Our Learning Journeys are always an enrichment for ourselves and our team. Each time, we learn more about international markets, different communities and suddenly we see many areas from a different perspective. Again and again we connect with strong women from different countries, get inspired, gain valuable experience, hear personal stories and strengthen our network in Europe.

The goal in Stockholm was to get as many insights as possible into Swedish companies, communication methods and cultural standards within four days (6-10.06.22) - and we more than succeeded!

After our official start on the first day with a boat trip through the city and a visit to Drottningholms Castle, the second day continued directly with presentations by two empowering women:
 

Saira Alladin and Natalie Berkman from Vattenfall shared their Diversity experiences in the energy industry and impressed us, among other things, with the following quote: Hierarchy through a leadership position is not enough for a woman to get the respect from her colleagues.

After enjoying the inspiring talk, we ended the day with a coffee in a Swedish beer garden. It is always a great moment on the Learning Journeys when the participants can introduce themselves in detail. Each of us learns new insights about the other and their job and that was really interesting!

A successful afternoon, followed by a great dinner at Knut's with Swedish specialties!
 

On the third day, Åsa Ankarcrona was our host at the Royal Institute of Technology, which impressed us with its campus. And who would have thought that the Swedish students are all considered highly employable on an international level! Then we all had lunch at the German Embassy. In four small groups, each with the ambassador, the deputy ambassador and two embassy staff, we learned interesting insights into Swedish society and its handling of the COVID19 pandemic. While we sat in lockdown on and off for the past two years, Swedish children were in school continuously and the mask requirement did not exist either. Unimaginable for us at the time, but even more interesting to see how other countries have found their own way to deal with the virus.
 

Carina Lindfelt took us through the afternoon meeting at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises on the topic of gender equality. 77% of women in Sweden work, and only 28% of them work part-time. Compared to other European countries, this is an immense difference. Carina Lindfelt told us how important it is for women in Sweden to work in order to be able to receive a sufficient pension later on. Moreover, there is no taxation as a married couple in Sweden. The women take care of their livelihood just as independently as the men.
 

Thursday was all about medical topics. Looking back, the lecture on gender medicine is at the top of the highlight list. Karin Schenck Gustafsson, professor of cardiology and founder of the Center for Gender Medicine gave an impressive lecture. It was thought provoking that even today, medications are mainly tested on males, although the dosage for women would have to be handled differently for more than 25% of the active ingredients. In addition, different side effects occur in women. A very interesting insight into the field of gender medicine.

The last lecture of the official program dealt with Alzheimer's disease and took place in the café of the National Museum. Despite the not easy topic, Liselotte made her lecture very informative. The final highlight of our Learning Journey was definitely the Dinner & Dance Show at Wallmanns! A wonderful evening - at least as colorful, diverse, insightful, impressive and inspiring as the entire Learning Journey. We would like to thank all the amazing women who made these four days so special. Thanks to all the great women who made these four days so special. Looking forward to many more Learning Journeys where we can share our knowledge, experiences and inspirations!

Many thanks to Ariane Bischoff, member from EWMD Germany (Chapter EWMD Rhein-Ruhr) who summarized her impressions from Stockholm for us!