Hillary Clinton is the first female presidential nominee of a major political party in history. So does her bid for the White House mark a step change for women in leadership around the world? Or are there deep, underlying issues that we still need to address?
With the appointment of the UK’s second female prime minister, are we likely to see a smoother Brexit process?
Job security is fading fast. In a constantly changing world it can feel almost impossible to keep up with the latest trends and digital expectations. So how do you manage your career – and your online reputation – when the goalposts are constantly moving? By investing a little time now in your career, you’ll be able to boost your employability for a long-term pay off.
To help get you started, I’d like to share five ideas with you. If you add at least one to your to-do list it’s a great way to get the ball rolling!
It is time for women to lead like women. And for both men and women to encourage and appreciate it. Women represent more than half of the world population, more than half of College graduates….and less than half drop-outs. We need men and women to feel comfortable with their own preferred style. Whether that is considered male-or-female one. Yet, too many indications that this is not the case. Yet.
At the end of last month, I participated in the IWF World Leadership Conference. I am a board member of the association in Spain. The title “Transforming Tomorrow Today” embodied the incredible, proactive energy of the 800 Top Women from 40 countries who came together once again for the annual conference.
The debate on the system of gender quotas for boards of directors is ongoing and although we should congratulate ourselves on some important advances, there is still a long way to go. I’m afraid the “coffee for all” approach often imposed in some countries, involving a mandatory percentage applicable to all companies in all sectors, tends to produce a boomerang effect that prevents the spread and effective development of what we need: a culture of diversity.
One of the conclusions of that conference was that the social, political and economic world was lacking female vision . That remains the case. Man and woman are two forms of being a person, meant to complement each other. Therefore, the advancement of women in these areas was and still is very important. It is what has been called “women’s empowerment.” But do not mistake: This process of “empowerment” cannot entail the masculinization of women…
The lack of consensus in the European Council resulted in the rejection of the European directive that would have made it imperative to have 40% women in the non-executive boards of publicly traded companies. Commissioner Viviane Reding had spent over two years advocating this measure, which had already been approved by the European Parliament and the European Commission last year.
In addition to the obvious restrictions on free enterprise, some insisted that imposing measures leads to compliance (“comply and lie“) rather than convincing. Imposing underestimates and undermines the arguments of business needed to get to the root of the problem…