A woman in the field of tech is still a rare phenomenon in some parts of the world. A woman who talks about equality at the workplace - even more so. And a woman who works towards creating this equality as well as inspiring hundreds of young girls to get into tech is probably one in a billion. All of this describes the tip of the iceberg that is Isabelle.

“Companies with more than 30 percent women executives were more likely to outperform those with fewer women executives” she shares - statistics that open eyes and minds across global workplaces. A firm believer about equal opportunity and diversity of work places, she believes the world only thrives when we celebrate our differences. “We love to work with people who are ‘like’ us. But that does not bring about optimum productivity or results”, she says.

In 2014, Isabelle founded a Tech-network for women in Norway with the goal to inspire women and girls to take up technology. In a short time, TENK had reached and spoken to thousands of women, toured Norway to speak to more than 4000 high school girls, co-established an annual national Girl Tech Fest in addition to a Tech-Summer Camp for girls. In 2016 Isabelle won a national competition and a scholarship to attend Singularity University Global Solutions Program which took her to spend ten weeks at NASA Research Center in Silicon Valley learning about exponential technologies- and learning how they can be applied to solve humanity's global grand challenges.

With this exposure in her bag, Equalitycheck.it was the next step. Her diverse experience set her up as a formidable force in the world that merges technology with equality. Equalitycheck.it is a data driven and evidence based company which collects data on its website through anonymous reviews of workspaces submitted by employees globally. They ask questions like - Do you feel welcome and included in the organisation’s culture OR Whether you have been at the receiving end of insensitive jokes and many more. Data thus collected gives an idea of how the employees truly feel about the inclusivity and tolerance of the company at large along with a view on gender balance and opportunities. Relevant, much needed and incredibly thoughtful is how one would describe the work the company does.

Isabelle attributes her thought process and belief systems to her upbringing. She was very observant of what it was like to grow up as a ‘’girl’’. She believed girls and boys should be exposed to and encouraged to the same kinds of things so that every child can grow in their individual directions and fulfil their potential. But like many other women who grew up in a gender label free environment, the realisation that the world doesn't function the same way comes the moment you enter university and careers. Even in a gender neutral country like Norway, there are labels on what you can and cannot do and what is expected of you. Isabelle’s experience was no different. However each woman processes this experience differently. They either accept the way of life, end up being terribly bitter about the unfair world, or they rise to change it. This entrepreneur, podcast creator, and gender equality advocate has chosen the last option and is changing the way workplaces handle diversity and gender equality one company at a time.

Equalitycheck.it's website states - In 2020, the WEF Gender Gap report estimated that with the current rate of progress, it will take 99.5 years to close the global gender gap. In other words: Equality will not be solved anytime soon unless we speed up the process. Here is wishing them Godspeed in bridging the gap across the very wide gender inequality river.