Dana Bartoňová, Sales Director (YIT Stavo)
What is the meaning of MDZ for you and why do you think it’s important? What do you think its message should be?
My main memory of this holiday is from childhood. It was really celebrated at that time and my father never forgot to bring my mother flowers and I always drew cards with hearts and flowers for her. I stopped celebrating it and that’s carried on until today. For me, MDŽ is connected with congratulating my mother for it, which I still do. In my family, we celebrate Mother’s Day, so I always receive flowers or sweets and cards from my daughters.
Do you think that it is harder for women to get to the top positions in this field compared to men?
It’s definitely not as common to see women in the top management positions in this field but it’s always been and remains male-dominated. But it’s not the only sector where you see this discrimination. This makes it a more complicated task for women to move up in the sector. Still, for my part I have to say that our company has many men and women who have found their spot whose work I really admire. In general, I’d add that the people around me, we don’t distinguish between positions for men or for women; we value their professional knowledge and their approach to teamwork. And that’s always better in a mixed environment.
What do you think businesses lose when they fail to appoint women to positions of responsibility and power?
Probably the general things that differentiate women from men. Their natural empathy, their positive approach and their huge endurance. It’s said that men and women are like fire and water. In any case, they complement each other fantastically. Those are things that can top management can take advantage of in order to bring a more diverse view on matters. In the end this can result in better decisions and conclusions.
Name a serious or humorous “gender faux pas” that you experienced in your career?
I’ve been working at YIT for 13 years now. When I started, I couldn’t always figure out just from their names if my Finnish colleagues were men or women. I remember my first correspondence with Ville. I automatically assume it was a woman and I didn’t even think about it after that. We were in touch with each other for several weeks. She helped me a lot and so I sometimes tried to lighten things with a feminine touch by bringing up topics like family, children and the like. The reactions were nice and on point. Which made the surprise all the greater when I found out about two months later that Ville was a man.
Lenka Preslová, Head of Sales (PASSERINVEST)
What is the meaning of MDZ for you and why do you think it’s important? What do you think its message should be?
Women are still not equally treated like men in many countries in the world and their rights should be addressed properly. Therefore, MDZ gives us the opportunity to remind ourselves that women have an important role in society, and nobody should ever degrade them, just because they are women.
Do you think that it is harder for women to get to the top positions in this field, compared to men?
I think it is harder, and it’s not just in real estate. The share of women at top management and board room positions is much lower compared to men. Very frequently, the opinion of men is that women aren’t interested in top positions, but that’s often not the reason. The issue is more that women have to combine work and family life, something that’s very challenging to do both at 100% unless women have sufficient support from other members of the family or some kind of external help. Sometimes, it’s not possible which leads to women deciding not to advance their carrier. We also know how networking is an important part of the business, however very often women can’t afford to go out with their colleagues for a drink after work or to socialize in different ways after work. They have to go home, prepare dinner and take care of their families.
My personal experience in this area has led me together with three other great women to establish the organization Female Leaders in Real Estate. Our main purpose is to support women and strengthen their share in top positions in the real estate market here. We organize various events, enable networking, discuss best practices and organize mentoring programmes where we can share our experiences with other women.
What do you think businesses lose when they fail to appoint women to positions of responsibility and power?
Numerous studies already proved that teams, which consist of both genders in equal measure produce better results than those with representation from only one gender. Men and women are different in their approach to problems, in finding solutions and in assessing situations. By combining the styles of men and women, we enable the strongest sides of both genders to be utilized. Another important aspect is that the customer base of most companies consists of both men and women. Therefore, the teams developing any product or service should be represented by both genders because only then you can understand best the needs of all your potential customers.
Could you tell us a serious (or humorous) “gender faux pas” that you experienced during your career?
When I was younger and was already the director of a company, I experienced a few situations in which men I was meeting asked me to bring them coffee and to call my male colleague to start negotiations. Shortly afterwards, they were very surprised that I started the negotiations by myself! 😊
Alexandra Tomášková, CEO of JRD Land
What is the meaning of MDZ for you and why do you think it’s important? What do you think its message should be?
I come from the generation which still remembers MDZ as a Communist celebration, with young pioneer kids giving women daisies. I do not have good memories from my childhood of it since for me was about having to stand in front of a huge crowd and recite a revolutionary poem. Only later did I realize that it was an international celebration. I think it is nice to acknowledge women, but I think it’s important not to forget about others too! It’s true though, that women don’t get the same treatment everywhere as men. So, hopefully these initiatives are helping to spread the message.
Do you think that it is harder for women to get to the top positions in this field, compared to men?
There is a lot of bias in our society and it’s different from country to country. I was lucky to spend many years with a Swedish company where it’s normal to have a leader who is not necessarily an expert in the field. The leader is supposed to surround himself/herself with people who are experts. The leader’s job is to inspire motivate and create conditions for the team to thrive. Some cultures – including Czechs– still have a problem with that. And on top of that, there aren’t many women in the construction or development industry in general. I managed to clear my head of all that.
Once I was leading a meeting made up of an architect, a client, an agent, a project manager, and a colleague. I looked at them and thought about them in terms of who they were and how they fit into the discussion. Only later at home did I realize that I was the only woman in the room. I think that in time, what we’ll achieve as a society is that this will become absolutely natural for everybody, and we won’t need women´s platforms any longer.
What do you think businesses lose when they fail to appoint women to positions of responsibility and power?
Coming back to the bias I mentioned, men are perceived to be better in leading positions because they’re capable of being “tougher” and of not caring about what others think. Those are characteristics that are perceived, incorrectly, as strength. Women are more empathetic and interested in teamwork. They create a more collaborative environment, which in the long run produces sustainable results. When it comes to performance, women can be just as driven and as ambitious as men. The best solution is to have a leadership team which is diverse both gender wise and character wise and which allows for debate – then we can see the best results.
Katarína Brydone Head of Investment Properties, CBRE
What is the meaning of MDZ for you and why do you think it’s important? What do you think its message should be?
For me, it’s a moment of recognition. To stop for a moment and think of what it means to be a woman, to embrace it and to think of all the great things that women are capable of. And to be honest, it’s also a nice, sweet, “gentlemanly” way for men to show they care about women. Life isn’t just about meeting tough goals and targets, but mainly about living. Everybody likes recognition from time to time, especially if it comes in the form of a nice flower bouquet 😊. The same goes for international days celebrating fathers, children, soldiers, veterans.
At the same time, it’s a bitter-sweet occasion when you think about it. Here in the Western world, we can look forward to receiving flowers. However, equal opportunity is not something the entire world offers — women are extremely vulnerable in some countries where they’re exploited and endure a hard life. They don’t enjoy anything like equality.
Do you think that it is harder for women to get to the top positions compared to men?
In my view, gender is just one element of a person and that both men and women have an equal chance to succeed (if that’s what they want). Even as a little girl, I disliked it when somebody said, ‘this is a man’s job’ or ‘this is a woman’s job.’ I’ve refused to obey this type of thinking my whole life and if anything, I wanted to prove them wrong. I simply believe that everyone should follow their dreams and desire to be happy, to be successful and to contribute to society. I believe in individual differences and that each person’s strength is shaped not just by gender, but by countless other factors. And that’s what I’m after. It’s important to understand one’s shortcomings, but it’s more important to build successful teams and leaders on the back of individual strengths.
But there is one issue that impacts a woman’s decision when it comes to career progression. Not surprisingly, it’s motherhood. It’s hard to combine a high-flying career with being a devoted and available mother. And to do a good job on both fronts of the battlefield. I wouldn’t want to underplay the significant role of fathers, but rather acknowledge the fact that for the first 5-6 years of a child’s life, when the parents are most needed, it’s up to mums. I think that this is why we see the disbalance in board rooms and top management positions.
Nonetheless, we’re all experiencing a change in how our business and social lives are structured enabling a growing number of women to get into mid and top management positions. I believe this change has affected several generations, and that future generations will continue in the challenging task of figuring out the ideal paradigm.
What do you think businesses lose when they fail to appoint women to positions of responsibility and power?
Companies should endeavour to appoint the best talents to all positions, especially to the top ones. They should create an environment where everybody has a chance to shine and grow, regardless of their gender, race, age, nationality, or skin colour. Diversity provides opportunities, not boundaries to growth. So, what would they miss by creating a homogenous leadership? They would miss out on talent and the ability to connect with a wide range of clients and their wide range of needs. This would eventually show up in the hard KPIs of each business.
Jana Vlkova, Director of Workplace Advisory (Colliers)
What is the meaning of MDZ for you and why do you think it’s important? What do you think its message should be?
For me, MDZ is still the day when I was a kid and we created flowers and cards for our mothers and grandmothers at school and took them home. The message I have connected with this day is “We care and we remember that you are the most important people in our lives.”
Do you think that it is harder for women to get to the top positions in this field, compared to men?
The position of women in the field of real estate is changing continuously. I am happy to see more and more women being not only receptionists, accountants and brokers. We have a wide group of women in leadership positions in the Czech Republic who are successful and who successfully combine the family world with the business world. For me it’s a question of personal responsibility and courage to develop my work life, which isn’t always easy. But the world is not against us: it’s up to us to decide what we want to achieve and to stand behind our decisions.
What do you think businesses lose when they fail to appoint women to positions of responsibility and power?
A different view of business, a different perception of risk and a different empathy to employees. As women, we think differently and can bring different solutions and strategies to the business. However, I would not push for equality in every position and in every company. Again, it’s our own decision if we want to take responsibility and lead a team, department, company, or any organization.
Can you think of any “gender faux pas” that you experienced in your career?
When I got married at the age of 26, the perception of the people around me including the professional world was “now she is going to get baby and will disappear from the market”. Well, I did not understand their point, I just married the man I loved and wanted to work and develop my expertise and knowledge. It took almost a year to change this common bias and stereotype thinking. But finally, people understood, and I am happy that I can have both my family (including a lovely son) as well as a job which I like and gives me a lot of inspiration and enable personal development.
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