“ClaudiaHave you felt discriminated against as a professional because you are a woman? I asked a Mexican friend while we were eating. He thought for a moment and replied, “I don’t know if this can be called discrimination, but I don’t think I will have the same opportunities as my male brothers.”

Claudia belongs to the second generation of a business family and is one of those brilliant women who, when she speaks, others listen.

However, most likely, the company will not take advantage of all its qualities.

This is not an isolated case. A few days ago Ana Patricia Botin stated at the National Family Business Congress that “when a woman applies for a position, she is 120% qualified.” When a man does it many times, it’s 50% or 60%.”

If we add to this that the American Psychological Association (APA) in an article published last March showed that women in charge of business manage to increase their productivity, increase employee commitment and cooperation, and are perceived as more balanced, we have to ask question why the number of women in positions of responsibility remains so small.

It is clear that society shares the need to pay more attention to professional women.

If not, then the data suggested by the McKinsey & Co. study. (Women Matter 2023), show that in Spain only 6% of women hold senior positions in companies, while there are 17 women in management positions that report directly to CEOs. %.

There are several reasons that can explain this reality, the most notable of which are:

• A culture that continues to favor male leadership.
• Gender stereotypes that determine the assessment and capabilities of men and women.
• A necessary combination of home and work management.

However, in reviewing recent years, it is clear that society is reiterating the need to pay more attention to women professionals, both in terms of the roles they can perform and the remuneration their work deserves.

This phenomenon also occurs in the context of family businesses. Known as “invisible support,” history tells us that women, until recently, performed functions that were of great importance to the company, but were not directly involved in it. They played an important role in conveying family values ​​and a sense of belonging to the business project, and also supported the emotional peace of the men of the family involved in the business, creating an atmosphere of harmony at home and in the company. .

But today they demand more active and direct participation in the company, and they will achieve this goal based on the factors that should contribute to this change: the impulse they receive from their families, the companies they share, and themselves.

Indeed, the family can influence in several ways and at different periods of a woman’s life cycle:

• Giving them strength, support and self-confidence. while they are growing. This will be the basis of your self-esteem. Personally, I will always thank my mother for her wonderful motto: “If someone else can do it, so can you.”
• Offering them best possible training.
• Without limiting your professional ambitions because you are a woman.
• Let them know that They won’t have to choose between career and motherhood.. In the past, this choice has hampered professional growth. Today, the so-called post-modern society demands respect for individual needs, including personal satisfaction in the workplace as a key element of satisfaction. Thus, the family project is often subordinated to the professional one. Balance will be achieved when managing the home and childbearing becomes the mission of the couple, not just the woman, and when the work context recognizes this reality and offers effective solutions for these fathers and mothers.
• I offer alternative spaces for professional development., taking into account the availability and desire of family members to participate. Taking motivated and qualified family members as a basis, they could have a seat on the company’s administrative body or on one of its committees, participate, for example, in the Family Council, in charitable initiatives or in managing assets from the family office.

For companies, there are many actions they can take to facilitate the integration of women into positions of responsibility. Among other things:

• Identify potential leaders earlyto develop a career plan that matches your profile and aspirations.
• Legitimize women in their rolesgiving them the tools they need to perform their roles optimally and demanding respect from the rest of the organization.
• Start off objective assessment systemsto avoid the resistance that many organizations continue to have towards working from home.
• More flexible and specific meetingswhich allow you to optimize time.
• Make your schedule more flexibleso they can adapt it to their needs.

Regarding them and their overall professional development in the family business, here are some important key points:

• arrive with the best possible preparation in training and experience, depending on the position and professional career they want to develop in the company. Companies strive to be profitable, and this requires the best professionals.
• Be very honest about the dedication they will be able/willing to offerif they are mothers. Being a family business, the organization is likely to make extra efforts to ensure that they can balance their professional and personal lives.
• Request career plan Consider the previous points to know how much they will have to contribute to the company at any given time to achieve what they want.
• Show maximum commitment in the performance of their duties, without ceasing claim what they think is theirs and they don’t get it.

Each side needs to work on itself. Not only because the business becomes more profitable, in line with the APA findings mentioned above, but also because in family businesses, professional frustration due to gender issues takes an emotional toll on the family and also creates stress on the organization.

Change requires adaptation, but there is little to lose and much to gain.

Yolanda Mora

Senior Family Business Consultant