American & Danish Perspectives on Elevating Women into Leadership

AmCham Denmark, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy, is pleased to welcome you to hear American & Danish perspectives on elevating women into leadership with prominent leaders from both countries.

There is a common understanding in both nations that elevating women into leadership positions is important for business globally. But why is the process moving so slowly? Is improving work-life balance the key to having more women in leadership – or do we need to redefine what leadership means in a modern world? And what can Denmark and the US learn from each other in terms of supporting women in becoming leaders in their own lives, as well as in the workplace?

Speakers & Panelists include:

• Alyse Nelson is President & CEO of Vital Voices, and with her background at the U.S. State Department and the White House, has been called one of the 150 Women Shaking the World by Newsweek, and one of the 100 Most Influential People in Global Gender Policy (Apolitical.) Alyse will present Vital Voices’ leadership model highlighting five core leadership practices of effective women change-makers
• Sarah Endline is  Entrepreneur in Residence, Harvard Business School and the Harvard Innovation Labs, and Founder & CEO of activist candy company SweetRiot NYC, whose entrepreneurial work has been covered by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Today Show, Forbes, and Fortune. Sarah will share her experiences on what organizations can do to support the advancement of women and shape a gender inclusive culture; as well as how business leaders can actively champion female talent and create opportunities for advancement
• Christine Asmussen is the Executive Director of Finansforbundet at Nordea where she works with political stakeholder relations at international, European, and Nordic levels to build networks and create alliances. Christine, who is known for her fairness and respect – along with her strong management and negotiating skills, will share her Danish perspective on the issues.
• Peder Anderlind, is a Senior Vice President at Danske Bank where serves as the HR Manager for the Large Corporate & Institutions (LC&I) business unit. Peder is the co-head of LC&I´s D&I and Culture Council and sits on both the LC&I and the HR management teams.  Prior to joining Danske Bank in August of 2019, Peder worked for Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, based out of Zurich, London and New York.
• Stuart Dwyer, Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy.

There is much the two countries can learn from one another. For example, in Denmark, more women than men complete a university degree. However, according to a World Economic Forum survey from 2021, Denmark ranked only 101 with regards to women in top management, while the U.S. ranked 31, indicating that there is a strong need in Denmark to examine barriers for women’s advancement and rethink current leadership models.

On the other hand, the U.S. ranked number 61, as opposed to Denmark’s number 25, on the issue of labor participation rates, indicating that the Danish labor market is structurally inclusive. But is that also true for the leadership level?

These and other topics will be considered during our panel discussion with all the speakers, with moderator Marie Valentin Beck, Danish Diversity & Inclusion Expert, Bureau M.

We hope you will join us for this important discussion.