Want to know who is the final six role models to win this year's Female developer of the year? Look no further! Get to know them a little better here, and sign up for our event before by Friday 28/10 noon.
For the second year in a row, FINN.no finally has the pleasure of presenting Female Developer of the Year. This year, 44 women have been nominated, and the jury has had a tough job deciding who should be among the final role models and finalists.
And finally, now we can present the final six role models who can win this award on November 3rd. Get to know them a little better below and sign up to join the celebration by 28/10 (link in the bottom of this article)
Who: Sarah Serussi, Senior Software Developer, Variant
What is the best thing about being a developer?
Flexibility; I only need a laptop and my brain to do my job and that is very freeing. I can work from anywhere at any time and I can often decide exactly how I want to spend my day.
Why is it important to arrange an award such as Female Developer of the Year?
I think it’s great that there is a focus on technology-driven women who are working on the technical side of products and projects. There is a huge lack of women in tech in general and I believe that in order to make products for all genders, then all genders should be represented in the team of developers making those products.
I have always been one of the few female developers in the team in all my years working as a developer, and I would really like to see a future where it is normal to have as many female developers as male developers in a team. I believe we can get there if we can spread the word to young girls that working on the technical side is actually very fun!
Who: Karina Øverland Haugen, Løsningsarkitekt/Utvikler TV2
What is the best thing about being a developer?
Oh where to begin! The first thing that I love about being a developer and architect is to be doing what I love the most. The possibilities are endless, and we make some awesome software wherever we go. And we get to shape the technical solutions to the better. Also, the environment we work in is really «Down to Earth». Everyone is really glad to help each other to become a better developer.
Why is it important to arrange an award such as Female Developer of the Year?
I still think that there should be more women working as developers. An award such as Female Developer of the Year will hopefully share light on all the good work women do in IT, and maybe the good work us women do in juggling family, work and social life. And I think it is important that we women show how much good work and time we actually put in our developing career.
Who? Merethe Granevang, Tech Lead in Gyldendal
What is the best thing about being a developer?
Being a developer is a very rewarding occupation. You are solving problems or making new ideas come to life every day! Another perk is that you have a large variety of domains that are in need of programmers. So you are able to choose your favourite domain to dive into.
Why is it important to arrange an award such as Female Developer of the Year?
Being in a male-dominated occupation, it is important to show that all genders can thrive as a developer. When I started my career it was very uncommon for women to take interest in programming. By highlighting female developers, you may inspire others to follow.
Who: Anum Qudsia, CEO & Senior Consultant and Developer, FireTech AS
What is the best thing about being a developer?
The thrill of being part of creating cutting edge solutions and claim a hand in the building blocks of the larger IT systems in our society. The feeling of accomplishment when creating functional products and automise repetitive manual processes. It gives me a profound amount of joy seeing the delightful reactions I receive from the clients on the final product!
Why is it important to arrange an award such as Female Developer of the Year?
It is important to recognise and praise the work female developers are doing in order to change the presumptions and prejudices about this field. By drawing attention to female developers we can encourage more females to join the field and thereby increase diversity. There are many problems (that we haven’t thought of) that we could have solved if we had more women in the field. As this award continues to present a female role model each year I look forward to an exponential growth of women in IT.
Who? Ida Husby Swendgaard, Developer at Iterate + Founder & Coding CEO of Noba
What is the best thing about being a developer?
That the job is really flexible and enables you to work in a diverse range of both companies and sectors. Development skills are needed everywhere, and there is a high demand for talented people. This means you can work on projects you’re truly passionate about, even if your passion were to change over time.
In addition to that, you never stop learning and you will use your creativity and skills to solve big and small problems on a daily basis. Doing so is challenging but also very rewarding. Lastly, people in tech are very eager to share their knowledge, which is a motivational and inspiring environment to work in.
Why is it important to arrange an award such as Female Developer of the Year?
Because we need more diversity in the hands-on development that creates our future. As a developer you have a lot of power on how new systems are designed and implemented, and you will be able to make a difference in the early stages of product development. In order to create valuable tech that applies for all, we need everyone represented when doing so. Arranging this award will hopefully make more awesome women realise that a programming career is both fun, challenging and a great choice!
Who: Benedicte Emilie Brækken, TDE, FINN.no*
What is the best thing about being a developer?
To me, being a developer is like having super powers. Most things we interact with in our day-to-day, is made by a developer. Checking your bank account, watching movies, even chatting with your friends! When you’re a developer you’re able to see and understand the fabric that makes up all these services. And you’re not just able to use them, but you can change them! You can even chain them together and create entirely new services! The sky’s the limit!
In your standard product team, we are the only ones with nothing standing in between ourselves and the code that’s actually running out there, doing things. On servers, in browsers or natively on people’s mobile devices. That grants us an intimate and unique vantage point none of the other roles have. And of course, a lot of responsibility. We are kind of at the center of it all. Like Neo in the Matrix. And I think that is just extremely cool!
Why is it important to arrange an award such as Female Developer of the Year?
We have too few women in tech! And a lot of the women who leave don’t do it because they want to. But because they’re made to feel they don’t belong. However, coding isn’t a guy-only thing. Anyone can learn to code. The first developers were women! And we really need to take advantage of all the positive effects we get from working in diverse groups! One way we can do that is by promoting the minorities within tech, one of them being women.
I believe that what we achieve, over time, not just with this award, but with consistent diversity work. Is to make sure we move in the right direction. A direction that has more people from all genders and minorities start doing tech. Because we shape the society of tomorrow, and all groups deserve to take part in designing.
*Benedicte works in FINN.no and this award is hosted by FINN.no. Please note that the internal jury members from FINN.no are disqualified from evaluating internal candidates. However, Benedicte was nominated by several people, and the external part of the jury voted for Benedicte being part of the final candidates.
Practical information
The winners will be announced at FINN's own Award evening on 3 November 2022 at Grensen 5-7. Sign up HERE by Friday 28/10 noon to join. (You need to sign up to attend the event, and there are limited spaces)
Check out the PROGRAM of the event here. (Google sites)