LifeSciences #WiLDNorway #WomeninLifeScienceNorway #DiversityInLeadership #GenderEquality #Innovation #NorwegianHealthSector #NorwayLifeScience
(Photo cred to the fabulous Fartein Rudjord with Legemiddelindustrien (LMI), as well as to Helena Strigård and Tone Skår)