Celebrating International Women’s Day

“I am a civil engineer, and when I started working in 1993, for sure it was a male-dominated environment. There was daily harassment and comments, and some thought women were only hired to fill a diversity quota,” says Marianne Aase. 

“On the construction site, someone actually peed in my hard hat. I was told, ‘You just have to deal with it if you want to work in this construction business.’ Now we can say ‘Stop. I will not deal with it’, or ‘I can deal with it, but it's not a good way to work together. So I will find another company to work with, I quit.’

Marianne has been nominated by her colleagues for being a strong ally for gender equality in Ramboll Norway, where she manages a team of 16 high-complexity project managers.

“When I put out job ads, I do not necessarily get the candidates I need. The ads make it sound like you must be superhuman – you must manage everything, be extraordinary, and understand all the complexities in an international sustainability company. Some men apply who are not fully qualified, but they apply nonetheless. Whereas some women think ‘Is this me? Am I good enough? Do I meet all the requirements in the ad? Maybe, maybe not.’”

“As a hiring manager, I try to reach out and talk to candidates over a coffee in a café. Then we have a different and more open conversation about the potential role. I hire candidates who, with support and an individual development strategy, can grow into their roles. 11 of my project managers are women, but if I went with traditional recruiting methods, then almost all of them might be men.”

Shilpi Kalra is a manager in Gurugram, India, where she leads a team of 37 people – colleagues who have nominated her for being a strong ally for gender equality.

“I don’t think it’s a question of giving women favours, or doing something ‘extra’ for women,” Shilpi explains. “As a leader, I operate by the simple and fundamental rule that the most deserving person gets the opportunity.”

The signals leaders send through their behaviour have a big impact on the culture in a workplace, Shilpi says:

“You need to create an environment that is friendly and unbiased. This way, the seed of mistrust – questioning whether women are held back because of their gender – never gets a chance to grow. In my experience, the modern working culture is not predominately male like it used to be, and women are starting to know their rights and standing firm.”

“I think we all know what our weaknesses are, but I don’t think we are always as good at identifying our strengths, and that is a change of mindset I encourage all my colleagues to embrace.”

For a long time, the energy industry was known for two things: being dominated by fossil fuels – and lacking diversity.

Carolina Escudero, a senior project manager in energy systems, is working to change both:

“The energy industry has traditionally been male-dominated, and that has also been true in Ramboll. So we have to ask what we can do to attract women and convince them to stay,” she says.

In January 2023 Carolina, with the support of other colleagues, started the Global Women in Energy Network which has quickly grown to +200 people.

“Our goal is to provide a sense of community for everyone who works in energy-related fields and identifies as a woman, across all of Ramboll’s global offices.”

“When I first heard of the network, I thought it was very brave but also necessary. As someone in a leadership position, it is a privilege to be able to support it,” says Hannes Reuter, managing director for energy and an ambassador of the network.

“To me allyship means supporting the rights of a minority that I myself am not part of. And as a man, you actually have a very strong lever because you are not seen as someone who is just speaking for your own rights,” he adds.

So what are some of the ways to create a culture that is more inclusive?

“Listening with empathy is key,” Carolina says. “Seeking feedback from female colleagues to understand their challenges, because they might not be obvious. It's also important to create a safe space for women to address biases, for instance when talking to management. And being explicit that sexist or racist or non-inclusive behaviours will not be tolerated.”