For this week’s newsletter we had the opportunity to talk with Stine Rebekka Aksnes, the Director of Sustainability at Sopra Steria. As one of our SHE Young partners for this year’s conference, Sopra Steria will be facilitating a session titled 'Innovation & Technology - Embedding Diversity in Tomorrow’s Solutions.’ We wanted to learn more about the work Sopra Steria is doing, both in regard to helping more diverse voices be a part of the industry, and to ensure that the technology currently being developed works for everyone.
As the director of Sustainability, Stine is responsible for the development and implementation of the company's overall sustainability strategy. The Sopra Steria Group receives international recognition for their work in reducing the company's greenhouse gas emissions. However, being an IT consultancy, with knowledge as a strategic asset, social sustainability is at the core of how they conduct their business.
Good Role Models = Good Tech
We wanted to start this conversation by asking Stine quite a broad question, namely what Sopra Steria’s message will be as a part of SHE Young, and why it is important to have this dialogue directly with younger generations.
Stine mentions many central reasons as to why it is important to have an open dialogue about the future of tech. She highlights the way they want to showcase the many opportunities young people can have within the sector.
“Young people are the future of the tech industry, and we need them to take part in developing future solutions that centre social sustainability and environmental concerns.”
Technology is a part of our day-to-day life, and Stine emphasises the importance of helping people understand the many different opportunities available to them in the industry to make more informed decisions about their future educations and career paths.
This requires good role models. Promoting the strong voices of a diverse pool of technologists to youth that may otherwise not have been exposed to the industry otherwise can make a difference.
“This work is not something that we can immediately see the results of, she says, but “it is an important part of long term, equity work being done to make the sector more diverse and inclusive in the future."
Social Sustainability at the Core of Developing a Good Business Strategy
“A more diverse set of perspectives is key to the many complex challenges we face as a society, and also in ensuring that we have the competence needed within the sector, to make future digital solutions sustainable and inclusive,” Stine continues.
When asked about the relationship between social sustainability and profitability, Stine explains that Sopra Steria’s strategic focus on equity, inclusion, diversity, and belonging is simply good business. Sopra Steria has been given the ‘Great Place to Work Award’ in Norway six years in a row. They work directly with Pride, ODA, and MAK, amongst other diversity partners within the sector, and have an active diversity steering committee and engage in several diversity networks.
“We are dependent on being attractive to the best talents, and this requires that we foster an inclusive, supportive and open working environment, which again require concrete actions from us as an employer.” Stine explains that the industry needs people with a both deep expertise of tech and as well as a broader set of interpersonal skills and knowledge of systemic and ethical consequences of digital solutions.
This creates an understanding of how the solutions being developed effect the end-user and society as a whole. A holistic approach is therefore a key component to being an agent for change.
Utilise the Knowledge You Already Have
With more than 80 different social groups being a part of the company, Stine explains that Sopra Steria is constantly improving and learning as an organisation by—amongst other things—listening to and utilising the expansive pool of diverse knowledge and perspectives within their organisation.
“Diversity and Inclusion is far more complex than what one might think at first glance, and it really requires everyone working together and within ourselves to embrace sensitive issues. It requires deep awareness of our leaders, and it requires bold leadership to pave the way for others—both by letting marginalized voices be heard, and by showing own vulnerability as a leader. That’s why we’ve developed our own inclusive leadership program, for both our leaders and consultants, to be launched this fall.”
The DEIB-training consists of one e-learning module for leaders, and one module for all co-workers, as well as two in depth training sessions with the company’s leaders.
“In order to create a diverse and open environment where people feel free to utilize different aspects of their personal competence, you have to dare to be a role-model," concludes the Sustainability Director.
Thank you, Stine, for sharing your invaluable insight and practical experiences. We look forward to meeting Sopra Steria at this year’s SHE Conference and hear more from you and many of the changemakers within the company!
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