Five Spanish top executives at multinational companies (Google, Astara, Michelin, Intelcia and Visa) describe the difficulties women face in reaching positions of responsibility
Hispanic women have made remarkable progress in business in recent years. At 17 Ibex 35 companies, 40% or more of the seats on the boards of directors have a female presence. assets counted, only in six companies can count on it Presence of women in senior management (Aena, Red Eléctrica, Enagás, Bankinter, Colonial and Rovi), where the average is 22%. To be exact, the Government passed a law on July 1, 2024 that will require 40% female members on the boards of publicly traded companies.
Today, despite improvements, directives continue to face a number of obstacles at the top management that hinder their development. Five Spanish directives those in relevant positions multinational companies (Google, Astara, Michelin, Intelcia and Visa)in conversation with assetsThink about the difficult balance between be woman and develop career .
Cristina PitarchGeneral Manager Europe, Middle East and Africa Google Cloud Securitypoints out: “Reconciliation is about women with enormous potential. put aside your ambitions for his familyreflects the need and female testimonials exemplary. carmen alonsoNew Payment Methods Director Visa Emphatic for Southern Europe: “One of the hardest moments for me is my maternity. It was difficult to reconcile with three small children.
Martha Rios GomezHead of Global Brand at lining (mobility solutions provider) and former CEO adidas Iberiashe declares that there is still “too much social pressure” and that it is women who must resist it. taking on certain tasks, such as caring for children or the elderly; or management housework: “Major educational work at all levels is necessary for women to feel that they can bet on their professional lives without prejudice to their personal lives.” on his behalf Sandra GibertCEO intelligence Spain and Latin America (company specializing in services) subcontracting), characterizes her as “It also affects men,” although she has a like-minded effect.
Pitarch He emphasizes that it is his own experience many times. Just woman in a meeting or at a convention “With all this implied”. “I had to fighting stereotypesBesides putting up with the fact that I’m always asked Take note by default or interruptions talking, little ones teething movements if you don’t stop them in time. I have always been and continue to be very quarrelsome against these situations, which are often unconscious. However, the same pattern is not always repeated. Mª Sun Robina RosatCEO and Chairman of the Board Michelin Spain and PortugalHe reviews his 30-year professional career at his company and confirms that he doesn’t feel much discrimination. masculinized: “I’m dead Just woman in many settings at my company, but I have always experienced it naturally”.
thrush And Pitarch I agree the college career choice is decisive. inequality between both sexes: “few women technical training or Sciences”. Today, only 24% 30 percent of professionals dedicated to cybersecurity, one of today’s most thriving industries, are women. Information Security Staff Study (ISC2).
Diversity fosters creativity
The fact that women are more in managerial positions can positively affect company employees. productivity Mainly because, according to companies that will improve the results Nuria ChinchillaProfessor of People Management in Organizations IESE Business School, femininity leads to another way of decision makingbecause “women are much more empathetic”.
beyond compromise or glass roof, Chinchilla identifies what he calls “another set of barriers” to the advancement of women’s professional careers.cement roofs”:“glass ceilings These are all the beliefs, prejudices, unconscious prejudices that men and women have about what a man and a woman should be. But the biggest problem is cement roofs some women impose on ourselves and that has to do with low self-esteem and lack of delegation”.
Quotas, failure
In Chinchilla’s opinion, quotas are “a big mistake”. “In 2002 there were only 2% women at Ibex. We are now over 30 percent. We have multiplied by 1500%. Some people think this is because of quotas, but that’s not true”.
for this teacher I guess the quotas will force the machine with a little revolution. And after the revolution comes the counter-revolution, the retreat”. “Why can’t we continue to grow organically, naturally?” she asks herself, and then she thinks: “Additionally, now that companies have realized that it’s helpful and complementary for women to enter, we shouldn’t sell it. that ass has already been sold out.”
Norwegian example
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in 2003, norwegian government It approved a rule requiring women to occupy 40% of the seats on the board of directors of listed companies, whereas only 9% of seats met this requirement. However, the results were not as expected. This American university professors Amy Dittmar and Kenneth Ahern In one study, these Norwegian companies claimed that their corporate market capitalization decreased by 12% for every 10% increase in female representation on the boards of directors. The inexperience of many of these rulers, who began to occupy seats to avoid sanctions, led to this situation. In Spain the experience was different; women gain access to senior management positions own valueswhich results in all the benefits Professor Chinchilla pointed out.
In general, the interviewed managers assets go against quotasSays: “Talent should be recognized and encouraged regardless of one’s gender” Martha Riosduring Pitarch asks more objectivity in promotion and selection processes. On the contrary, thrush believes it is sometimes necessary to “accelerate women’s presence in companies” to compensate.history is open”.