Companies take steps to put women in top jobs
A new research by KPMG shows that 96% of the Brazilian female executives consider that the country has a long way to go to reach gender diversity in boards and top management.
The global study included 675 female leaders in 52 countries, 7% of whom are Brazilians. The Brazilian executive represented in the research is over 40 years in age (84%), attended graduate school (80%) and has children (73%). Sixteen percent of them are at C-suite level. But almost 70% say they have suffered some type of prejudice and only 43% consider the measures adopted by their organizations to fight back discrimination and racism efficient.
That said, 80% of the women say they have a strategic plan to secure professional advancement and 43% hope to be promoted. To create the conditions for them to reach high positions doesn't "happen from one day to the other," says Jennifer Wendling, HR director at drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), one of the companies that participated in the 2020 research called Women in Leadership, done in partnership with a group of Brazilian media outlets, including Valor, in addition to the non-profit WILL (Women in Leadership in Latin America) and Paris-based market research firm Ipsos.
To reach the level of 55% of women in leadership jobs, BMS carried out affirmative actions during a decade, including role modeling, according to Ms. Wendling. The company's HR department also offers mentoring programs for young women and networking lunches with senior female executives.
Training on diversity and inclusion is also on the list. "We work with inclusion, so people can feel free to be themselves, and this goes beyond gender and racial diversity, includes education levels, styles and behavior, among other aspects," Ms. Wendling says.
After reaching equality in gender at top jobs, BMS now works to have the same at other areas, such as sales. "Historically, sales representatives are men. So, professionals in the pipeline to become sales managers or heads of a department end up being men." The solution was to offer mentoring for women and to train male executives to support female talent.
Other segments historically dominated by men are also being targeted at beauty products giant Natura. At the innovation center, por example, 70% of the scientists are women. "It is important to take women to this place, because laboratories are usually occupied mainly by men," says Milena Buosi, diversity and inclusion manager at Natura& Co Latin America.
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