CEO Rósa Stensen on leadership and diversity: An Icelandic perspective

When at ten years old, Rósa Stensen watched a man become president of Iceland, she was genuinely confused. Until then, she'd grown up with Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as her country's leader, the world's first democratically elected woman head of state.

"Having grown up with Vigdís as president, I was surprised when I realized men could become presidents too," she laughs. "Like, what?"

For Rósa, the question was never if women could lead, but why wouldn't they?

The day Icelandic women simply walked out

In Iceland, the equivalent of Women's Day falls on October 24th—the anniversary of the 1975 Women's Strike when 90% of the country’s women simply stopped working.

And they did it again in 2005. At exactly 14:08, women across the country left their jobs—the exact time when, based on the wage gap, they had effectively earned their share of a day's pay. "I remember watching it live," Rósa recalls. "All the women walked out, even those in government."

What those women did fifty years ago paved the path for so many, forcing Icelandic society to take a stand and recognize the need for bridging the gender gap. And even today—while Iceland leads the world in gender equity—Icelandic women continue pushing for more.

Not charity, just good business

With a team made up of over 20 nationalities, Huddly embodies Rósa's conviction that diversity drives success.

"For us as a product company, it's so important to get various perspectives into how we do things," she explains. "If everyone thinks the same way, you miss crucial blind spots – and that can mean the difference between a good product and a great one."

This perspective shapes how she approaches her role at Huddly, breaking down silos and departmental walls and activating more diverse input across the company. 

"I don't have perfect gender balance in my leadership team and it's hard to change overnight," she admits, "but we have many diverse voices to the table. And we're actively focusing on talent that will diversify our leadership over time, by giving everyone the same opportunities and treating everyone with equal value.”

"I'm not a female CEO. I'm a CEO—who happens to be a woman. Try replacing 'female' with 'male' in any professional title and see how ridiculous it sounds."

This philosophy helps shape the culture at Huddly—from celebrating occasions like Pride to normalizing flexible work and understanding that sometimes kids come to the office, it's about acknowledging and supporting all the different realities of people's lives.

"Different perspectives don't just make us nicer—they make us better," Rósa emphasizes. "And that's simply good business. Period."

Breaking the mold instead of the glass ceiling

“Having role models you can identify with is important," says Rósa. But the stark reality is that even in Norway, women hold only five CEO positions among the top 50 publicly listed companies.

She sees reason for optimism in her own industry, though. "It's important to focus on what is working well and improving. And in AV, we're seeing more women in leadership roles now."

As one of those trailblazers, Rósa is honest about her own story: "It would be hypocritical to pretend I struggled through women's rights battles. Even in male-dominated industries, I haven't personally hit glass ceilings. But I'm conscious this unfortunately isn't the reality for many. There's still a lot of work left to be done."

This awareness drives her commitment to creating pathways for others. "Not just for women but for anyone who doesn't fit the traditional mold," she says. "Just as I grew up knowing women could be presidents, I want to be part of shifting people's perspectives on what leadership looks like."

She concludes: "There are a lot of kick-ass people out there rewriting the rules. Let's focus on them."