A new book from Business History Publishing tells the story about the female leadership- and mentorprogram Ruter Dam – and in doing so, also reflects on the equality development in Swedish business life over the past three decades.
The female leadership- and mentorprogram Ruter Dam (“Queen of Diamonds”, as in the playing card) was founded in 1987.
Today, 30 years later, I am very proud and happy for the over 1,200 women who have taken our program and joined our network. Many of them have advanced to top positions in the largest Swedish companies. And these companies now have more women to choose between for their top jobs.
This is how Gunilla Arhén, outgoing ceo and founder of Ruter Dam, opens the book “Ruter Dam – 30 years of female leadrship development” (published by Förlaget Näringslivshistoria, 2017). For over 30 years, Ruter Dam has worked to get more female leaders in high positions in the large companies. Over 1,200 women at senior positions in Swedish business has taken the one-year long program and joined Ruter Dam’s growing business network. They have been given tools to get to even higher positions – and the Swedish business world has been given more women to choose between for their most senior positions.
Read an excerpt from the book here (in Swedish).”
This anniversary book, which is available in Swedish only, presents Ruter Dam-participants from 1987 until today. It also presents the corporate leaders who supported them. It summarizes how work life has changed over three decades, told by the women and managers who lived through it.
Among those interviewed in the book are Annika Falkengren, Magdalena Gerger, Gunilla Asker, Anki Ahrnell, Margareta Ozolins, Ödgärd Andersson, Petra Axdorff and Charlotte Ljunggren.
Among the senior managers who talk about being mentors to Ruter Dam-participants are Marcus Wallenberg, Jacob Wallenberg, Carl-Henric Svanberg, Michael Treschow, Leif Östling, Jan-Olof Jacke, Alrik Danielson och Georgi Ganev.
Project team
The book is published by Business History Publishing. Project team at the Centre for Business History was:
- Editor and project manager: Anders Sjöman
- Image research: Mikaela Nordin
- Ideation: Eva Ersson-Åbom
The book is designed by Bea Hellman.
The book contains new texts from Karin Thunberg, Hanna Dunér, Lotta Byqvist, Sofie Lundmark, Anders Sjöman and Gunilla Arhén herself.
