Sonja Sauvola Integration Specialist, Solita
Reading time 3 min
Have you seen the movie Hidden Figures? Did you know that many remarkable women in Europe have also shaped the history of computing? This blog series presents four women from the early 1900s to the present day. They are from Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. As the world of IT needs more women, it must be pointed out that this isn’t a field in which women are newcomers. In the words of Janet Abbate, this is a field where they have a history and belong.
Drude Berntsen (born on Feb 21 1939) is a Norwegian computer scientist who was one of the pioneers in developing information technology during the 1960s. She has also reached high-ranking positions at a time when women were generally overlooked and underpaid.
Berntsen grew up in Halden, southern Norway. She then studied mathematics, physics, and chemistry at the University of Oslo. In 1962, she was employed as a programmer at the Norwegian Computing Center (NCC), a research institute established by the Norwegian Research Council for Science and Technology. Berntsen was particularly involved in administrative data processing and programmed banking systems. She was also among the first in Norway to use the COBOL programming language.
Before the 1940s, programmers were predominantly women. During the 1960s, women still accounted for almost half of computer programmers, but few were promoted to leadership roles. In addition to encountering social barriers in job promotions, women received significantly lower salaries than their male counterparts.
Drude Berntsen was an exception to the rule. She became Head of NCC’s Department for Administrative Data Processing in 1968, six years after starting work there as a programmer. In 1969, she was the staff’s candidate for the post of Director of the NCC. Berntsen was appointed as the Director and continued to lead the NCC for more than 20 years. It was unusual for a woman to hold such a position at a time of male dominance in computing, but Berntsen managed to break through the glass ceiling and stay on top for decades.
In 1990, Berntsen left the NCC to join the Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities. She assumed the role of Trade Council Director and was responsible for the system that allocates funds for fundamental scientific research. She was a promoter of information technology and contributed to it being elevated to a professional discipline at the Research Council.
In 1993, Berntsen assumed the role of Director of the Investigation Department at the National Insurance Service. She was responsible for statistics, studies, and analyses, as well as the budgeting of the National Insurance Fund. Once again, she held a position of significant responsibility. She would remain a woman in power until the end of her working career.
Sonja Sauvola Integration Specialist, Solita