Women leaders make a difference – Let’s respect the facts!

[muskanislam44]

Although more than 50% of the Brazilian population, according to data from the IBGE , is made up of women, the majority of leadership positions in companies are still held by men. However, this situation is slowly changing. Forbes magazine listed the 100 most influential women in the world in a publication. Female leaders are making a difference through the way they conduct management; and this has caught the attention of large companies.

The list ranges from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to young Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist who is still a teenager but is very aware of what she says and has the power to influence the new generation. The G1 report that brings the news also includes names such as General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Oprah Winfrey, the Queen of England , Elizabeth II, among others. Women from all corners of the world and in all areas of work are connected, which is why Rihanna, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift also appear.

In thirty years, there will be almost 10 billion people in the world . The rise of women leaders may be a way to think of alternatives to deal with so many people in a more humane and strategic way. Although slowly, the number of women leading teams, institutions and departments of government agencies and other agencies has been growing. In the marketing area, this number has been quite significant.

Executives, political leaders and heads of marketing departments at large companies are showing that gender issues are having an impact in some situations.
A study by DDI and The Conference Board published in Forbes whatsapp names magazine presented data stating that 20% of the companies with the best financial performance are led by women. In the same publication, a Harvard study also points out that women's leadership has significant differences.

For this content, the Santa Fé/FALOMI team spoke with some leading professionals from marketing departments. “In my case, as a Public Relations professional and Marketing Coordinator at Boa Safra Sementes, I constantly seek to have a more human perception of the needs of an audience; be they employees, customers and/or partners” , commented Mariana Paim.

Certainly, more humane leadership influences an organization's numbers. The representation of women leading marketing teams in companies has grown significantly.

In light of the debate on gender equality, which is increasingly gaining ground in society and the media, Mariana considered that “ there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality, more specifically in leadership positions in organizations. I don’t think there is a balance in most cases. On the other hand, I see a perception among some managers of keeping qualified women in important positions in the company, as is my case here at Boa Safra Sementes.”

Still speaking about gender equality, Flávia Prata, marketing manager of Anglo units in the west zone of São Paulo, highlighted as a challenge “ not having the same masculine behaviors that many men have in the workplace: such as speaking loudly to show authority, arguing something or showing arrogance.” After all, machismo, authoritarianism, prejudice and so many other reprehensible behaviors are independent of gender, right? Here is Flávia’s tip for everyone!!!

Challenges for female team leaders
Machismo still permeates the difficulties that women face in life in general; and in the professional field it is no different. “We still face veiled machismo , where women are often unnecessarily courted and in many cases need to use their stance more firmly to gain respect and credibility”; commented Caroline Abreu, Marketing Manager at Veccon Loteamentos.

Another difficulty is the label of being the weaker sex. “ Women are still “seen” as the weaker sex . However, the market is gradually realizing how much more articulate women leaders are; with a more refined business vision and some, more cautious, they make many more assertive decisions than men with more aggressive and sometimes even truculent profiles. Women have the balance, the ability to listen and the understanding to seek a solution to the situation, leaving their ego aside more than men. In this perspective, I see female leadership as more focused, with a more open dialogue focused on the search for results” , commented the Marketing Coordinator of Hotelaria Brasil, Samantha Ribeiro.

Annelise Barbier, Customer Success at the Santa Fé/FALOMI agency, said she started working at a very young age, at 14. Regarding some of the difficulties she faced, she summarized a reality that is common among women, given the due proportions of privileges… In common, the challenge of working and being a mother. “I studied, graduated, looked for options to continue studying and had great opportunities for growth within the company I joined as an intern. Some time later I was invited to be a marketing coordinator at another company. I became a mother and had to take a break from my career . Today I consider myself privileged to have found a balance between motherhood, family and career. I am very happy to have come this far.”

The difference in the human perspective of women leaders
It is almost unanimous that women have a more human outlook as leaders. Many times, this characteristic is confused, as already mentioned, with a label of the weaker or maternal sex. Marketing manager Flávia Prata put it very well: “People think that having a female leader is like having a mother. This, in fact, is not true. We are women, we care about others, but in the workplace, we need to perform; otherwise, neither my position nor that of my team is justified. I believe that a big challenge is to show that I care about each of the professionals on my team, with their potential and particularities, but that performance is fundamental.”

One of our interviewees, a marketing coordinator for a multinational food company, chose not to be identified; however, she made a valuable contribution regarding the challenge of “practicing emotional intelligence to make decisions, balancing the more, let’s say, human side, and the side that needs to seek results on a daily basis. ”

Unity is strength
“If you have the power to decide between hiring two people with the same qualifications and skills , is gender a determining factor in your decision? For this content, we interviewed 6 women in leadership positions. Only 2 answered yes to this question.