Maria Assarson

About Maria

Maria is aiming for a more even gender distribution in positions of power throughout the business community. She wants to see more women in positions where they have the power to make a change. The goal is a tech industry that’s more equal, inclusive, innovative and profitable.

She helps companies and organisations understand that they need to work on their corporate culture, and inspire more people to take up a career in technology. Working in tech should be a clear option for everyone, regardless of their gender.

Today, she’s often called upon when organisations want to improve their gender equality and inclusion, or when issues related to gender equality arise. For example, when someone has been mistreated and the management is panicking.

This is still very much a situation in which only being reactive is the norm. Her clients are often people in leading positions who feel pressured, and want to start taking greater responsibility, but might not really know how to choose the right path, or what to prioritise.

In a conversation with Maria, you should take the opportunity to discuss all your ideas about inclusion and gender equality. No question is too simple, nor too hard, whether it’s issues regarding strategy, or current challenges.

Maybe you need a boost in keeping these very important issues on the table in your business, or help getting rid of outdated power structures and culture. Taking the first steps towards a long-term sustainable strategy is a great investment.

Maria has a master’s degree in engineering and has worked with companies in the civil engineering, automotive, IT and telecommunications sectors as well as other industries. She was involved in establishing Apple as a company in Sweden, and that’s where she developed her interest in diversity.

She gained invaluable insights into the challenges of building and creating the working atmosphere in a multicultural company. She also saw how crucial it is to have good leadership. Today, she’s the founder and Chair of the Board of Teknikkvinnor (women in tech) which is aimed at engineering companies and organisations. She also runs the company Hidden Dreams which focuses on tech start-ups.

She works mostly on activity plans, workshops, training, inclusion processes in recruitment and establishing HR processes. She’s also involved in leadership and communication. One of the most common topics she deals with is how to attract more women to the business. To make sure she gives the right advice, she’s always keen to do more research and learn from the experiences of others.

She has great business acumen and is very goal-oriented. Her fundamental values are strong when it comes to justice – no matter who you are, you should have the same rights and opportunities, and be treated fairly.

Maria is a warm person who shows interest and quickly creates an open atmosphere with full transparency. She likes honest dialogue and is very calm and flexible.

In her personal life, she holds a gold medal from the European Karate Championships, and martial arts remain close to her heart. She also attended music school and chose a parachute certificates instead of a driving licence.

Expertise

• Business acumen
• Cultural change
• Inclusion
• Inclusion, gender equality and diversity
• Leadership and leadership development
• Personal development
• Research

Video

Media

Books

• Framtidsfabriken och balkongfallet

Podcasts

• Har du beSTEMt dig?
• Vitecherupp
• Teknikkvinnors Maria Norberg om jämställdhetsarbetet

Articles

• Hon har byggt upp Teknikkvinnor – nu ska hon förändra riskkapitalet
• Målet: Fler kvinnor tar plats i startup-världen
• Intervju med Maria Norberg, VD på Teknikkvinnor
• Med Womentor ökar vi jämställdhetstakten

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