Women's empowerment
Eva Andres
Social Media Specialist
Maria Polo
Head of Product at Ubeeqo
From your perspective, what is the current situation of women in the labor market?
The situation of women in the working world has improved considerably, but if we take the technological world as an example, the gender gap has widened in the last 20 years. In my opinion, this gap continues because of social norms and gender differences in education. If a man promotes his successes it is perceived as something positive, if a woman does it, she is classified as less competent, less socially attractive and even less employable. As long as there are stereotypes or tradition that encourages boys to be brave and girls to always be perfect, this gap will continue to exist.
Statistics confirm year after year that companies with at least one woman at the helm get higher ROI, lower leverage and better valuations. In that sense, startups have helped to change the norm, and I love to see more women every day making their ideas and dreams come true, contributing so much value, collaborating and making diversity the norm and not a trending topic.
What female references have inspired you in your career?
Many women have inspired me in my career, from Ada Lovelace or Grace Hopper to Marissa Meyer or my mother and grandmothers. But they have not only inspired me for their contribution to the tech world, but for their character and fighting spirit, or for proving to the world that you can have a baby and still run a successful business. My mother, who was a pioneer in her field, taught me that you set your own limits, and that you should never let anyone tell you that you can't do it.
To date, working in the field of product management, I have not yet met a female CPO (chief product officer), so I hope that my list of female references will grow even longer in the future.
Marina Lopez
Senior Business Developer at Localoo
From your perspective, what is the current situation of women in the labor market?
We continue to advance, I do not want to say "we continue to fight", because I consider that it is not a fight, it is a process of awareness. If something has shown us the "Me Too" is that many of our colleagues were not "aware" of the inequalities, of the micro machismo at work, of the normalization of certain criteria, behaviors and comments.
We continue to move forward, yes, together, thanks to the fearless voices that open debates and also the support that is being given from the male environment, coworkers. Because this is not a fight of the sexes, it is not a fight of one side against the other, it is a social change that requires collaboration between all of us. Any significant and permanent change comes from the hand of everyone.
According to my personal experience in the working world:
- The "senior" roles are still mainly men's roles. I've heard "we can't find women for these roles"... Really? Subjectivity comes into play.
- The salaries... surreal, but it is still a reality, there is still disparity, and I don't understand what the reasoning is in this case.
- "The childbearing age", after a certain age the questions like "will she go on maternity leave? will she be less present when she is back?"... come into play, and it shows. In this case, again it is a change that has to come from both sides of society, companies and HR have to look for a harmony between talent and "the reality of being human" xD... I also consider that the government plays an important part. If certain laws were reformed, for example, to support equal paternal and maternal leave, we would be a little closer to a level playing field.
- "The mens club"... The normalization of behavior has started a process in which women, and especially in the world of sales, do not have to adapt to the tone of the especially male environment in which we "moved" but we can be ourselves, we can raise our hand when there is an uncomfortable behavior and it is respected.
But the truth is that we have made progress and it shows, in my current team I do not notice any difference between sexes and there is total internal transparency. I hope that, with everyone's collaboration, this process will not be slowed down worldwide. All good things come to those who wait, but they do come.
What female references have inspired you in your career?
My references are not "renowned", they are the companions and mentors that I have had by my side throughout my life... different cultures, generations, professions, etc. The conversations at lunchtime about past experiences, learning, experiences that have made me learn, change my perspective, become stronger and find my voice. Anie, my sister, Mylena, Nuria, Mamen, Ana, Raquel, Xulia, Noe, Lucía... my mother, ... my father! who is not a feminine reference, but he is a feminist. My parents have always supported me in everything, never made me feel limited for "being a woman".
They are people who are relevant only to me, but who in the end are the ones who influence me the most in my day to day life. They have given me what I need to advance in my professional career... from a refuge where I can let my anger flow in the face of certain inequalities and excesses, as a springboard from which to take energy, security and momentum to launch myself into the unknown, without fear, without prejudice, without limits...
Anna Muñoz
Managin Director at Alta Medical Services
From your perspective, what is the current situation of women in the labor market?
At a general level, there is a lot of evidence that has shown that women suffer very significant job discrimination compared to men. It is a very complex situation to deal with, since it is very widespread. It begins in the education we receive, the stories we read, the cultural references and models that society offers us.
In the world of healthcare, where I work, as in other fields, women have been gaining a prominent role. Even so, when you analyze the names of the women who reach senior management positions, we again see a male predominance that does not correspond to the ratio of women to men in the rank and file.
If we analyze the percentage of employers around us who discriminate against women for fear of maternity leave, it would make our hair stand on end! This is very shocking. If this happens to us in other places, the situation is infinitely worse. There are shocking examples, such as the same resume, but signed by Jane or John Smith. The salary proposal for Jane will be lower than that of John.
The startup model has a different dynamic. First of all, it seems that it is not so subject to discrimination, since there is no entrepreneur who makes you a contract and discriminates against you because you are a woman. It could also be argued that being an entrepreneur does not depend on gender, but on individual initiative and personality. But when you look at the number of women entrepreneurs compared to men, it comes back to what happens in the working world in general, there are fewer women entrepreneurs compared to men. There are so many factors involved that it is complicated to solve.
In the business world, women have to learn how to make a budget, as they are often not very objective and tend to undervalue their work. In the same way, women are used to discussing a budget more, if you compare it to a man. Gender also implies certain differences in topics such as networking. Men often tend to show solidarity with each other and build empathy, meet outside of work hours and establish relationships outside of the professional, which helps in decision making. This is less frequent in the case of women.
What female references have inspired you in your career?
When I was a research fellow at the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona, I had an exceptional teacher. Her name was Dr. Teresa Gallart, an extraordinary physician, who worked on AIDS immunology. Teresa was born in 1942 in Artesa de Lleida, a town in the region of Segrià. She always explained the great difficulties she had to study medicine, because at the time and place, it seemed that her destiny was to be a housewife, happily married and with many children.
Currently, more than female referents, I would talk about entities that have been essential to inspire me as an entrepreneur: Barcelona Activa and its Inicia program, aimed at women who have a business idea or an entrepreneurial project and want to start it up. For me it has been fundamental, since they train you in what it means to be an entrepreneur and they work not only on the technical side, making a business plan, finances... but they also take great care of the emotional side. Programs like these make things much easier for you!
Eva Carbonell
Customer Success Manager at ElectricFeel AG
From your perspective, what is the current situation of women in the labor market?
I like to be optimistic and think that we are on the right track. A few years ago when I started studying engineering we were only 10% and if you went to other countries like Germany you were even more of a freak. Now I see myself surrounded by many women involved in super interesting projects, pioneers in the world of technology, design, music... I hope this doesn't stop.
The term equal opportunities seems to me to be a difficult concept, many companies try to fix what they have "done wrong" so far and put women in management positions to look good in front of the gallery. This sometimes has the opposite effect to the desired one, as it generates envy and sexist comments that do not do us any good. I believe that we must start social change, not from above but from below. We must ensure that girls at school have the same aspirations as boys, that if they are sick it is not always their mother who has to leave work to pick them up, but also their father, that maternity leave is shared, and that returning to work after spending time with the family is not a setback but what it is, a natural break.
I have lived in different countries that are progressive, but if a woman wants to return to work before the established year of maternity leave or share part of her months with her partner, she is considered a "crow mother" who abandons her child. Yes, as I said, we are making progress, but it is not enough to conform, more than equality I think we should promote the diversity of sexes, cultures and ages, a person can be a good worker or a good boss, regardless of whether he or she is male or female, more junior or more senior, Swiss or Chinese (to give a couple of examples of countries in which I have worked).
What female references have inspired you in your career?
The truth is that I do not come up with names like Marie Curie or Margaret Thatcher, but those of my friends, my cousins, my co-workers, who went to study engineering or who decided to fight to be artists, many of them left their city to study abroad and work in a language that is not theirs, surrounded by much more experienced people who sometimes thought: what is this one going to teach me? And in spite of everything, they have fought and managed to reach management positions in large companies or to be successful entrepreneurs leading super interesting projects. They are the ones who have inspired me and still inspire me on a daily basis, and I hope this is only the beginning.
Estefania Peral
CEO&Founder of Spanish-elearning
From your perspective, what is the current situation of women in the labor market?
I believe that the role of women in the workplace has improved greatly in most developed countries, but inequalities still exist and there is still a long way to go.
In Spain, although more and more people recognize that men and women are equally qualified to occupy positions of responsibility, there are still unequal opportunities and unequal salaries, largely due to the traditional structure of companies that hinders the promotion of female talent. The majority of management positions are still occupied by men and although women have ambition to grow professionally, it is not always easy for them.
The Internet is bringing about a phenomenon of democratization of society, access to information, visibility, among many other things, which may end up being key to the achievement of gender equality in the professional sphere.
I do believe that new business models, such as startups, are becoming a way for women to thrive professionally. A study recently published by The Boston Consulting Group and MassChallenge states that despite receiving less funding, startups founded by women are more effective and generate twice as much revenue as those founded by men, in part, because they receive more rejections on their loan applications and are forced to develop more realistic and less risky plans than men.
Personally, I think that in order for there to really be equality of conditions in the labor field between men and women, the existing imbalance in the personal sphere of families must first be resolved, where women still have to carry, in most cases, a much greater burden of domestic responsibilities, both in household chores and especially in the care of children.
That said, I am one of those who believe that men and women are very different and yet complementary, and it is wonderful that this is so.
What female references have inspired you in your career?
There are many women who have inspired me throughout my life, both public figures and people from my personal environment. They all have a common component: they are women fighters who, in one way or another, have had to face at some point in their lives very adverse realities and have done so with great tenacity, resistance and resilience. I guess I feel identified with part of their stories and hence my inspiration towards her.
