Women in communication: interview with Diesel's Serena Pederiva
Coming of age is certainly an important milestone, both for a person and for a brand and, in this very particular case, for ours.
As the female turns 18, we have decided to start a Women Empowerment project that focuses on women who work in the field of communication.
Serena Pederiva, Head of Marketing South Europe, answered 5 significant questions for us, explaining how women should feel equal to the positions they hold.
1. What is "being a woman" like in the world of work?
My experience is positive, I was lucky enough not to suffer particular discrimination during my career, because both the discipline of communication and the specific field of my work are contexts with a non-minority female presence. It is difficult to generalize, it is However, it is true that in decision-making contexts (be they political, economic, social ...) female figures still represent a negligible percentage, indicating that gender equality is still a long way off.
When it comes to the topic of women in the world of work, the concept of female leadership often emerges, and how this is characterized by some intrinsic and natural traits in women, such as a greater ability to listen or relate than male colleagues. I do not mean that these characteristics do not actually belong to female nature, but my feeling is that if we, as women, continue to insist on this issue, we self-ghettoize ourselves through stereotypes. In my personal experience, however, I have had to deal with men who are very predisposed to listening and women who were not, and vice versa: these are simply characteristics that are part of the individual person. I am aware that certain character traits are more inherent in the female gender, because they are part of their role (even if only potentially) as mothers, but I do not think this is a point on which women should continue to insist. What, however, should be leveraged, is a culture of a basis that explains what enrichment gives, at all levels, the diversity that exists not only between different sexes, but also between woman and woman. culture of our company.
I think it is important to underline how in diversity we can express the maximum potential of each and how much, consequently, we should favor the creation of work environments that are as heterogeneous as possible.
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2. What was "women empowerment" for you at 18?
At 18, this perception starts mainly from the example of the women around us. My experience has seen women who are very active in their community, who wanted to achieve work fulfillment, without necessarily passing through prestigious careers, and who had managed to reconcile work and private life, so I have never experienced being a woman as a limit.
When I was in high school, a teacher, a former sixty-eight year old, had offered us some readings related to feminism and the thought of difference: from that moment I understood how much the understanding of the giant steps that have been taken in the last century is fundamental in order not to give up. take for granted such achievements.
3. Three words you associate today with "women empowerment"
Representativeness: until we are present in the places of power, we will hardly be able to take home all the equal opportunity rights that we are entitled to. This makes me in favor of women's quotas: if, on the one hand, it is right to want to be part of the executive tables thanks to one's own merits, on the other it is necessary to impose an obligation that creates a tradition.
Awareness: the rights acquired through the battles that have been fought up to now must not be taken for granted, it is necessary to be aware of one's rights in order to act.
Solidarity: women must team up with other women, carrying out common projects for equal opportunities.
4. What would you say to the 18-year-old yourself?
What I would like to recommend to the 18-year-old me is to be much more self-confident and to dream big, which helps a lot to get high. I would also say to avoid unnecessary worries related to the lack of any recommendations or knowledge in the world of work, because they were not necessary for me to make a career. These are the same things that I would also recommend to today's 18-year-olds, as well as not letting themselves be influenced by a "typically feminine insecurity, the impostor syndrome": never feeling up to the "role one plays, accompanied by the fear that others" discover "our inadequacy; we must realize that we are up to" what we do.
5. How much need is there to talk about women empowerment today and what should be done?
It is important to talk about women empowerment and act, because we are still a long way from equal opportunities at work, as well as in the private sector. It is necessary to educate and make culture on this issue, we must ensure that these issues pass through the school desks and, even earlier, through family education. When, earlier, I spoke of solidarity, I did it also with a view to empowerment: as women and potential mothers, we have the task of giving directions to our children, male or female, as a function of a true society of equal opportunities. In this way we must aim to overcome those negative cultural legacies that have not yet been resolved and preclude the creation of a context in which men and women have the same rights, at work and otherwise.
