Women in Leadership: How Norwegian industrial CEO puts diversity on the agenda

March is Women's History Month and March 8 is International Women's Day. To mark the occasion, we're bringing you a special series of the ESG Insider podcast focused on women in leadership. We'll be speaking to women CEOs and executives from across industries and around the globe.

In our first interview of the series, we speak to Hilde Aasheim, CEO of Norsk Hydro, a large Norwegian aluminum and energy producer with a big focus on renewables and operations in 40 countries. She tells us how she works with women across her company to help them develop their careers. She also explains her career path to the C-suite, and how she approaches diversity, equity and inclusion in her role.

"Leadership is a balancing act. You have to work with your heart and your head; you have to work short term and long term," Hilde says.

Diversity in leadership has received increasing attention in recent years from stakeholders in the sustainability world. Investors have pushed for diversity on company boards and management teams, and in some parts of the world, that push has extended to laws and regulations. But the number of women in top roles remains low. Recent research from S&P Global found that women represented just 5.4% of CEOs in 2022, slightly up from 5% in 2021. You can read that research here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/featured/special-editorial/women-ceos-leadership-for-a-diverse-future

We'd love to hear from you. To give us feedback on this episode or share ideas for future episodes, please contact hosts Lindsey Hall (lindsey.hall@spglobal.com) and Esther Whieldon (esther.whieldon@spglobal.com).

Photo source: Norsk Hydro

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