Champion Voices is our new thought leadership series bringing the personal experiences and reflections of our Champions to the forefront. With each contribution, we will hear from a different Champion on a topic that matters to them. From what first sparked their interest in gender equality work to the lessons learned along the way, Champion Voices moves beyond the policy papers to shine a light on the authentic experiences, challenges, and motivations that shape our Champions' work. In this fourth edition, Ambassador Tormod C. Endresen, Permanent Representative of Norway to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva, reflects on how his mother's pioneering work for women's rights and maternal health shaped his understanding of gender equality and the responsibility each of us has to drive change.
When we are young, we search for our own path in life. As we grow older, we come to recognize that we are also shaped by the people closest to us. For my part, I am proud to have been shaped and inspired by my mother.
My mother, Eli Heiberg, was born in 1935 and married at the age of 21 in 1956. During the 1960s and 1970s, she was a busy mother of four. When modern feminism took hold in Norway, she wanted to contribute. She started with something she knew from personal experience: pregnancy, childbirth, and the culture and practices surrounding them.
In addition to having four children, my mother was a trained physiotherapist. She found much to question; from prevailing approaches to breastfeeding to the way childbirth itself was managed. Why was childbirth treated as a medical condition rather than a natural process, something the female body was made to do? And how come that a male-dominated medical profession knew best, instead of the women themselves?
My mother asked questions and joined forces with others. She wrote articles and books, gave lectures, and travelled across the country teaching doctors and midwives. Sometimes she brought us children along. Fathers were to be included as well; she helped establish some of Norway’s first prenatal courses for men. Throughout the 70s, she played a part in driving important changes in Norwegian practices related to pregnancy and childbirth. Decades later, she was awarded a royal honour in recognition of her contribution.
As a child, I mostly noticed that my mother was often on the move and that we children had to learn early how to help out at home. As an adult, I have come to appreciate and take pride in what my mother accomplished. She was one of many who helped shape a Norway characterized by equal opportunities for women and men.
Today, this is something many in my part of the world take for granted. And my generation has reaped the benefits: High female participation in the workforce has helped make Norway a prosperous country. In my career, I have worked alongside highly capable female colleagues and superiors. Our businesses have prospered from being led by the best, be it women or men. Perhaps most importantly, when I look at my two young daughters, I know they are as free as my sons to pursue their dreams. We owe it to my mother’s generation.
The journey toward gender equality does not happen at the same pace everywhere. Different societies have different cultural starting points. Some portray equality as a challenge to traditional values. When confronted with that view, I believe one of the contributions I can make is to share my own experience.
In Norway, we have experienced that gender equality, apart from being a matter of fundamental rights, also creates great societal benefits. There are around 5.5 million Norwegians. We could never have succeeded as a society and economy if half the population had not participated fully. Gender equality has proven to be the most significant social and economic progress of my lifetime.
Reaching this point required deliberate political choices. But it also depended on a gradual shift in attitudes, driven by individuals who found something they could influence and refused to give up. That is a responsibility all of us can still embrace today.
My mother passed away a few years ago after a long and fulfilling life. I like to think she is kindly watching over me - reminding me during those long UN meetings, and in my role as International Gender Champion, that we all have an opportunity to act.
