Skip to main content
Fish in the Boardroom

Fish in the Boardroom

By Andrea Ullmann

Every third week a new podcast episode is released featuring Swiss leaders discussing what organizations and individuals can do to increase the number of people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives in leadership positions.
Available on
Google Podcasts Logo
Overcast Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

#12 Equal Pay - From Childhood to Enforced Laws

Fish in the BoardroomApr 20, 2021

00:00
29:03
#28 Simona, why do you challenge the notion of Availability equaling Results?

#28 Simona, why do you challenge the notion of Availability equaling Results?

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.

Learning Points:
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion policies are key to creating change, but it won’t last if the policies only rely on certain individuals to make them work. They need to have systems built around them that are independent from leadership.
  • A workplace with general equity not only gives you better reputation as an employer, it can also be a competitive advantage because you become a representation of the diversity in the market, meaning you  can understand and serve your clients better.
  • The winners of tomorrow will be those who can effectively utilize the potential of a hybrid work environment. This requires challenging  deep-rooted assumptions about the role of leadership and what you think of as the key traits of a great employee.
Tips:
  • Use role models and success stories to show your employees they won’t get penalized for taking advantage of policies like paternity leave and part-time work.
  • Don’t use the same leadership style with all of your employees. Learn to distinguish between situations where clear direction is needed versus ones where your role is to inspire, then just let your team do their job.
  • When considering someone for a promotion, focus on the results of the person and what they bring to the table rather than their  availability to be physically present all the time.

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

Feb 21, 202332:16
#27 Gilles, what does a committed father need? - Interview with Gilles Crettenand from Swiss national MenCare programme

#27 Gilles, what does a committed father need? - Interview with Gilles Crettenand from Swiss national MenCare programme

with Gilles Crettenand

Note: The interview was recorded in French.


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.

What you will learn:
  • When men are socialized not to express their feelings or be vulnerable, it becomes difficult to connect on a deeper level with themselves and others, including their partners and children. Education plays a major role in reproducing this pattern, and increasing one’s capacity for empathy is key to changing it.
  • The hospital environment and the attitude of birth professionals can play a major role in reinforcing (or undermining) the legitimacy of men as capable caregivers. When fathers are involved from the start, the whole family is strengthened.
  • Although their issues can be different from those of women, men also suffer under a patriarchal system. At the same time, self-aware, actively engaged fathers can become role models for social change that benefits everyone.
Tips:
  • Create dedicated spaces where new and experienced fathers can safely talk about their experiences, questions and concerns.
  • Start training programs for developing soft skills like empathy and non-violent communication. Make sure male employees can see the benefit of participating.
  • Get involved with initiatives that help couples consciously plan and prepare for parenthood. Make this support available to employees who would benefit from it.

Find Gilles on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilles-crettenand-7331691b/

Jan 31, 202330:35
#26 Anne, is ensuring diversity in ads, the key to a double bottom line? - Interview with Anne Joffre from Procter & Gamble

#26 Anne, is ensuring diversity in ads, the key to a double bottom line? - Interview with Anne Joffre from Procter & Gamble

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:

  • A DE&I initiative will see results faster if top management embeds it into their strategy and prioritizes actively supporting it.
  • If you want people in the organization to embrace the change you are trying to make, you have to help them to see DE&I not only as a force for good, but as a must-have to expand your reach and capture new markets.
  • When you are first starting out with a DE&I initiative, employees will need information and tools to help them adapt to the new perspective. While this internal capability is being built, big change can come from making inclusive representation mandatory.

Tips:

  • Prepare a compelling business case for top management that shows the potential for growth in making DE&I a priority. Getting long-term commitment is easier when you have a few wins you can point to early on, so focus on getting those first.
  • Set a clear expectation of inviting females into the areas of the business where they are traditionally underrepresented. This will let people know they need to plan ahead for finding the right talent.
  • Be clear about your objectives and how you will track them from the start. Communicate that as part of the success drivers of the project and give regular feedback on progress.

Find Anne online:
LinkedIn: 
Anne Joffre Bonnaillie


Jan 10, 202323:39
#25 Reto, why are fathers key for a family-friendly company culture? - Interview with Reto Kessler of Väternetzwerk Schweiz

#25 Reto, why are fathers key for a family-friendly company culture? - Interview with Reto Kessler of Väternetzwerk Schweiz

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.

What you will learn
  • Unbalanced distribution of paid and unpaid work between mothers and fathers contributes to issues like the gender pay gap. Diversity and equality at work require creating organizational structures that support options outside of traditional gender roles for parenting.
  • Parenthood puts an extra load on employees’ mental and physical health. By fostering a culture that enables parents to perform well without burnout, organizations can benefit from higher levels of employee motivation and commitment in the long run.
  • When your company is family-friendly not only on paper but in practice as well, that can become one of your greatest assets in employer branding.
Tips
  • Create internal parent networks where parents can meet, learn from and support each other.
  • Before creating initiatives for parents within the company, ask them what they actually need. Let them be directly involved in the process and be open for proposals.
  • Offer a few different benefit options parents can choose from. Experiment with solutions like job sharing, top sharing and leading in part-time.
Find Reto  online

Homepage: vaeternetzwerk.ch
Linkedin: Reto Kessler

Dec 06, 202223:23
#24 Holacracy - the universal answer to the challenges of tomorrow´s working world - hype or myth?! - with Gerhard Andrey

#24 Holacracy - the universal answer to the challenges of tomorrow´s working world - hype or myth?! - with Gerhard Andrey

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

  • Traditional hierarchies in organizations weren’t created for the world we live in today. Even if you don’t adapt all aspects of Holacracy, assessing where structural change is necessary can help your organization stay relevant.
  • The strict structures of Holacracy make it more difficult for personal relationships and biases to affect the decision-making process. This can lead to safer spaces for people with different identities.
  • Holacracy can support diversity, but it can’t create it on its own. You still need the right mindset and organizational culture if you want to foster DE&I.

Tips

  • Holacracy is not a quick fix for all your organizational problems. Examine your reasons for wanting to adapt it and make sure the top management is ready for the change of power dynamics.
  • When hiring new talent, don’t just look at how someone fits a narrowly defined role. Take the whole human into account and consider all the ways they could contribute to the organization.
  • Instead of changing the structure of the whole company all at once, start with one team or one set of approaches, then evolve from there.

Resources

Find Gerhard online

Twitter : https://twitter.com/anderageru
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerhard-andrey-aa57a820/

Nov 15, 202237:40
#23 How do you start a DE&I initiative with no resources? - with Amira Ghozali & Bas van Buijtenen from Aptar Pharma Group

#23 How do you start a DE&I initiative with no resources? - with Amira Ghozali & Bas van Buijtenen from Aptar Pharma Group

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

  • Building a community of ambassadors from different parts of the organization can help the message spread faster.
  • You don’t need to have everything figured out from the start. It’s more important to set your vision, start small, and keep learning as you go.
  • A survey can be a great starting tool from which a DE&I strategy can emerge.
  • Men tend to underestimate the challenges women face in the workplace. It is a different experience to work in a company whether you are a man or a woman.

Tips

  • Make sure that everyone in the organization clearly understands the objective and the intention behind the initiative. Adapt your messages and communication channels to the target group.
  • Include the topic of DE&I in the agenda of meetings whenever you can to demonstrate your commitment to it and keep it at the forefront of people’s minds.
  • Research benchmarks and best practices from different industries. Leverage existing solutions, but always adjust them to the needs of your own company.

Resources

Aptar DE&I
https://www.aptar.com/careers/diversity-equity-inclusion/

Aptar Named a Global Top 10 Female-Friendly Company by Forbes
https://www.aptar.com/news-events/aptar-named-a-global-top-10-female-friendly-company-by-forbes/

Aptar Press Release 07.04.2021 Launch Align, Female Employee Resource Group
https://www.aptar.com/news-events/aptar-announces-the-launch-of-its-first-employee-resource-group-align/

Find Amira & Bas on LinkedIn

Amira Ghozali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amiraghozali/
Bas van Buijtenen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/basvanbuijtenen/

Oct 25, 202222:26
#22 Strategic Networking - Are you still talking - or are you networking already?! - with Marilen Schwald & Stefanie Fehr of womenmatter/s

#22 Strategic Networking - Are you still talking - or are you networking already?! - with Marilen Schwald & Stefanie Fehr of womenmatter/s

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

  • Networking is a skill that you can develop. Being strategic about your efforts is key whether you are an extrovert or an introvert.
  • The four aspects of a successful network and why they are important.
  • Building and maintaining a network that can help you achieve your goals requires knowing the value you bring to the table.


Tips

  • Build female network groups inside and outside of your company.
  • Build your own personal boardroom where you include people to whom you can attribute different roles (e.g. information, power, mentor).
  • Set regular reminders to keep in touch with your network. Combine talking to your contacts with activities you are already doing to maximize your impact.


Resources:
Research
: Men and Women Need Different Kinds of Networks to Succeed:
https://hbr.org/2019/02/research-men-and-women-need-different-kinds-of-networks-to-succeed

Step by step guide to strategic networking:
https://www.womenmatters.ch/blog/willst-du-wissen-wie-du-am-besten-auf-leute-zugehst-und-netzwerkst

Icebreaker questions : https://www.womenmatters.ch/blog/lade-dir-jetzt-die-aufwaermfragen-herunter

Networking opportunity:
Join the womenmatter/s Circle: https://www.womenmatters.ch/warteliste-circle

Books on strategic networking:

Adam Grant :Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success
Zella King & Amanda Scott: Who is in your personal boardroom?


Find Stef & Mary online

Website: www.womenmatters.ch
IG: womenmatters_network
LI: womenmatters
LI: Stefanie Céline Fehr
LI: Marilen Alison Schwald

Oct 04, 202235:59
#21 Frau Sander, ist Diversity IMMER gut?
 - mit Prof. Dr. Gudrun Sander

#21 Frau Sander, ist Diversity IMMER gut?
 - mit Prof. Dr. Gudrun Sander

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

  • There is no such thing as 100% optimal diversity.
    What matters is how much diversity a manager can lead and in which industry the company is operating and in which development phase the company is currently in.
  • Storytelling can help to ensure that the WHY for DE&I is clear and understood by all,
    so that measures can be implemented consistently and actually have an effect.
  • Every company should define what they mean under "the best employees".
    This should be followed by a review of whether the criteria by which the company recruits and promotes managers are in alignment with this definition.

Tips

  • Instead of making assumptions ABOUT employees, managers should talk WITH their employees - what do they really want and need?
  • In dialogue and exchange, individual solutions - away from standardized process - can be found, which are most useful for both sides - people and company.
  • Have these discussions regularly with your employees throughout the year, not just once a year for your annual review, things can evolve fast and support is needed throughout

Ressources

Competence Centre for Diversity and Inclusion at the HSG 
Understand where your company stands in DE&I by participating in the St Gallen Diversity Benchmarking 
Perform a salary analysis and get certified 
Gender Intelligence Report 
St Gallen Diversity & Inclusion Week 

Find Gudrun online

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gudrun-sander
https://www.linkedin.com/company/competence-center-for-diversity-inclusion/

Biography
Gudrun Sander
s a Professor for Business Administration with a special emphasis on Diversity Management and a senior lecturer at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Sep 13, 202249:40
#20 What it means to actively drive the DE&I change - with Suat Demokan

#20 What it means to actively drive the DE&I change - with Suat Demokan

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.

What you will learn
  • DE&I is also an investment of trust[AU3] . Until you can measure the effects on KPIs it can take years
  • Creating a diverse and inclusive company culture means continuous work where you constantly must refresh, adapt to new learnings and development!
  • Honest DE&I work means offering strategies on how to deal with insecurity, and tools for a healthy conflict communication. It´s about supporting and accompanying the process of transition from where we are as a company / society to where we want to be.
Tips
  • Awareness and consciousness is not enough.
    Try to actively challenge the things you think need to change.
  • Think about a personal situation where you directly or indirectly have been affected by bias. Then use that emotion to feel what DE&I really means and convert it into productive energy to advocate for the topic!
Find Suat online

Suat on LinkedIn 

Biography

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.

Apr 26, 202225:31
#19 Find your voice! How to empower confidence - with Lucy Antrobus

#19 Find your voice! How to empower confidence - with Lucy Antrobus

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.

What you will learn
  • The importance of regaining a connection to your powerful self to leverage your creativity, resilience and sustainable success
  • How storytelling can be an effective tool to overcome a difficult personal story and unfold an empowering effect on one´s professional life (and even on society at large)
  • The concept of “risk-vulnerability-scaling” and how it can trigger growth mindset
Find Lucy online

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

Additional Resources

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

Biography

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.

Apr 05, 202231:09
#18 The impact of diversity and inclusion on successful sustainable leadership - with Jürg Eggenberger

#18 The impact of diversity and inclusion on successful sustainable leadership - with Jürg Eggenberger

With Jürg Eggenberger


According to Harvard professor John P. Kotter, management stands for the perfect organization of processes, planning and controlling. Leadership, on the other hand, means inspiring and motivating employees with visions. Leadership thrives on creativity, innovation, meaningfulness and change.

Sustainable leadership takes this even one step further: it stands for living and working in a larger context and includes people and the planet in all decisions, in addition to profit.

In today's episode, I talk to Jürg Eggenberger, General Manager of the SKO, the Swiss Leaders’ Association, about the core skills and mindset that characterize a sustainable leader and the crucial role that diversity, equality and inclusion can play in all of this.

What you will learn
  • Diversity and biodiversity have a lot in common, enabling more adaptability and creating more stability in your system, whether it’s on an ecological or social perspective
  • Focusing on small and medium size companies and looking into the problems they have in terms of diversity and inclusion will be the key, as 98% of the swiss workforce are in these companies.
  • Sometimes you have to provoke things to make them happen, installing quota in organizations can be a way to do just that
Tips
  • To be a good leader focus on having a cool head, a warm heart and working hands
  • Put your ego aside, it’s ok if you don’t have all the answers
  • Invite your colleagues to participate in the discussion, and share the responsibility
Resources

Sustainable Leaders Initiative : http://www.sustainableleaders.ch/de/home/

Article from Leader Mag: Inside SKO Swis Leaders – An der Transformation mitwirken

Book: Doughnut Economics – 7 ways to think like a 21st century economist „by Kate Raworth (ISBN: 1847941397 / EAN: 9781847941398)

Organizational and Team Development process & Feedback tool: We Coach

Find Jürg Eggenberger online

Jürg Eggenberger auf LinkedIN

Jürg Eggenberger auf XING

Jürg Eggenberger auf Twitter

Biography

Jürg Eggenberger studied economics at the University of Zurich and completed a master's degree in service management at the University of Applied Sciences of Central Switzerland and further training in organisational development.

Since 2013, he has been the General Manager (Geschäftsleiter) of the Schweizer Kader Organisation SKO, an association for managers and higher professionals with 10,000 members. Previously, he worked in education for 10 years, including as rector of an university of applied sciences. He has over 30 years of leadership experience in a wide range of industries and advises companies on leadership development.

Mar 08, 202229:25
#17 How to keep up as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated working field - with Corina Grünenfelder

#17 How to keep up as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated working field - with Corina Grünenfelder

with CORINA GRÜNENFELDER

Special thanks to EY in Switzerland for supporting this episode and advocating Diversity & Inclusion in Switzerland!


In Switzerland only 6,5 %, of the MINT jobs (Mathematics, Information technology, Natural sciences and Technology) are held by women, while in Swiss universities they represent less than 20% of students. This inevitably leads to the development of industries and professions that are clearly male dominated, including, for example, the Quant & Analytics division at EY.

EY’s challenge, like for so many other companies, is twofold: How to gain and retain more women and develop them into leaders and simultaneously how to create the best environment for women to step onto critical career rungs of the leadership ladder? How to support women’s motivation to lead and increase the likelihood that others will recognize and encourage their efforts—even when they don’t look or behave the way their bosses do?

I’m talking to Corina today about how it is for a woman to work in a male-dominated field, about how EY is supporting her in her career development and about where she still sees some progress to be made.

What you will learn
  • How it is like to operate on a day-to-day base in a highly technical-mathematical (and therefore male-dominated) filed as a woman
  • What initiatives EY has introduced to support equal hires and leadership programs in these areas
  • What further approaches there are to pave the way and make MINT study programs more attractive for male and female alike
Tips
  • Women need to support each other more and not treat each other as rivals
  • Take the time to connect and exchange with other female colleagues and be open to speak up when you face or observe a problematic biased situation
  • Look for a (female) mentor – consider someone from outside your company, who can give you an outside perspective
Resources

Further resources:
Article: Re-writing the leadership norms / Inclusive leadership best practice by EY

Find Corina on LinkedIn  Biography

Corina Grünenfelder is a Director at EY Zurich with focus on quantitative Risk Advisory and Sustainable Finance for Banking and Insurance clients. She is a fully qualified Actuary (Swiss actuarial association) and studied Mathematics at EPFL. Corina is a diversity and inclusion advocate in the Swiss Financial Services EY team.

Feb 10, 202224:28
#16 What Men Gain From a Parental Leave

#16 What Men Gain From a Parental Leave

With Dario Cristiano

This episode is brought to you in cooperation with Advance.


Understanding that equality in the workplace starts at home, several companies offer parental leave programs for men that go beyond the current legal requirements of two weeks. Sadly though, such offers are often not used by men for fear of the professional consequences to their careers.

Yet, studies have shown that when fathers take paternity leave, mothers return to work more easily, female employment is higher, and the earning gap between men and women is lower.

And, as the French INSEE Institute analyzed, although men in 2010 spend more time with their children, so do women. Leading to inequalities that remain largely the same: and women still spending twice as much time on household chores and care activities compared to men.

P&G, the company behind brands like Pampers, Ariel, Gillette, or Oral-B, with Headquarters in Geneva,created the #Sharethecare program to address just that and has heavily invested in encouraging their employees to take advantage of this program. Dario Cristiano, the Site HR Director at the Geneva Headquarter of P&G, was one of the first to take advantage of this program that allows new fathers or domestic partners in same-sex couples, 8-week fully paid leave within the first 18 months of the child being born or adopted.

In my conversation with him, he talks about what it meant for him as well as what fears he had and how he overcame them.

“I was the first person in my whole family, my circle of friends, even at P&G I was one of the first to take [the parental leave]. It came with a lot of unknowns about what it would mean for me. But after I convinced myself, I had the feeling I had to convince everyone else around me, my manager, my colleague that it was the right thing for me.”

What you will learn

·  How taking parental leave can serve you in a professional setting by teaching you new skills, such as resilience, leading in uncertainty, problem-solving, patience, foresight, …

·  About the four key moments before and after the parental leave: The Decision-Making, The Request, The Leave, The Return to Work

·  Obvious things are underestimated in their impact

Tips

·  Listen more, be open to learn

·  Don’t let society dictate what is right for you

·  Get educated about Dominant Culture, Unconscious Bias, Privilege (see resources below)

Resources

About P&G and their #Sharethecare Program:

·  P&G - Shifting Cultural Norms - Gender Equality Begins at Home - We advance Cas Study

Other resources to continue the Equality & Inclusion journey learning on Dominant Culture, Unconscious Bias, Privilege

·  Blind Spot by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald

·  Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live) by Eve Rodsky

·  Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

·  What Works by Iris Bohnet

Further resources can be found on the Fish in the Boardroom website

Find Dario online

LinkedIn

Procter & Gamble

Biography

Dario Cristiano joined Procter & Gamble 12 years ago in his Home Country, Italy. Over those years, he has been working in Italy and Switzerland in a variety of roles in the Human Resources function. Dario is currently Human Resources Director for Geneva Business Center and is a committed partner on Equality & Inclusion activities at P&G.

Jun 15, 202132:42
#15 Giving Employees the Right to be Entrepreneurs

#15 Giving Employees the Right to be Entrepreneurs

With Christophe Barman


If culture is key when it comes to having more diversity, then companies following new leadership models, such as Holacracy, should be inherently having more diversity. But is this true? And what does it look like to have a company culture so strongly based on values and trust? A company where there are no hierarchies and spreading power amongst employees is truly lived?

To gain a perspective on these questions, I talked to Christophe Barman, who created such an organization. We talked about how diversity is lived a Loyco. About what self-directed and self-responsible employees need, as well as how decisions are made when there is no authority role.

“The workplace is the only place after your parent's home, where someone else decides for you when you have to come, what you do and how you dress.”

What you will learn

·  How giving full trust and authority to employees allows you to empower them to feel responsible and become responsible entrepreneurs within your company

·  How using roles rather than positions, allows you to spread power amongst the team and give the right people the right authority

·  The importance of feedback and coaching to truly enable people to live up to what is expected of them

Tips

·  Don’t compromise on your values, be clear about them and specific about the habits that such values bring. Give feedback on that.

·  Reflect on your vision of authority and trust. How do you feel about spreading authority amongst your team? Would you trust them enough?

·  What is your definition of performance and success?

Resources

Christophe and Loyco’s inspiration for Loycocracy :

·  Start with Why, Simon Sinek

·  Reinventing Organizations, Frederic Laloux 

·  Holacracy, Brian J. Robertson 

Find Christophe online

LinkedIn 

Facebook 

Instagram 

Overview of Christophe’s roles at Loyco 

Loyco 

Biography

Graduate of HEC (MSc, Lausanne, Innsbruck) and holder of a certificate in risk management, Christophe Barman is committed to sustainability, participative management training and risk management.

Passionate about human adventures, mountains and sports, Christophe is very active in the associative world: president of Geneva Snowsports, vice-president of Ski Romand and of the sports commission of the Loterie Romande (Geneva), president of the IDDEA Award of sustainable entrepreneurship and of the Fédération Romande des Consommateurs (FRC) and a member of the Board of the Swiss Banking Ombudsman and of Promotion Santé Suisse.

Christophe co-founded Loyco in 2013, a service company in French-speaking Switzerland that has grown to over 100 Loycomates and CHF 14 million in turnover in 7 years, without sales force nor hierarchy.

Jun 01, 202127:25
#14 Leverage Recruiting for Culture Change

#14 Leverage Recruiting for Culture Change

With Georg Lange

When recruiting for an open position finding suitable candidates can be challenging. At the same time, with every new hire, you have an opportunity to shape your company culture. So how can you go about this hiring process and ensure that you hire the best candidate? The person that has the expertise required, but also the cultural fit that will ensure the success of both, the candidate, and the company.

Now add the challenge to recruit women in those male-dominated positions. This is the challenge that Georg Lange set out for himself. He used the DIER Model for his hiring process and observed how he ended up hiring 70% women and increased the number of women in his leadership team to 40%. Which in turn lead to stunning financial results in 2020 despite a difficult economic environment.

In this episode, Georg talks about how he consciously used diversity hiring to shape the EFTEC AG company culture, why he did so and the results that came from this.

"If there is all of a sudden, a woman in the meetings and [men] have to deal with women on a day-to-day basis. This changes the behavior of men significantly and for the better. It becomes much more precise and much clearer."

What you will learn

·  How to use the DIER Model in your hiring process to identify the right candidate for your company based on skills but also on cultural fit

·  Hiring women in critical positions might still require convincing of established leadership

·  How women influence a company culture to become more precise and effective

Tips

·  Focus on the results you want to achieve not on the profile of your ideal candidate

·  Consider the extra time investment in finding female candidates as an investment in the quality of your candidates

·  Be open, question the value system you are working and searching against

Resources

Article explaining the DIER Modell: DIER Modell: Perfect Match (German)

Detailed presentation of the DIER Modell: cmm360 im Gespräch: Das DIER Modell

Video Interview with Chris Holzach on the Health aspect of the DIER Modell: Das DIER Modell – Teil 2

Find Georg online

LinkedIn

Biography

Georg Lange is focused on one of the most important areas in a company: its people, their leaders, and the results achieved. He has a total of 25 plus years of experience in driving strategic initiatives as well as daily operations in Human Resources. His tenures have covered all phases from Assessment, Strategy, Concept, Implementation, Operation, and Improvement.

Georg Lange has started his career in a Big 4 consulting firm, moving into global responsibility in HR functions in large international groups, as well as accompanying promising start-ups. For more than 10 years now his passion and in the meantime huge expertise is on digitalization and 4i amendments in the automotive, chemical, and financial industries. For virtually 3 years he led a scientifically based research project on how a company’s culture influences the overall success of a company. The findings formed the basis for the so-called DIER Modell, which supports finding the perfect match for an open position. In his current role as Global Head HR at EFTEC AG, he has implemented the model and uses it to find leaders and employees who not onlyensure the success of the company but also feel extremely well in their new position. In this case, 70% of all newly hired leaders are females.

Georg Lange holds an MBA and a MAS of HWZ. He has co-published two books about digitalization and 4i and written numerous articles. 

May 18, 202132:33
#13 Reframing Diversity as an Opportunity

#13 Reframing Diversity as an Opportunity

With Hajar EL Haddaoui

Notes

In 2020, the share of foreigners working in the service industry in Switzerland was 14.5%, that is 1 in 7 employees. In that sense, the Swiss workforce is already quite diverse, but how does Switzerland react to those foreign workers?

In this episode, Hajar EL Haddaoui talks not only about her challenges in entering the Swiss workforce but also about how she managed to empower women in her team to take on the leadership challenge triggering an improvement in her unit’s performance.

"I started in a way which is "I need to hire" without any clear vision about how I can empower women. And in the end, it wasn't the big result. Afterward, I started really to make a Diversity & Inclusion strategy. […] And in 3 years we moved from 13% to 25% in my unit."

What you will learn

●  Individual initiatives yield marginal results to your diversity metrics compared to the implementation of a comprehensive Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) strategy

●  What four areas of focus you can work on to create this strategy

●  How to create an environment to empower women within your organization

●  The importance of the leadership mindset for the success of an initiative shifting away from a “She’s a quota woman”-mindset to a “she brings value to the team”-mindset

Tips

●  Measure and compare the performance of your teams also based on their diversity

●  Sponsor women in your organization

●  Don’t only look at the added value for the business but catch -up with the human side as well

Find Hajar online

LinkedIn

Biography

Hajar EL Haddaoui is passionate about communities working with leaders and developers to help them deliver business values through KM.

Vice president for Sales and Retails channels fur region West & Ticino, member of the Advisory Board of MOD-ELLE, Member of the assembly of delegates of Vaud chamber of commerce, Member of the Global Campaign board of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women for the scoping of our Africa chapter. Frequent public speaker and Finalist of the Women IT Awards 2020 in the category "Business Leader of the Year "The combination of Law Background and IT experience give her a unique ability to bridge the gap between practice and theory in digital transformation and leadership.

May 04, 202122:49
#12 Equal Pay - From Childhood to Enforced Laws

#12 Equal Pay - From Childhood to Enforced Laws

With Deborah Halter

Notes

By law, men and women are equal, unfortunately, statistics show, when it comes to salary this is not the case. There has been lots of talk about this, but where do we stand today? What has been done and what can we do?

Deborah Halter walks us through the numbers for Switzerland and tells us about her experience working with companies.

“In 2018, 61% of all people receiving a monthly wage of less than CHF 4000 for a full-time job were women, whereas 81% of people earning more than CHF 16 000 for a full-time job were men. This nicely sets the picture we are looking at.”

What you will learn

·  Salary Discrimination starts in childhood, yet at the beginning of a career, both genders earn the same.

·  The pay gap starts when women have children and their career opportunities decrease, as single women earn the same as men.

·  The average salary gap between men and women has increased between 2014 and 2018.

·  Equal value can be measured even between seemingly very different positions such as nurses and policemen.

Tips

·  Ask for the results of your company’s equal pay analysis

·  Be aware of the different perception of value between care work and creation work and start building an objective salary system based on specific criteria not on people

·  Don’t be afraid to talk about salary with your colleagues and research Swiss benchmarks using for example the salarium tool

Resources

Statistics by FSO (Federal Statistics Office)
(BfS - Bundesamt für Statistik, OFS - Office federal de la statistique, UST - Ufficio federale di statistica), 

Federal Office for Gender Equality
The FOGE is committed to legal equality between women and men as well as equal opportunities and pay in professional life; including prevention from sexual harassment at work; and to a balanced distribution of tasks within the household and against domestic violence.

Logib tool for the analysis of you're company's pay gap

Salarium, statistical salary calculator by the Swiss Statistics office

Find Deborah online

LinkedIn

Gender Equality Advising

Biography

Deborah Halter was born and raised in the German part of Switzerland where she studied business in St. Gallen. After her Bachelor's degree, she worked for multinational companies in Marketing and Key Account Management. The question of gender equality accompanies Deborah since her time at university and she has studied the topic ever since. In 2019 she founded her company Gender Equality Advising to support companies on their journey to more gender equality. Specializing in the gender pay gap analysis.

Apr 20, 202129:03
#11 How to Change Company Culture in 6 Min

#11 How to Change Company Culture in 6 Min

With Matthias Mölleney

Notes

Reduced to a minimum, talking about Diversity and Inclusion means talking about company culture. But what can you do to create a company culture where trust is the basis of a good collaboration? How can you improve this culture when gaps are visible, and collaboration has become difficult?

In this episode, Matthias Mölleney presents to us Beyond Leadership, a proven method that will change the team dynamics in just 6 minutes by increasing trust.

“Diversity means you have to be interested in the others. If you’re only interested in yourself and people who look similar, think similar, then diversity will not happen. Interest is the first step. Then you need to get to know them, really know them.”

What you will learn

·  How to build trust within an organization using the Beyond Leadership method

·  Why it is not enough to know the working identities of your colleagues

·  The importance of listening to identify real solutions to your team’s needs and be innovative

Tips

·  Start with asking yourself the question “Do I know the personal values of my employees and their motives” and answer the question very honestly

·  For the courageous ones, do the beyond leadership exercise with your partner

·  Listen and listen again to your team as things may change

Find Matthias online

matthias@moelleney.com

Homepage peopleXpert

LinkedIn

Biography

After 20 years at Lufthansa, the last 8 of them at the top management level, Matthias Mölleney moved to Switzerland in 1998. There he was a member of the Group Executive Board and Head of Human Resources of Swissair, Centerpulse, and Unaxis.

In 2005, he founded the consulting firm peopleXpert gmbh in Uster. He advises and accompanies companies and managers in change situations and in challenges of leadership and professional human resources management.

Since 2009, he is also head of the Center for Human Resources Management & Leadership at the HWZ University of Applied Sciences Zurich, and teaches at other national and international universities, and is the author of the books "Die Zukunft möglich machen" (Huber Verlag, Frauenfeld, 2003), "Transformational HRM" (SKV Verlag, 2018) and "Beyond Leadership" (SKV Verlag, 2019) as well as numerous publications in the field of leadership, people management, and change management.

Matthias Mölleney is a director at the international think tank "The Future Work Forum" and a member of various foundations and boards of directors.

Apr 06, 202131:07
#10 The Importance of Role Models for All Ages

#10 The Importance of Role Models for All Ages

With Andrea Delannoy

Notes

As Marian Wright Edelman said, “You can’t be what you can’t see”. This quote demonstrates the importance of role models in creating our vision of what is possible. Andrea Delannoy has recognized this and has been engaged in making more role models visible to young women as well as children through her various ventures.

With MOD-ELLE, a Swiss nonprofit organization whose mission is to challenge gender stereotyping in molding and pursuing youth’s career aspiration. Andrea is convinced that bringing role models closer to classrooms will spark youth’s interest and open new perspectives in their career choices.

In this episode Andrea shares why it is so important to start building diverse role models at an early age.

“Children learn by watching us more than by listening to us.”

What you will learn

·  Why it is important to have role models in school

·  What the role of companies is in creating role models

·  What purpose role models serve and whether it is more impactful to have relatable role models rather than public figures

Tips

-  Engage in offering different perspectives to children about what futures they can have by being a role model for MOD-ELLE

-  Don’t think you are not famous enough to be a role model. Everyone is a role model.

-  Encourage your male colleagues and friends to challenge established role stereotypes by serving as role models

Resources

OECD Reports on youth and the job market, can be found on fishintheboardroom.ch/10

Find Andrea online

www.mod-elle.ch

Andrea.Delannoy@mod-elle.ch


Twitter @mod_elle_ch

Facebook @mod.elle.ch

LinkedIn mod-elle-ch

Biography

A former Auditor for the Romanian National Court of Audit, Andrea Delannoy moved to Switzerland in 2003 and she put her efforts since into promoting a gender equal workplace.

During her MAS at the University of Geneva Andrea became aware of the missed opportunities for women in Switzerland. In 2010 she co-founded "Expanding your horizons" an association in Geneva, whose mission is to promote STEM careers for girls.

Five years in the management of a company specializing in career counselling gave Andrea further insight into the horizontal segregation in Switzerland, which starts from early ages and heavily impacts the parity in the workplace.

In 2018, Andrea founded MOD-ELLE, an association based in Lausanne whose mission is to tackle gender stereotyping in career aspirations and choices for young people. MOD-ELLE offers to primary school teachers the opportunity to invite inspiring women from different professional backgrounds into their classrooms to talk to children about their jobs, feed their curiosity, break down gender stereotypes and open children’s eyes to future possibilities.

Mother of two daughters and passionate about the intergenerational learning, Andrea mentors Masters’ students of the University of Geneva since 2012 and is an Ambassador for Women International Networking, an international network of female leaders.

Mar 23, 202123:53
#9 Using Artificial Intelligence to Measure Unconscious Bias

#9 Using Artificial Intelligence to Measure Unconscious Bias

with Annabella Bassler

Internationally, males represent 82% of media coverage, whilst in Switzerland, this number is only slightly better with 75%. To address this discrepancy, Annabella Bassler, the CFO of Ringier AG, introduced Equal Voice in 2019. This initiative aims to increase female media coverage by using artificial intelligence. The tool analyzes the content of media and provides an objective factor, which indicates the coverage of women compared to that of men.

How do journalists and company leaders react, when they learn about this unequal reality? And how do Swiss Media like Beobachter, Schweizer Illustrierte, and Blick approach these initiatives?

In this episode, Annabella shares the particular steps they took towards increasing female coverage in Swiss media and the results they achieved.

“And we have great journalists. And we have great editors in chief. And they are aware of the framing. It’s like when they have their meetings and go through the articles and the pictures, it definitely helps that we have EqualVoice because it just pushed their awareness tremendously. Everybody can just say now in a meeting “Is Equal Voice in there?” And they don't have to make up a story about why they think it's about discrimination or why they think the woman was not placed or framed correctly. They can just say, it's not EqualVoice how can we make it EqualVoice.”

What you will learn

·  How to beware of your USPs, for example, for Ringier it’s journalist’s independence.

·  How to engage all actors and raise awareness.

·  How to take the emotions out and make Equal Voice a diversity bon-mot. This will reduce the friction of people voicing this issue and encourage more professionals to speak up.

Tips

·  Keep it as simple as possible.

·  Walk the talk. Firstly, ensure equal pay. Secondly, define your Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Then hire, retain promote.

·  Don’t delegate the implementation of the D&I strategy to HR. To gain the right momentum, this strategy has to be led by the board.

·  Include employees in you the discussion of D&I progress. They can bring new valuable ideas and you will increase their awareness of the issue.

Additional Resources

Additional Resources on EqualVoice (German)

EqualVoice - Die Idee: https://youtu.be/In4jtOlOMtU

EqualVoice - Rückblick 2020: https://youtu.be/7mhiUJVBROs

Find guest online

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabella-dr-bassler-6473b023/

Homepage Ringier: https://www.ringier.ch/en

Biography

Annabella Bassler (*1977) has been CFO of Ringier AG since June 2012. She began her career at Ringier in 2007, working in a number of financial roles. In addition, she has also been responsible for Ringier’s activities in Romania since mid-2014. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Ticketcorner AG, Ringier Digital Ventures AG, Ringier Axel Springer Media AG and is also on the board of the child welfare organization Plan International Switzerland. She studied economics at the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel, Buenos Aires and Los Angeles, subsequently completing a doctorate. After gaining practical experience in consulting, Annabella Bassler worked from 2004 to 2007 in various financial roles for Hamburg Süd, formerly the Oetker Group’s shipping company, in Hamburg.

Mar 09, 202130:51
#8 Summary - What if you could be your own role model?

#8 Summary - What if you could be your own role model?

As this episode is the last of the first season, I decided to use the opportunity to not interview anyone, but rather reflect on where I started and what I have learned so far. So, this is a much more reflective and introspective episode, where I share my thoughts with you and summarize the various episodes so far.

Dec 14, 202023:28
#7 Amjad Saleem - Be the change you want to see in the world
Nov 30, 202025:52
#6 Alkistis Petropaki - Promotion is the main issue

#6 Alkistis Petropaki - Promotion is the main issue

The promotion of women in the workplace is currently the biggest issue for women's careers. In this 6th episode, Alkistis Petropaki, general manager of Advance, and I discuss this widely untouched area of diversity efforts: the promotion process.

Advance is a non-profit association of Swiss based companies, which wants to see the share of women in leading positions in Switzerland increase.

Each year, Advance publishes together with the University of St Gallen the Gender Intelligence Report. This report contains a wealth of information around the state of gender equality in Swiss business and offers many inspiring best practices by Swiss companies. I highly recommend the read to anyone interested.

Nov 16, 202027:29
#5 Johanna Seeliger  -  Recruiting inclusively is easy

#5 Johanna Seeliger - Recruiting inclusively is easy

Johanna Seeliger is the founder and CEO of Diversify, a company which works with start-up and established companies to make them more attractive to diverse talent.

Do you believe that recruiting inclusively is hard? Think again... Johanna claims it is much easier and less costly than one might think. Listen to this new episode where, she will explain to you how.

To boost her inclusive recruitment process Johanna uses various tools such as:

  • Diversifier by Witty Works, which allows you to check how attractive your job description is for female talent.
  • Be Applied, a blind hiring software that allows you to take away the information that might lead you to an unconsciously biased selection decision. It won't hire for you, but it will help you get the right candidates in the final rounds...
Nov 02, 202028:19
#4 Atena Hensch - Everybody is a leader with regards to diversity

#4 Atena Hensch - Everybody is a leader with regards to diversity

Atena Hensch is a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) expert at Hensch Consulting, specializing in assessments of organizations in terms of where they stand in their diversity and inclusion efforts, but also in understanding their development and educational needs to better practice inclusive leadership. In this episode, Atena speaks with me about inclusive leadership, what makes a good ally and concrete actions to break the chain of non-inclusion.

Oct 19, 202023:05
#3 Rodica Rosu Fridez - Investing in talent at mid-level management

#3 Rodica Rosu Fridez - Investing in talent at mid-level management

Rodica Rosu Fridez is the founder of InspirAction and the ambassador for The A Effect in Switzerland. What are women’s responsibilities and what are company’s responsibilities when it comes to engaging women to climb the corporate ladder? This is the discussion I have with Rodica. In this context, she also describes The A Effect (L’Effet A in French), the organization she brought to Switzerland to address the lack of experience-based training programs for mid-level leaders in Switzerland.

Oct 05, 202023:46
#2 Pirmin Meyer - The courage to have the difficult conversations

#2 Pirmin Meyer - The courage to have the difficult conversations

Pirmin Meyer the co-founder of WE/MEN, a Swiss movement aiming at engaging men to become vocal about gender equality. In this episode, Pirmin talks openly about his experience, what the reactions were and how it impacts his life today. He also talks about WE/MEN, the movement he created as a reaction to what he observed.

Sep 22, 202019:31
#1 Rene Bujard - The importance of training in addressing diversity
Sep 07, 202023:12
#0 Introductory Episode - The Why, the What and the How

#0 Introductory Episode - The Why, the What and the How

Fish in the Boardroom is a bi-weekly podcast discussing Diversity in Swiss Leadership. In 20-30 Minute interviews with leaders throughout Switzerland discuss what can be done on an individual as well as on an organisational level to increase diversity in Leadership positions.

Sep 07, 202003:38