By Malin H. Teles
March was Women’s Month at Race Communications, and special attention was given to the topic of gender equality and women on the job market. Although the topic is always present on a day-to-day basis at the agency, we decided to pay some extra attention to the subject this month, in honour of International Women’s Day. Apart from defining and presenting an official company policy on equality, a number of other activities also paid homage to the date, such as the participation of all the women employees in a debate about female leadership in the communications industry, arranged by Aberje (Brazilian Association of Corporate Communications). Moreover, last week (27/03), our event Race Talks* had as its main topic of discussion, women on the job market.
To discuss the subject, we invited Karina Bertolla, communications and corporate responsibility supervisor at Allianz Worldwide Partners. Karina has more than 10 years of experience in the field of communications and she shared her experience in internal communications projects as well as her experience as a female leader with us.
Among the topics that were brought up during the conversation, one of the main ones was the subject of the responsibility of the companies in regards to gender equality. “I believe that yes, companies have responsibility. It’s necessary to create policies so that equal opportunities are given to women, and it’s necessary to put this in writing. If we do nothing, the process of gender equality will take 300 years to happen.”, Karina commented.
The discussion also brought up the responsibility of the state and the importance of government policies, such as extended maternity- and paternity leave, which can improve the situation for women on the job market. However, along with company- and government policies, the participants in the discussion also pointed out the importance of change within the families. “Change begins at home. We need to tell our children that they can be whatever they want to be. That they can dress however they want, play however they want, study whatever they want. It doesn’t matter if they’re a boy or a girl.”, said Karina.
The event was a success and we, the team of Race Communications, thank Karina for her participation and for sharing her knowledge and her views with us!
*Race Talks is a knowledge-sharing event which happens one a month at Race Communications.
