The Association of International and Professional Business Women ("AIPBW") last month supported and participated in a panel discussion "Are women less corrupt than men?" organized by consultancy firm Septia Group (www.septiagroup.com) and Sunne Organisasjon (www.sunneorg.no). The debate  was held as an "appetizer" to the play Over Evne III, a modernization of Norwegian and Nobel Prize winning writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s play about greed, corruption and misuse of power at the Black Box Theater in Oslo on Jan. 27, 2010. AIPBW's panelists were Kari Nysted (Chair 2009) and Linda Eikelenboom (Location Administrator 2009).

Kari summarizes the event as follows,
            "This was an excellent event and a great opportunity for letting people know what our network really is.  We are neither "gutteklubben grei" and "jenteklubben hei". Instead we are a network of international and professional women supporting and promoting each other.  Our network is an excellent way to connect to the business side of Oslo. Having a foreign / different CV can pose some challenges to our members. Serving as connectors for each other gives our members value to their membership".

Other panelists included Gro Skaaren-Fystro (from Transparency International), Petter Gottschalk (Professor at the Norwegian School of Management, Dept. of Leadership and Organizational Management), Lasse Birkeland (chartered accountant / opinion leader on ethics in Norway), Ylva Lindberg (founder and managing director of Sigla AS, a consultancy firm focusing on ethics and social responsibility) and Veronica Morino ( Founder and Managing Director of Septia AS).

Many of the themes taken up in the play mirrored those in the debate. "Corruption" and "Fraud" is something people love to sweep under the carpet and it takes a brave person to speak out against a wall of silence and inaction. This was one of the things whistleblower Kari Breirem found out when she warned about possible corruption involving an ex-minister and a leading businessman around 8 years ago. “I spoke up against the powers that be in Norway, and so all hell broke loose” was her closing remark in the play. (Authors: Kari Nysted, Veronica Morino, Nigel Iyer.)