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#15 How can we turn our differences into our greatest strengths, Lucy Han?
She moved from Beijing to Switzerland, walked into rooms where she was the only woman, and made it to the top. Lucy Han, Head of Business Line Building Automation at ABB, joins us for this International Women’s Day Special edition from Singapore. From discovering her unique strengths to learning to speak up in a culture that was completely foreign to her, Lucy shares how she broke through ceiling after ceiling – and how you can too. With insights on emotional leadership, authority, sponsorship, and the career curve, this episode is packed with powerful lessons for every woman ready to advance.
🚀 Inspirations to go – What you can start with today!
Find your unique strength – and use it as your hammer.
You don’t have to be the best at everything. Ask yourself: what is it that I can do better than others? That strength is your tool to break through any ceiling. Stop competing on others’ terms and start showing up on your own.
Make your ambition visible.
Being ready is not enough – you must be seen as ready. Say it clearly and repeatedly. Ask for the role, the project, the responsibility. Show through ownership and follow-through that your ambition is backed by real capability and willpower.
Find sponsors, not just supporters.
Mentors give advice. Sponsors create opportunities and speak for you when you are not in the room. Build those relationships intentionally – through trust, consistency, and genuine connection.
🎙️ Lucy Han is Head of Business Line Building Automation at ABB. An engineer by education, she began her career at Siemens in China before moving to Switzerland in 2008 and rising through the ranks of product management, strategy, and business leadership. Today, she leads a global organization from Singapore. Find out more about Lucy here!
🛒 Curious about what Lucy’s Sudoku book looks like? Check it out here.
Check out the facts
In leadership positions, age and gender still matter. The latest Gender Intelligence Report (p. 15) shows that leadership in Swiss organizations is largely a male-over-40 domain: 83% of middle and top management roles are held by people over 40, and 77% of top managers are male.
Age bias adds another layer to the leadership gap that women face. Research shows that younger leaders are widely perceived as less experienced, less authoritative, and less effective. They are granted less respect and prestige, even when their actual performance does not warrant these judgments.
Frontiers in Psychology: An intersectional lens on young leaders, 2023
Zoom into tech, and the challenge shifts from getting access to belonging. The Advance Whitepaper, «The Code of Belonging» (2025), revealed that many women leave the tech industry not because they lack skills, but because they do not feel included or taken seriously in male-dominated cultures.
Stopping this leadership talent drain makes a lot of business sense: As research published in the Harvard Business Review proves, women are not just capable leaders – they are often rated higher than men on the majority of key leadership skills. In analyses, women scored higher than men across most measured competencies – including initiative, resilience, collaboration, and results orientation – outperforming men in 12 of 16 leadership skills.
This is the highlight we picked out for you.
Dare to speak up and be visible! As Lucy puts it: “Early in my career, I made a conscious decision: If I earned a seat at the table, I would never waste it. I would speak up and put my ideas, thoughts, and expertise on the table, not just for myself, but also for many women who were not yet in the room.”
Want more? Find this episode’s details, insights, and behind-the-scenes moments here.
This is the Advance Podcast team:
We are Advance
A not-for-profit organization promoting gender equality in Swiss business. Together with our over 140 corporate members, we create the necessary conditions to change stereotypical role models – so that women have a real chance to build careers and men can also play an active role in their families. We are convinced that a gender-equal working environment creates a win-win situation for everyone. Equality strengthens the economy, society, and prosperity. – Together, we #advance faster!
Find out more about Advance here: www.weadvance.ch
Are you enjoying our podcast? Give us a like and follow us! Share your feedback with us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear your thoughts and input!
Follow us on Instagram to stay tuned on the various Advance offers that are open to all. For your regular sparks of inspiration & empowerment!
View all episodes
By Advance – mit Alkistis PetropakiShe moved from Beijing to Switzerland, walked into rooms where she was the only woman, and made it to the top. Lucy Han, Head of Business Line Building Automation at ABB, joins us for this International Women’s Day Special edition from Singapore. From discovering her unique strengths to learning to speak up in a culture that was completely foreign to her, Lucy shares how she broke through ceiling after ceiling – and how you can too. With insights on emotional leadership, authority, sponsorship, and the career curve, this episode is packed with powerful lessons for every woman ready to advance.
🚀 Inspirations to go – What you can start with today!
Find your unique strength – and use it as your hammer.
You don’t have to be the best at everything. Ask yourself: what is it that I can do better than others? That strength is your tool to break through any ceiling. Stop competing on others’ terms and start showing up on your own.
Make your ambition visible.
Being ready is not enough – you must be seen as ready. Say it clearly and repeatedly. Ask for the role, the project, the responsibility. Show through ownership and follow-through that your ambition is backed by real capability and willpower.
Find sponsors, not just supporters.
Mentors give advice. Sponsors create opportunities and speak for you when you are not in the room. Build those relationships intentionally – through trust, consistency, and genuine connection.
🎙️ Lucy Han is Head of Business Line Building Automation at ABB. An engineer by education, she began her career at Siemens in China before moving to Switzerland in 2008 and rising through the ranks of product management, strategy, and business leadership. Today, she leads a global organization from Singapore. Find out more about Lucy here!
🛒 Curious about what Lucy’s Sudoku book looks like? Check it out here.
Check out the facts
In leadership positions, age and gender still matter. The latest Gender Intelligence Report (p. 15) shows that leadership in Swiss organizations is largely a male-over-40 domain: 83% of middle and top management roles are held by people over 40, and 77% of top managers are male.
Age bias adds another layer to the leadership gap that women face. Research shows that younger leaders are widely perceived as less experienced, less authoritative, and less effective. They are granted less respect and prestige, even when their actual performance does not warrant these judgments.
Frontiers in Psychology: An intersectional lens on young leaders, 2023
Zoom into tech, and the challenge shifts from getting access to belonging. The Advance Whitepaper, «The Code of Belonging» (2025), revealed that many women leave the tech industry not because they lack skills, but because they do not feel included or taken seriously in male-dominated cultures.
Stopping this leadership talent drain makes a lot of business sense: As research published in the Harvard Business Review proves, women are not just capable leaders – they are often rated higher than men on the majority of key leadership skills. In analyses, women scored higher than men across most measured competencies – including initiative, resilience, collaboration, and results orientation – outperforming men in 12 of 16 leadership skills.
This is the highlight we picked out for you.
Dare to speak up and be visible! As Lucy puts it: “Early in my career, I made a conscious decision: If I earned a seat at the table, I would never waste it. I would speak up and put my ideas, thoughts, and expertise on the table, not just for myself, but also for many women who were not yet in the room.”
Want more? Find this episode’s details, insights, and behind-the-scenes moments here.
This is the Advance Podcast team:
We are Advance
A not-for-profit organization promoting gender equality in Swiss business. Together with our over 140 corporate members, we create the necessary conditions to change stereotypical role models – so that women have a real chance to build careers and men can also play an active role in their families. We are convinced that a gender-equal working environment creates a win-win situation for everyone. Equality strengthens the economy, society, and prosperity. – Together, we #advance faster!
Find out more about Advance here: www.weadvance.ch
Are you enjoying our podcast? Give us a like and follow us! Share your feedback with us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear your thoughts and input!
Follow us on Instagram to stay tuned on the various Advance offers that are open to all. For your regular sparks of inspiration & empowerment!