Time to take action on Innovation Week promises

Iceland Innovation Week just wrapped up and what a week it was! Full of events, meetings, pitches, and awards, it celebrated the best of Icelandic innovation. But any discussion on Iceland would not be complete without including gender. So, here are the stats:

• 5 of the 81 listed events specifically addressed the status of women in the innovation sector

• An 83/81 female/male split of speakers at events

• The majority of events had mixed male and female panels

The nature of these types of events mean that the leaders of the field are most likely to be speaking. So, it looks like there are quite a few women in positions of power and influence in innovation in Iceland: academics, top-level government officials, founders, c-suiters, and NGO leaders. Well done Iceland and the Iceland Innovation Week organizers.

Of course, this just scratches the surface. How great would it have been to be able to go to each panel and look at who got the most airtime? Who dominated the discussion and controlled the narrative? How were the social events? Were there issues of gender-based harassment or violence? There is so much more to look at than just the numbers. This curious woman can only dream of research projects.

Gender equity is only the first step towards a truly inclusive innovation sector in Iceland or anywhere. Another look at the listed speakers shows that they are overwhelmingly white. They look like what you might expect an Icelander to look like if you ever took the time to imagine one. This veneer belies the reality of the current population in Iceland, though. Statistics Iceland reports that 16.3% of the population in Iceland in 2022 were of immigrant origin. I know this does not mean that 16.3% of the population does not look like your stereotypical Icelander.

But, digging deeper shows that every continent is represented in that number. Hundreds of countries, hundreds of languages, hundreds of ethnicities, cultures, experiences, realities that were not represented at Iceland Innovation Week. And of the 5 events that addressed that status of women, only two titles indicated that they were addressing larger issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in Icelandic innovation.

Before we all shrug our shoulders and say it is a pipeline problem, let’s break that argument down. Who is in control of this pipeline? Based on the people who were invited to speak at the events, it is white Icelanders. The leaders I listed earlier? They are the very people who make decisions about who has access to education, funding, infrastructure, jobs - the entire system that got them to their positions of power in the first place. And it takes work, often uncomfortable work, to break those pipes to turn the trickle of diverse talent into a flood.

It is possible, though. The WTI panel for Innovation Week was a solid example of leaders who have committed to doing the work needed to make palpable change. Moderated by WTI Chairwoman, Alondra Silva Muñoz, the panel included: 

• Berenice Barrios, Director of Microsoft Alliance, Advania

• Stefanía Ólafsdóttir, Founder and CEO of AVO

• Hekla Arnadóttir, Founding Partner, Crowberry Capital

• Ellen Ýr Aðalsteinsdóttir, CHRO, Reykjavik Energy

• Dr. Irma Jóhanna Erlingsdóttir, University of Iceland, Professor and Director of GRÓ GEST and RIKK – Institute for Gender, Equality and Difference.

Each panelist spoke passionately about their experiences in leading change in their organizations. Stefanía showcased the steps AVO is taking to create an equitable hiring process to actively challenge biases in tech in Iceland. Berenice followed up by pointing out that only 1% of women of foreign origin are working in the field of their degree in Iceland. “I always wanted to be part of the 1% but not this one,” she joked. Hekla took up the thread by focusing on investing in diverse teams. She pointed out how allowing only half the population of the world (men) decide on what problems need solving will inherently lead to lost opportunities.

At OR, as Ellen pointed out, the CEO has committed to working on gender and DEI issues in the historically male-led company. A clear mandate from the top can galvanize the organization to make real change, as we learned from Stefanía’s work at AVO. Just as important, though, are employee-led initiatives like Advania’s work in mentoring new employees that was shared by Berenice. Hekla encouraged the packed house to not be overwhelmed by the mountain they seem to face when taking steps to change the culture. As Irma said, there is no single way to ensure (gender) equality. The important thing is to not stop striving towards the goal of a more equitable society. Irma ended with the reminder that all the gains that have been made in Iceland in (gender) equality so far have been because women have fought furiously for it.

Now is the time to continue the fight! Instead of resting after an invigorating week, we need to take the next steps toward a truly inclusive and welcoming innovation sector in Iceland by

• Listening to the people who are experiencing exclusion and sitting with their words

• Looking at where we have power in our organizations to make change and leveraging that power to

  • Create equitable hiring practices

  • Offer the same benefits and pay to all employees

  • Looking beyond our comfort zones

  • Challenging the status quo in our teams, departments, and organizations

  • Speaking up for DEI

• Evaluating our own biases and working against them

• Creating DEI policies and action plans and monitoring your organization’s progress

• Becoming comfortable with the discomfort of change

• Celebrating the benefits of a truly diverse innovation sector in Iceland!