"The industry has a distorted self-image"

Men in black suits: That was Monika Lindquist’s impression when she attended her first digital signage event.

Since 2019, the mother of two has been working for the Europe-wide integrator Visual Art from Sweden. There, as CCO and CMO, she is now responsible for all marketing activities – and is slowly seeing changes as far as gender equality in the industry: „This year at ISE and DSS Europe, for the first time, you saw more women not just holding assistant positions, but management positions,“ she describes in an invidis interview.

In search for a female CFO

With Lisa Hemström, Maike Frölich, Sofie Norrmen and Anne-Mette Sørum, there are four more women on Visual Art’s management positions in addition to Monika Lindquist.

And more are planned: The company is currently recruiting for the CFO position. The goal: to fill the position with a woman. This is not easy: Many CFOs are men, and the few women in the field are top performers who can also command a higher salary than budgeted. „For us, it is important to give women the same opportunities as men, then of course the best suited person and personality will be the one who gets the job,“ says Monika Lindquist.

No Paygap, parent-friendly working models

To ensure a high percentage of women and position Visual Art as an attractive employer, the integrator has implemented several measures: At least 50 percent of applications are shortlisted for women. According to Monika Lindquist, there is no pay gap, not even at management level.

In addition, the company offers sick days for children and is open to flexible working models for parents.“ Our CEO, Pontus Meijer, leads by example and really understands the value of work-life balance. For both men and women,“ Monika Lindquist emphasizes.

Women help to change

Measures that go hand in hand with success: Visual Art is targeting 25 percent organic growth next year despite the recession.

Monika Lindquist links the success to a special mindset – one that leaves traditional understandings behind, both in terms of gender and the industry itself. „From my perspective, the digital signage industry has a distorted self-image.“ Many put hardware at the center of their thinking and actions. But that hasn’t been the case for a long time, he said. „Designing solutions that drives real business value for the client and see hardware as an effective channel for communication is the key to success.“

This is where women would help to bring new ways of thinking into companies. Because that’s what’s fundamentally needed – beyond women’s shares and quotas. The best salesperson at Visual Art, for example, is a career changer, she said. „Often our industry is too focused on self-preservation,“ explains the Visual Art executive. As a result, people fail to allow other perspectives and address necessary changes.

First female CEO in two years

However, things are moving. „In two years, we will have the first woman CEO in the pan-European digital signage industry,“ predicts Monika Lindquist. This, in turn, will create further momentum. For it is still the case that women tend to be brought into management positions by women.

But Monika Lindquist is convinced that this will drive the industry forward. „Women will challenge existing strategies and change them in a positive way.“ Companies with female executives will grow – not because of the women, but because of the mindset behind them.