Nordic Life Science 1
NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE EDITOR IN CHIEF: MALIN OTMANI
ART DIRECTOR: ANNIKI SKEIDSVOLL EDÉN REPORTERS: ELLEN R. DELISIO, CHRIS TACHIBANA, KARYN MCGETTIGAN ENGLISH PROOFREADING: GAIL ADAM REPRO: LENA HOXTER COVER PHOTO: JENNY ÖHMAN PRINTED BY: DANAGÅRDLITHO 2019 PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: MATTIAS OLME PRODUCT MANAGER: ADAM RÅSBERG MARKETING & SALES: ANDRES VARGAS ANDRES@NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG +46 8 588 941 56 COPYRIGHT 2019 BY MEDIAVALUE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WHITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. A MAGAZINE FROM MEDIAVALUE MV INFORMATION AB, KINDSTUGATAN 1 111 31 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN PHONE: +46 8 588 941 51 SUBSCRIPTION: ONE YEAR PRINT AND ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION: 1 990 SEK / 199 EUR / 219 USD 01. FOUR PRINTED ISSUES OF THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE 02. ALL ISSUES ONLINE, READABLE ON YOUR PREFERRED DEVICE 03. WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES FROM OUR NEWSLETTER NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE NEWS CALL: +46 8 588 941 52 OR SIGN UP AT: NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG have played an PARTNERS: important role in the development of our society; they have faced different challenges, fought different battles and won different victories. For example, in Stockholm around the turn of the century a group of women calling themselves Tolfterna made a great impact on spreading education and culture and gathering emancipists from all social classes, as described by Lisbeth Håkansson Petré in the book “Tisdagar med Tolfterna”. Included in this network was among others reform pedagogue and journalist Anna Whitlock, difference feminist writer Ellen Key, and politician Anna Lindhagen. Although a lot of progress has been made since Tolfterna held their meetings, gender equality has still not been achieved in a lot of areas and there is still work to be done. For example, Melinda Gates has just announced that she is committing $1 billion to promote gender equality and to get more women into decision-making positions, shaping policies and being in control of resources. In the life science industry, especially in the Nordics, we have today many females in leadership positions, but even here there are things to improve. We need to update board criteria as well as attitudes and general views at our workplaces. Recently published statistics from GEM (the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report 2019) also show that only four percent of Swedish women have started companies in the last two years and this has decreased by one-third in one year! This means loss of innovation power, particularly in areas of great need, like healthcare, loss of job opportunities and loss of more influence and economic success for women. To address these issues, and work towards a greater gender equality, female networks and their role models still serve a very important purpose in our society. Whether or not you are a part of a network, the women who are will hopefully pave the way for all women, and their leaders and spokespersons will be important role models and trailblazers for future generations of women. Our profile in this issue, business woman Barbro Ehnbom’s networks have been all about women, but she is also herself an example of the change in gender equality she has been working for. Read about her fascinating life and career and her mission to encourage women to reach leadership positions and become entrepreneurs. As she puts it, “An increasing diversity is a positive spiral, people are becoming more comfortable with each other’s differences, comfortable with change, and are daring to choose partners on the basis of competence and suitability for the job. And with diversity comes innovation.” MALIN OTMANI EDITOR IN CHIEF FOR DAILY UPDATES OF THE NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE INDUSTRY, VISIT: NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG.