Fish in the Boardroom

with Simona Scarpaleggia

In the last episode of the season, I talk with Simona Scarpaleggia, an international business leader, author, board member and former global CEO.

It was under her leadership that IKEA Switzerland has achieved worldwide recognition for reaching gender equality, both overall and in management. In just 9 years, the company has increased the proportion of women in management positions from approximately 4% to 50%.

In this conversation with Simona, we delve into the topic of how to create sustainable change in the workplace, why she thinks part-time shouldn’t be a career killer, and whether the DEI policies she advocates for are harder to implement in smaller companies.

This episode is gold for both high-level insight and incredibly practical advice. Simona highlights specific areas of action, common setbacks you’re likely to encounter on your DEI journey, and how you as a leader can become a role model for your team.

Find Simona on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sscarpaleggia/

with Gilles Crettenand

Research has proven without a doubt that having an engaged, nurturing father can provide huge benefits for children’s physical, social and psychological well-being. But the cultural frameworks and systemic support for men to be able to fully embrace this role is largely missing in Switzerland today.

Gilles Crettenand is the head of MenCare Suisse Romande, a national program promoting fathers’ involvement in everyday childcare and men’s participation in the care sector in general.

In previous episodes, we’ve talked about how men being more present with their families is key for gender equality inside and outside the workplace. (Listen to episode 16 with Dario Christiano and episode 25 with Reto Kessler in particular.)

Today’s discussion with Gilles goes deeper into the often invisible struggles men can face on their journey to becoming the fathers and partners they want to be.

We talk about the ways the system fails men from an early age and the consequences this has for all of us. Gilles also shares his experiences of leading transformative workshops on fatherhood, and offers a thoughtful perspective on how we can support men in becoming more aware caregivers of themselves and their families.

Find Gilles on LinkedIn:

with Anne Joffre Bonnaillie

Ads that portray women in a professional setting receive significantly less funding than those that portray them in traditional gender roles, found a 2022 research by CreativeX. Data like this show that while the portrayal of women on screen has changed over the last decades, the media and advertising industry still has a long way to go in terms of diversity and representation.

A company that makes a stand for a more equal and inclusive world in advertising is Procter & Gamble, home to brands like Always, Gillette and Pampers. Their two main goals in this field are 100% accurate representation of women on screen, and hiring 50% female directors behind the camera. After five years, they are at more than 80% with the former and 47% with the latter.

And as today’s guest, Anne Joffre will tell you, these results not only create a positive impact for society, they’re also a driver of business growth for P&G.

Anne is Senior Director, Brand Building Integrated Communications at P&G. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion both on a personal and a professional level, and shares openly about these two sides throughout the episode.

You will hear about what the key factors of success were for the company, how Anne developed the case for change internally, and the sound advice she has for organizations who want to combine being a force for good with the business perspective.

This episode was recorded at a Role Model Series event that Fish in the Boardroom organized in cooperation with INSEAD Women in Business Alumni Club. Questions were asked by Kathrin Niederlaender.

“There was also a research company called ADX who had the most prestigious research award that had demonstrated the correlation between gender equality in advertising and business building potential, like a plus 25% for ads that are portraying women in a progressive and positive manner.”

What you will learn:

Tips:

Find Anne online:

with Reto Kessler of Väternetzwerk Schweiz

In a 2019 study by UNICEF, Switzerland ranked last in terms of family-friendly policies among 41 high- and medium-income countries. Balancing family life and work is considered a private matter, and the few existing structures of support are still aimed mainly at mothers. The challenges of working fathers are often overlooked, yet without their higher participation in care and domestic work, nothing can truly change for women either.

Actively addressing these issues comes with great benefits for organizations. Research has shown that the positive effects of initiatives like job-sharing, part-time work or on-site childcare outweigh the cost of implementing them even in the short-term.

In today’s episode, I’m talking with Reto Kessler, head of Väternetzwerk Schweiz, a program that supports fathers and companies in finding effective solutions for reconciling work and parenthood.

This is a truly inspiring conversation full of thought-provoking insights for parents and companies alike. Reto makes a strong case for why parenthood is an organizational matter, shares how it relates to equality in the workplace, and gives lots of actionable tips for building a family-friendly culture in your organization.

Homepage: vaeternetzwerk.ch

with Gerhard Andrey

As an answer to rapidly changing business environments and employee expectations in the last two decades, new models of organizational structures have been emerging. One of these models is Holacracy, a decentralized approach to governing and operating organizations that is celebrated by its advocates for its agility, effectiveness, and ability to adapt.

According to HolacracyOne, a company helping organizations implement this structure, Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest number of organizations using Holacracy. While interest in the model continues to grow, discussions have also started around its limitations and relation to concepts like authority, culture, and diversity.

My guest today is Gerhard Andrey, co-founder of the digital agency Liip, one of the earliest adopters of Holacracy in Switzerland.

In our conversation we go deep into why their decision to shift from a hierarchical structure was made, what challenges they faced both on a personal level and as a company during the process, and what organizations should expect if they wish to start on a similar path.

Gerhard also shares how practicing Holacracy at Liip has created more equal opportunities for women, and how this structure can become a vehicle for diversity and personal flourishing at work.

What you will learn

Tips

Resources

Find Gerhard online

Twitter : https://twitter.com/anderageru

Aptar is a global leader in designing and manufacturing consumer dispensing and drug delivery solutions, with 13 000 employees in 20 countries. In 2021, only four years after the launch of their diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, Forbes named Aptar one of the top 10 female-friendly companies in the world.

How did Aptar set up such a successful DE&I initiative in such a short time, especially in an industry where women are generally underrepresented? What were the key factors that helped the program take root and become an integral part of the company’s core values?

In this episode, Amira Ghozali and Bas van Buijtenen talk about how they first launched the Aptar DE&I initiative at a single division with minimal resources. They share their personal experiences and most important learnings from the process, and give advice to people who also want to start on a journey of transforming their workplace.

This episode was recorded at a Role Model Series event that Fish in the Boardroom organized in cooperation with INSEAD Women in Business Alumni Club.

What you will learn

Tips

Resources

Aptar DE&I

Aptar Named a Global Top 10 Female-Friendly Company by Forbes

Aptar Press Release 07.04.2021 Launch Align, Female Employee Resource Group

Find Amira & Bas on LinkedIn

Amira Ghozali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amiraghozali/

With Marilen Schwald & Stefanie Fehr

There is a long line of research showing that women face greater barriers than men when it comes to finding professional opportunities through networking. We also know that women need different approaches than those long-established by men to successfully build and utilize their networks.

womenmatter/s is a career guidance program that helps ambitious women in the beginning stages of their careers navigate these challenges. Stefanie Fehr and Marilen Schwald founded womenmatter/s so that others can benefit from their knowledge and experience in what it means to stay true to yourself as a woman while advancing your career.

In today’s episode, Stef and Mary shed light on why we might find it hard to engage in networking, and how this relates to inequality in the workplace. The insights they provide help to understand the role of all-female networks in the career development of women, and how companies can proactively utilize them to support their employees.

They also talk about how diverse professional relationships helped them in their own careers, and share practical and broadly applicable tools for strategic networking.

What you will learn

Resources:

Step by step guide to strategic networking:

Networking opportunity:

Website: www.womenmatters.ch

With Prof. Dr. Gudrun Sander

Note: this interview is held in German

Companies want to hire the best talent for their company and particularly for their specialist and managerial roles. Yet, the long-term demand for skilled workers in Switzerland and globally is rapidly increasing and the shortage of such talent is becoming more and more evident. Consequently, the hiring, development and retention of employees is becoming a key strategic matter for companies, and DE&I plays an important role in that.

Yet, how do you define who is the best candidate for your company? When is diversity beneficial and when not? What should you be mindful of, when working with diversity? In my discussion with Gudrun Sander, from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), we rely on her 30 year research on DE&I, and offer initial approaches to these issues.

Furthermore, to promote good practices around DE&I, Gudrun hosts every year in September the Diversity week at the University of St Gallen and online. It includes interesting sessions with researchers as well as business leaders and presents the latest Gender Diversity Report that it publishes together with Advance. You can find more about the report also in my interview with the Advance General Manager Alkistis Petropaki - https://fishintheboardroom.ch/6

What you will learn

Tips

Ressources

Competence Centre for Diversity and Inclusion at the HSG 

Find Gudrun online

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gudrun-sander

Biography

With Suat Demokan

Bühler is a Swiss multinational plant and equipment manufacturer, known for plant, equipment, and related services for processing foods and manufacturing advanced materials. It´s a quite pragmatic and operational-driven field with a predominantly male workforce and only 17% share of female employees. What is remarkable, however, is that Bühler`s management includes 14% women – with an increasing tendency.

Even if a diverse community was not a big priority or even an issue in the beginning, this aspect has now been given a strong weight in Bühler's company mission and corporate values.

Today I´m talking to Suat Demokan, Global HR Business Partner – Manufacturing, Logistics & Supply Chain about Bühler’s way to more Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and but also and mainly about his very personal experience with the topic.

Corinne Schneider, D&I Ambassador and former Global D&I Lead also attended the interview and will tell us a bit about Bühler’s specific programs in this field.

Suat on LinkedIn 

Suat Demokan has started his professional career in consultancy for Software Solution with EY before having become self-employed for 6 years serving customers cross industries on solution for financial consolidation. After having joined Sulzer for a global project in 2004 Suat has decided to change functional direction and started an HR career in 2007 with serving in almost all roles from the basic factory HR manager up to a Global HR Executive. After more than a decade in Sulzer he was seeking for a new challenge and has joined Bühler as Global HR Business Partner for Manufacturing and Supply Chain. In addition to this role Suat has taken on responsibility as HR Business Partner Europe as of 2019.

Suat is a dual citizen (Swiss/Turkish), is married since 26 years and has two grown up children. In his rare spare time he enjoys playing football, golf and hiking with the family and dog.

This Episode is supported by Advance, Gender Equality in Business of which Bühler is a member.

Fleeing your home country, leaving everything behind, family, friends, careers and posessions is a traumatic event. Add to that the integration into a new and foreign country, and one can only imagine the toll such events can have on a refugee’s self-confidence.[AU1]

Today I´m having a very passionate and incredibly inspiring talk with Lucy Antrobus, Entrepreneur, Speaker and „Confidence Catalyst“ as she titles herself.

Lucy works with these refugees to help them find the confidence to better integrate into their new lives in Switzerland, learn the local language, make friends, find work, and become leaders in their community. To achieve this through her program „Refugee Voices“, Lucy believes that it´s essential to access your own resources and uses methods of storytelling to unleash participant’s potential.

And what migrants have to face to the extreme, we can also apply to broader stretches of the population, whenever it comes to daring greatly. As such what migrants teach us about courage, can also be applied to business and Lucy’s methods are one option to reach that.

In this episode Lucy shares insides into her exciting work, and how her own award-winning methodology helps catalyze diversity and inclusion.

Lucy Antrobus on LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyantrobus/

Refugee Voices

Website: www.refugeeleaders.org

Instagram: @refugee_voices

Facebook: @refugeevoices.ch

LinkedIn: @refugeevoices

Aequaland

Website: https://www.aequaland.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aequaland/

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/aequaland

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aequaland

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/equa-land

Lucy Antrobus is a confidence catalyst, inclusion warrior, and entrepreneur. She is the Founder of Refugee Voices, an NGO that rebuilds confidence in marginalized communities, and co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of Aequaland, building an educational metaverse that uses games to educate kids on sustainable development and 21st century skills. She is a global citizen and is based between London and Lausanne, having led strategy deployment and community empowerment programs across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.