Women in DOIT #1

ESG Goals to Employ More Women

However, Henriette confirms that no matter what position is being posted for hire by Danoffice IT, the gender will not be a requirement.

“The guiding principle in our overall ESG program consists of five ESG goals leading into 2030 and one of those is a goal to have 40% of the workforce in Danoffice IT be women. Today, the women make up 30% and we are adding more still,” she says and adds: “However, it is critical that we always hire the right people with the proper qualifications and the right personality, not just a specific gender. By placing our focus on the gender balance, we hope to increase the number of women who apply to work with us and through that effort, we will then achieve a better balance.”

MyRoadToIT

Together with the campaign in the IT industry called MyRoadToIT, our series of mini biographies is centered around 3 standard questions to which women in the Danish IT industry provide their unique responses. Here are the “three standards” for Henriette:

– What do you do in the business these days and which difference do you feel you contribute to?

” I manage our efforts on ESG and sustainability. Together with our board of directors, we have outlined five ESG goals leading into 2030 which include environment, climate, social governance, equality, diversity, and inclusion. As a result, I have a clear guiding principle for where we are headed as a business,” Henriette says, and adds: “Seeing and hearing that our messages are sticking with our coworkers and customers is very valuable to me. This is when I feel that I can make a difference. When the dialogue about sustainability does not just go by the wayside, but people continue it in their everyday lives. When the conversation comes to specific actions, such as when the customer choses to have its old IT equipment repurposed to give it a longer life, I truly feel like my work is making a difference.”

– Why do you find it interesting to work in the IT industry and what motivates you in your work?

”I have always found the IT industry interesting because we have so many different solutions available to our customers. In addition to that, I like that we are constantly seeing new technologies in the market which can revolutionize or disrupt the way in which we work and live,” she says and points out that she also has a paradox: “However, IT is also my greatest challenge. I love technology and all the clever things it provides us with, but I also know that technology has a negative imprint on the climate in terms of CO2 emissions. That said, I also believe technology can be used in the fight to reverse the negative imprint.”

Henriette explains that it is all about reaching out to people: ”Several things motivate me in my work, but what motivates me the most is probably when I help a customer to gain insight into how sustainability relates to IT.”

– How did you end up in the IT industry?

“My journey into the IT industry started back in 2001, when I became an intern with HP as part of my studies in export engineering. That created a before and after for me. I was immediately inspired by the possibilities within IT. In 2002, I landed my first job in the industry which was a temporary position covering for somebody who was on maternity leave in the Danish marketing division of HP. That job became my launching pad for my focused journey in the IT industry. When I was very young, I had a dream of studying at the film school, but my introduction to the IT industry was a defining moment. I was deeply inspired by the possibilities. It was not so much the products themselves, but rather the possibilities they created. That inspiration has only been amplified throughout my journey and now that I have been in the industry for nearly 25 years, I am still exploring,” Henriette Normann-Ekegren says.