“A Short Her-Story of Empowerment” BeNext Gender Balance: Promoting Women LIVE Session & Panel Discussion
Yesterday, as part of the BeNext Gender Balance: Promoting Women program, our cohort enjoyed a rigorous and enlightening masterclass session followed by a lively panel discussion.
The session began with a masterclass by Dr Ewa Widlak of the European Institute for Gender Equality entitled ‘Female Leadership: How did we arrive here? A short Her-story of women’s empowerment.’ This set the tone for the rest of the session, with much of the conversation focused on the latent need for more women in leadership roles. Conversations encompassed everything from questions around representation to innovation, expectations and stereotypes and the leadership qualities we need to reconsider.
For the panel discussion, Dr Widlak was joined by Tomas Flier, Global Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Google, Maria Teixidor, CEO of VUCA Solutions, and Elena Chipalova, Regional HR Director at Carrier. The session was moderated by BeNext Learning & Development Manager, Cindy Scholts.
“Leadership doesn’t have to be loud”
When asked what she wished she knew when starting out on her career, Elena Chipalova said she wished she’d known that leadership doesn't always have to be loud.
“There are some stereotypes [...] because someone, somewhere, looked up at the leadership ranks and said ‘that's what leadership looks [like],’ forgetting that current leadership all looks alike, and there are not many women,” Chipalova pointed out.
The overarching takeaway here is that there is not one, single leadership style that everyone should aspire to when looking to succeed. “Not all leaders should have the same style,” Chipalova pointed out. “We are investing in diversity, why change it? We want that diversity for the brain, then why are we measuring everyone to the same level?”
The “lose-lose” of likability and leadership
In relation to this idea of stereotypes and a singular idea of what a leader looks like, Ewa Widlak highlighted how many women suffer under the ‘lose-lose’ situation of striving to be liked versus being seen as an effective leader. Given that likeability is such a large part of receiving a promotion, it can be tricky for women to walk this tightrope in their careers.
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“You have tough women [...] who appear professional, but are not liked, so they will be dismissed for the promotion, and on the other side, you have women who are likable, but when they are likeable that don't appear leader-like enough,” Ewa said. What’s the solution? Ultimately, Ewa said, there comes a point where we just have to say ‘enough is enough,’ stop caring what people think and just be authentic to ourselves.
“Women leaders are good for business”
As Tomas Flier pointed out, there are countless studies that prove the business case for having women at the top level: they drive innovation, push through with resilience and demonstrate more inclusive decision-making.
“At Google about this specifically,” Tomas said. “We talk about product inclusion or business inclusion. Google says: `We want to build for everyone’ but we think in the eye that to build for everyone, we need to do it with everyone [...] if Google wants to build for everyone then we believe we need everyone and that includes women, who are the majority of our population.”
However, having more women in leadership positions is not simply a question of creating revenue and business success - although it’s proven to have this effect. As Tomas points out, the system is “uneven.” This is something he - as a white-passing Lation straight man - has often witnessed in his own experience: “the world was built for people who look like me, who are like me,” Tomas recognised. With that in mind, Tomas added, “we all need to do something to bring voices from the margins to the center through systemic change, to create more balanced and fair organizations and work.”
Representation Matters
Speaking further to this idea of doing what’s right, Maria Teixidor returned to one word: justice. “We need it as we need it for justice, principles and rights - justice for women, but for society as a whole, the world today is in need of new models,” Maria shared.
This is why representation is so important. The crisis has shown we have a broken system in many ways, with the global she-cession as a result of COVID illustrating just how vulnerable and marginalized women in the workforce are around the world. To create lasting, effective change, there needs to be a shift in mindset across the board, for men as much as for women. “New visions will help [to address this],” Maria pointed out. “Both boys and girls need to normalize women in power and to see that this is normal and an aspiration for them.”
Consultant in inclusive governance and digitalisation at UNDP | ILO certified gender auditor | President UN Women Spain
3yI really appreciated this master class. What a great cohort and good vibes! Thank you People Matters for counting with me for such a wonderful project!
Founder VUCA: Solving legal issues & conflict. IP rights. Building ethical, sustainable & better business practices. PIMEC Board Member & Women & Business Commission's president. ex-FCB board member - women's football.
3yAn enlightening master class by Ewa Widlak on Her-Story (love the concept!) and an enriching and powerful conversation with my co-panelists. Another great event by #peoplematters! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
LinkedIn Top Voices | CEO, People Matters | TechHR - Asia's Largest HR & Work Tech Conference
3yLoved one of the quotes you shared Ewa Widlak "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. No biological, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature." Simone de Beauvoir. To register for the next BeNext Cohort: Gender Balance: Promoting Women program in September click here https://www.benext.club/course/eng/gender-balance-promoting-women