Successful closure of the cycle “Leading economic sectors with female talent”

 

On Wednesday, December 12, the closing of the cycle “Leading economic sectors with female talent” was held at Barcelona Activa. The event included the presentation of the study “Dones en alts càrrecs” by Maria Àngels Viladot.

Numerous women attended with great interest both the presentation of the report promoted by Barcelona Activa and the round table that followed, with the same author; Anna Mercadé and Mar Gaya, president and vice president of 50a50, respectively, and Vanesa Carceller, general director of JLL.

The General Manager of Barcelona Activa, Sara Berbel, presented the book, praised this cycle that Barcelona Activa and the 50a50 association have jointly organized to make women’s talent visible and move towards parity between women and men, and insisted on the problems faced by women to reach the decision-making positions. Hence, the institution has promoted this study, within the framework of the Lidera program.

“We all have to push to achieve change, because the inequality between women and men will not be solved alone with time, and that is why we associate ourselves with 50a50 and Lidera, since solidarity is not a virtue, it is a need for survival“, Berbel added.

Maria Àngels Viladot presented her book, the result of interviews with 649 professional women from various companies in Spain. She also reflected on some characteristic features of women in high positions, such as the fact that they tend to assimilate around the majority group (men), the fact that they are subject to prejudice and discrimination, and the fact that they feel guilty when they do not have enough time for the family. As conclusions, she said that women must overcome many barriers to reach the decision-making positions.

In the round table, Anna Mercadé recalled that individual leadership is outdated and that now the transformational leadership of women is needed.

“When the woman arrives at the top asks herself not only what she can do to improve the profitability of the company, but also what she can do to improve working and social conditions,” Viladot said.

In this sense, Vanesa Carceller said that companies are now looking for transformational leadership. She also said that it is important that there are women in the governing bodies of companies, because gender equality policies are applied from top to bottom. As an example, she proposed management by results and not by physical presence at work, as well as flexible hours with the help of good use of new technologies.

The event ended with a networking session that was really fruitful, and where the participants in the event were able to share impressions about the female talent and shared leadership with the board members of 50a50.