Appropriate education gives women strength in business

I think this problem is broader than the data you cited. Recently, in public space, there is more and more talk about the Dream Gap phenomenon. There are a lot of studies showing how several years old girls perceive themselves, how they believe in their skills and possibilities, and as at a very young age – 5-6 years – this faith is losing in themselves, they begin to give up their dreams. Statistics show that at universities more education is gained by more women than men, and then, somewhere on their career, these proportions get lost. The problem is complex and certainly not easy to solve.

As a society, we should act so as not to duplicate non -supporting patterns of behavior and stereotypes. In Mars, we devote a lot of space and energy to activities in the area of ​​diversity and switching on. Our employees are also very active in this field. On the occasion of Women’s Day, they have prepared and internally implemented the educational campaign “Let’s change Dream Gap in Dream Start!”, Encouraging to stop for a moment and think about how together we can change everyday life for the better.

As Mars in 2022, we also globally carried out a study among 10,000 Women, from over 80 countries in which we asked a simple question: “What must change so that more women can use their full potential?” The collected answers, from respondents of different ages, with different nationality, from different cultural circles, turned into specific recommendations for business.

One of the recommendations, especially close to my heart, because I have two daughters, is the belief that at a very early stage of upbringing and education we have to change gender -related stereotypes, because then they are permanent in our heads. And they become such unaware patterns of action that affect how we evaluate women and men, for example in the same positions performing very similar duties.

The second thing to do is support women in combining private and professional roles. The factor that affects their presence in the labor market is how maternity and parental leave look like in a given country and whether there are any legal regulations related to the return of women to the labor market after the birth of children. It is also important to support men when it comes to developing and building women’s careers.

I think that both girls and boys need to be educated. One of the very important elements of women’s presence on the labor market is that we have allies in men. In colleagues at work, in bosses; But also in men in our private life, at home, family.

Working in Mars, I see that many corporations, like ours, take initiatives striving to equalize the proportion between sexes – both in the entire working population and in managerial positions. Mars designated very specific indicators in this respect, i.e. a balance of 40-60 percent, and we really care about sticking to these worn frames.

I think that the Polish system of maternity and parental leave is also really good compared to other European countries. I can say it with a clear conscience because I lived abroad for 10 years, my daughters were born there. The fact that we have a year of maternity leave in Poland that mother and dad can share it is a very important benefit. Like the principle that we protect women, so that after the birth of a child they return to similar or higher positions.

Before I took the position of director general, for many years I worked on sale, among others in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. They were different bands, various roles. I think that sales are still characterized by greater percentage of employees – men, but it begins to change. As managers, people sitting in decision positions, we should make efforts to ensure that it applies to different level positions.

The Main Council that I would give women who want to work on sale? You have to believe that we have a lot to offer and sometimes these are other things than men bring. In the teams I managed in the Czech Republic, I had a very balanced group of my direct subordinates, close to the division of 50 to 50 in terms of gender, and I really must admit that we perfectly completed with our competences.

When I think about friends with whom I worked on sale, I can say that as women we are well organized and we have a highly developed ability to strategic planning. We build relationships great, sometimes we are more focused on finding a solution, which is of great value with long -term business relationships.

And how did I get to the sales department? I knew that this is an important and valuable experience that I should gain by aspiring to subsequent positions, for example, a general director.

And honestly, because of all these stereotypes, I did not expect that I would like it so much. This work gave me so much satisfaction and pleasure that I stayed in it for over 8 years.

We achieve success, giving ourselves the best without trying to pretend to be anyone else. And yes, of course, we must be determined, have a clear vision, think strategically, but also effectively manage teams. I do not think that “being hard” is a key factor in achieving success. Importantly, in Mars, we encourage you to develop and build your own career path, not just women. This is the variety and inclusion, which we focus on in the organization.

That’s true. It is worth adding that Mars has a very comprehensive sustainable development program. Its important element is concern for the planet and achieving zero net emissions of net greenhouse gas by 2050 and reduction by half to 2030. The second important pillar is just building the well -being of people – with an emphasis on the communities with which we cooperate and which help us obtain key raw materials for us. A very important component of our iconic products such as Snickers, M&M’s or TWIX is cocoa. That is why within five years we have invested globally $ 10 million to strengthen the position and improve the situation of farmers who cultivate them.

Until now, over 58 thousand Women have used a savings and credit model, which supports the creation of local savings groups and loan funds, which in turn enables women to collect capital, access microcredits and develop their small business projects.

In the countries from which the salad we use in production, we carry out system training for women: in the field of finance, and business. We share knowledge about cocoa cultivation techniques, because it is a very capricious plant. All this to increase and diversify families’ income and improve their well -being.

These activities are currently extended to new communities that acquire other important raw materials for Mars – including mint.

If we are talking about long -term impact, I think that I mentioned by me at the beginning of our conversation – broadly understood and from an early age. It is equally important as we, as a society, define roles and what we give them.

partner

Read more in addition DGP Women in business