PROA's managing partner Lucía Casanueva, reflects in a article published in CO-RESPONSIBLE on women's leadership and professional equality.
one year ago CO-RESPONSIBLE published an interview with Nuria Chinchilla, IESE professor and expert on leadership and women, in which she said: "The market is realising the need for a complementary and synergic female perspective in relation to that of men". Indeed. The number of women on the boards of listed companies is growing. In twenty years we have gone from 2% to the current 31% at the top of the IBEX. Good.
Women's leadership suits business environments and society as a whole. The presence of women in management teams is associated with greater social commitment, cooperative work and the promotion of change. The presence of trained women at the spearhead of any human activity generates spaces for empathy, cooperation, creativity, problem solving, assertive communication, versatility and commitment, which have much to do with the demands of the society in which we live.
We are moving forward, thanks to the effort, tenacity and preparation of many pioneering women who have been able to take up the challenges of a generation that has been a turning point. We are moving forward, even in spite of many political declarations that muddy our path, sowing it with simplicity, preferring the facile opportunism of political correctness to the hard-won justice that society truly values.
In a recent interview published in Aceprensathe former Google executive Olga San Jacinto, responded to the challenges facing women in the workplace in the 21st century: "Today, equality does not exist in the workplace, nor does it exist in public institutions. We can see it in the numbers of representation in positions of responsibility or in the creation of companies. We cannot normalise the situation either in society or in the family. The first challenge is to realise what is happening. The second challenge is to be aware of the responsibility we have to pave the way for others. I have to do it very well for my company and for myself, but also for all the women who come after me. We see women who are setting the standard with enormous professionalism, and that is the way forward. Third challenge: Believe it! Many men come to me asking for promotions, but not one woman. Often women put their success down to their luck, not their worth. We women must believe in ourselves a lot more!
One of the directives concludes made in Spain more international that "there are many challenges, to be honest. To aspire to a job that we like and that satisfies us, because the opportunity cost is very high. When you leave a baby at home for your work, you better believe in what you do and be motivated by who you do it with to make the effort worthwhile.
We are making progress, but we still face many challenges, especially that of work-life balance, a necessary achievement for all of us, which is somewhere between the romantic ideal and our ordinary professional practice, and which requires the contribution of mature women and men who are committed to the necessary change so that work-family balance is not a utopia.
Fight or build?
There are two issues that have to do with women's professional equality and whose resolution depends greatly on communication: conciliation and co-responsibility.
As he wielded Chinchilla in an article recently published in El Periódico, "Those of us who are dedicated to the training of managers and entrepreneurs know that women and men have different ways of dealing with day-to-day business. Neither better nor worse, just different. If these differences are properly managed, they can be not only complementary but also synergetic. This is what I call synergetic feminism, without confrontation, which, pivoting on differences, has a multiplying effect in all senses. It is not about fighting against each other, but about building a better world together: a stronger family, a more solid company and a more sustainable society. And for this to happen, it is necessary to facilitate women's access to decision-making centres on equal terms, to enable and promote their visibility and to listen to their voice.
Reconciliation and co-responsibility are two issues that need to be communicated well, especially with positive examples. Men and women, rowing together in the family, in the company, in society. Making sure that we all move forward at the same time with the wind at our backs, without putting childish obstacles in our way that cause us to lose credibility and end up going backwards in the era of maximum efficiency.
At PROA we have been advancing through the seas of communication with these signs of identity as our flag since 2009. A synergetic female leadership, thinking, listening and proposing at 360 degrees. In these waters where daring battles are staged, we are aware that success is impossible without the best possible communication. With empathy, cooperation, creativity, flexibility for problem solving, assertiveness, versatility and commitment we help companies and institutions to improve their reputation through tangible and intangible benefits. We are loyal, perfectionists and lovers of a job well done, and we are committed to the results of our professional practice.
Just a few days ago I took part in the presentation of Women Presidents Organisation (WPO) in Galicia. In the framework of a conference on The impact of women entrepreneurs in the world, I pointed out that "for a company to succeed, it is essential to apply the groupthink and work the collective mind of the whole team in the service of the organisation". This is also the backbone of synergetic feminism. Women and men at the top. Women and men in the middle. Women and men in the houses, and in the committed social entities. Women and men working hand in hand in harmony.
Equality is not a fight, but a co-responsible achievement of all that will become a reality when we understand that we are different, but we need each other to progress. We will see: the business impact that true equality will have will open us to an unsuspected Mediterranean where we will sail without the anchor of strife, with the wings of goodness, truth and the beauty of a well-tuned orchestra that will sound like the symphony of good communication.