In our new blog series, we present the finalists for Styrekvinnen (Board Woman of the Year) – an award that highlights accomplished women board members and leaders who contribute to better gender balance and greater expertise in Norwegian limited companies. First up is Tonje Hovde Skjelbostad, finalist for the Rising Star award, Future Board Woman of the Year 2024. As group CEO of the Alt Legalt group and managing director of the law firm Legalis, Skjelbostad shares her experience of board work, diversity and the importance of being visible in order to be offered board positions.
Having grown up on a farm in Rauma, Tonje learned the value of hard work early on. After completing her law degree in Bergen, she began her career at the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman (Forbrukerombudet), where she quickly rose to director of department. Today she leads one of Norway’s foremost law firm groups and holds several board positions, but the road there has been marked by determined effort and a willingness to seize opportunities.
Tonje is passionate about greater diversity and equality, both in the legal profession and on Norwegian boards. She stresses the importance of people of all genders, sexual orientations and ethnicities having equal opportunities in business. She is motivated by the strategic role of board work and the need for systems and control, and she believes that today’s recruitment practices still favour men.
One of the biggest challenges Tonje points to is that men are often offered board positions without asking, while women have to take the initiative themselves. She encourages women to be visible, build networks and actively express their interest. With the new gender balance requirements for the boards of Norwegian limited companies (AS) from 2024, Tonje believes it is high time Norwegian companies looked beyond the traditional box and recruited more broadly.
Read the full interview with Tonje Hovde Skjelbostad (in Norwegian) in AW Magazine here.