Nordic Talk Highlights Women’s Engagement in Entrepreneurship

Kwon Miyu

Although South Korea has experienced rapid economic development, it still has a long way to go in achieving gender equality in the workplace.

In conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8, four Scandinavian embassies in Seoul (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) held the 11th Nordic Talk to discuss gender in entrepreneurship from Korean and European perspectives. We talked about gaps.

Two male ambassadors from Nordic countries participated as panelists and shared their thoughts on gender equality, especially in the economic field.

Swedish Ambassador to Korea Daniel Wolven pointed out that the lack of gender diversity in entrepreneurship is not only a matter of fairness and equality, but also of economic growth.

“Women make up half our population, half our workforce, half our creativity. There was a former prime minister of Sweden who used the expression to be,” Wolven said.

Finnish Ambassador to Korea Pekka Metso agreed that promoting women is necessary not only for gender equality, but also for economic growth and sustainable development.

“Innovation is everything. Without gender equality, we cannot have great innovation and creativity in the future. It’s been shown to be significantly lower, and technology,” Metso said.

“I am really happy to see representatives from this field participating in the panel discussion, because change is needed, especially in South Korea. There are many changes that have to be made,” Metso added.

Sara Shafiee, CEO and founder of DivERS and assistant professor at the Technical University of Denmark, shared her experience as a female entrepreneur who faced challenges due to unconscious bias during the hiring process. To reduce the impact of bias in hiring, Shafiee developed her DiveERS. It’s a data-driven technology that removes bias in the hiring process.

She also noted that stigma can affect women’s chances of success not only in the hiring process, but in entrepreneurship. While we understand the frustration of being judged based on your background, we emphasize the importance of resilience for entrepreneurs and see failure and threats as catalysts for growth.

“I try to answer them by talking about my plans for the future, my vision for the future, my backup plans. I have to confess that otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to discuss it,” she said.

“The point is that it is not enough to expect women to build resilience. That is part of the story. It is about developing solutions, policies, and guidelines that can ensure that women entrepreneurs and their resilience are in partnership, and that governments and politicians as a whole can help destroy prejudices in society. added Shafee.

Yunice Kim, Executive Director of D3 Jubilee Partners, gave a presentation on the gender gap in entrepreneurship in South Korea. In South Korea, women face challenges and barriers that limit their ability to start and grow businesses compared to men.

“One of the major barriers for female entrepreneurs in South Korea is the culture and social norms that prioritize the role of men as breadwinners and the role of women as caregivers. Access, family support, and access to networks are getting harder, which is very important for business success,” says Kim.

Benja Stig Fagerland, Associate Professor at the University of South East Norway Business School, is the founder and author of SHEconomy. She said the world is changing and recognizes the potential of women in a variety of roles within business, including leaders, entrepreneurs, board members, investors and employers.

Fagerland said it was important to fix systems and culture, not women, which is the core value of Corporate Diversity Responsibility (CDR).

“CDR is not only about a diverse workforce that brings greater value and innovation to companies, it is also about business. I will,” she said.

“CDR is more than just counting the number of women leaders and entrepreneurs, it is how systems and cultures promote the status of women entrepreneurs and diversity of all kinds. It is an advantage and can strengthen corporate culture. Improve decision-making for leaders. It can create deeper trust.

Hana Kim founded WiseUp, a virtual reality video conferencing studio service. She shared her journey as an entrepreneur, including growing up in her family that taught her that she could be anything she set her mind to.

Although she faced gender bias as a young female CEO in the IT industry, she believes more women can be successful entrepreneurs and bring fresh perspectives and ideas.

“I want to tell[girls]to believe in yourself. You have more potential than you think. Some women entrepreneurs underestimate themselves. Some people act like men, but personally, I think it’s better to be yourself than pretend to be who you want to be.You have latent power and your own strengths. I have.