In May 2022, the Empower Her initiative was launched by the U.S. Commercial Service in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU Empower Her page) and AmChams in Europe to promote and empower women’s advancement in international trade. By setting up a forum to spread ideas and best practices, the initiative seeks to bolster direct engagement by businesses to take action to advance women’s economic empowerment in the workplace and women-led entrepreneurship across the Atlantic.
In 2023, on International Women’s Day, AmCham will kick off the initiative in Sweden by hosting a panel that brings together influential actors from politics and business to share their professional perspectives on female empowerment. That said, the conference seeks to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment by tackling questions, such as:
How can we advance women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in international trade?
In what ways can U.S. and Swedish companies diversify their workplaces and support women-owned businesses?
How can we increase awareness for female entrepreneurs of trade, investment, and export-related services?
What are the main obstacles to reaching female empowerment in the U.S. and Sweden?
Our Distinguished Speakers
Speaker: Martin Andreasson (State Secretary to Minister for Gender Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment Paulina Brandberg)
Martin Andreasson has extensive experience in leadership, policy-making, and political decision-making. Prior to his appointment as State Secretary, he served as the Head of the Liberal Party Parliamentary Secretariat (2019-2022). Throughout his extensive political career, he has developed a particular interest in legal issues, equal treatment, and social policy.
Speaker: Marianne Drain (Principal Commercial Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce)
Marianne Drain is a career Foreign Service Officer, representing the U.S. Department of Commerce as the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm since September 2022. She is one of over 200 officers around the world dedicated to assisting American business interests while working as a part of the U.S. Embassy’s Mission. Marianne has previously worked in this role while stationed in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Budapest (Hungary), and New Delhi (India), as well as offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. She is a native of the Pacific Northwest, and a graduate of the University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies. She is also the great-granddaughter of two Swedish immigrants to the United States and is honored to be working in her ancestral homeland.
Speaker: Therese Tegner (Executive Vice President of Human Resources, Skanska)
With over 25 years of experience from international organizations leading risk management, legal and financial functions, I've learned that one thing remains consistent for success. People. Teams, relationships and culture connect people and that's why processes and tools that build and enhance these elements enable people to thrive and are the essential ingredients for consistent value creation. In my role as EVP of HR at Skanska my job is to ensure our exceptional teams get the most out of their time with Skanska, and through their work deliver something greater that will last well beyond their lifetime.
Speaker: Linda Sward (Country Manager Sweden, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co)
Linda Sward has more than 20 years of experience and leadership in cloud services, software, and edge technologies, as well as in multiple customer segments and in various business channels. Before joining HPE, Linda lead the Enterprise segment in Sweden at Amazon Web Services, and prior to that, she worked for five years at Microsoft as the Public Sector Lead in Sweden. Linda has also very deep knowledge of the networking industry as she spent 15 years at Cisco in multiple roles, from systems engineer, account manager, working with partners to sales manager, across a variety of different business sectors.
Moderator: Crystal Sequin (Global Business Development and Strategy, Scania)
Crystal Sequin has over 20 years of experience in the heavy transport sector with special focus on collaborating with industry partners and customers on sustainable transport solutions and systems. Prior to joining Scania Group, Crystal held leadership roles over Distribution Strategy, Central Sales and Pricing Strategy for Navistar, Inc., a US-based truck, bus, and engine manufacturer. Crystal has long been an advocate of female leaders in the workplace and has been recognized as one of the top women to watch by Women In Trucking as well as a feature member of Advancing Women Executives. Crystal is also Chairman of AmCham Sweden’s Sustainability Working Committee.