DSD AS launches new barometer

Norway is often highlighted as one of the most gender-equal countries in the world – yet a new survey shows that family-owned investment environments, so-called family offices, are still marked by substantial gender imbalances.

The findings are presented in the DSD Barometer 2025, a qualitative study released today. While Norway has a limited number of professional family office companies, they manage a large share of the assets in privately owned family businesses and play a central role in national value creation. This makes it crucial to understand who holds leadership positions and who is making strategic decisions.

“A significant share of Norway’s value creation stems from these family-owned, professional investment environments. They hold considerable influence and have the ability to shape workplaces, guide investment decisions and contribute directly to long-term business development in Norway. When our findings show that the gender balance in these companies is uneven, we must help draw attention to the issue so more people rethink who should have a seat at the decision-making table,” says Anita Krohn, CEO of DSD AS.

DSD Barometer’s analysis of 30 Norwegian family office companies shows that there is a major gender imbalance in key positions:

90 percent of CEOs are men
Nearly 80 percent of board chairs in family offices are men
36 percent of employees in family office companies are women
Women hold less than a quarter of client-facing positions, while men are underrepresented in back-office roles
Only 13 percent of top executive positions are held by women

DSD is one of the few family-owned groups with both a female CEO and a female majority owner and chair of the board. However, this shift only occurred in 2024 – after 170 years of company history.

“The level of gender diversity in Norwegian family office companies does not reflect the ambitions Norway has for equality. With this barometer, we aim to contribute insight and open the door to conversations surrounding the issue. Hopefully, it will encourage more family-owned companies to take active steps,” says Yuhong Hermansen, Chair of the Board at DSD.

CORE: “The figures confirm that renewal at the top is slow”

CORE – the Centre for Research on Gender Equality at the Institute for Social Research – presents the Top Executive Barometer every other year, which shows similar patterns among the 200 largest Norwegian companies by turnover.

“Top-level leadership in Norwegian business remains characterised by a low share of women, and this new survey from DSD AS shows that family-owned investment environments follow the same trend. When key positions remain homogeneous over time, it can affect both innovation and future recruitment,” says Mari Teigen, researcher and Director of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality.

Established as an annual initiative

The DSD Barometer is now being established as an annual initiative to track developments in private ownership in Norway and to promote greater transparency around gender balance in these companies.

“We hope the barometer can serve as a catalyst for new thinking, and for encouraging family-owned companies to prioritise diversity as part of their ownership strategy,” Krohn says.

For detailed facts and additional comments, please see the attached summary (in Norwegian).

About DSD AS

DSD is an industrial investment group that develops companies and invests in people. Active ownership, sustainability and value creation guide the group’s forward-looking, technology-based platform companies. The group manages around NOK 5 billion across more than 30 companies and employs more than 6,200 people.
DSD is wholly owned by Folke Hermansen AS, with Yuhong Jin Hermansen as majority owner and Chair of the Board. DSD has been developing companies for 170 years — and more are on the way.
Learn more at www.dsd.no