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Networking for change: Women in Business and Government discussion panel

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Alison Smale, Managing Editor, International Herald Tribune.

Ljerka Puljic, Senior Executive Vice President for Strategic Business Groups, Agrokor, Croatia.

Monica Luisa Macovei, Minister of Justice, Government of Romania.

Sunday afternoon saw a lively and engaging debate at this year’s Women in Business and Government discussion panel. Hosted for the first time by Brigita Schmögnerovà, the EBRD’s Vice President for Administration & HR and a former minister in the Slovak Republic and Executive Secretary at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the discussion was chaired for the third time by Alison Smale, Managing Editor of the International Herald Tribune. 

The panel was made up of women of widely varied experience from all over the region; from Prague to Ulaan Baatar, banking, government, industry and the media were represented. British-born Alison Smale has worked across eastern Europe, the Balkans and Russia. Representing women in government was the highly respected Romanian Minister of Justice, Monica Macovei. Chief Operating Officer of Mongolia’s Khan Bank, Sandag Sukhbold and American Laurie Spengler come from the financial and advisory arena while Gulnara Shamshieva, General Manager of Bai tushum in the Kyrgyz Republic and Ljerka Puljic, Senior Executive Vice President of Strategic Business Groups at Croatia’s Agrokor spoke for commerce.

In her welcoming speech Ms Schmögnerovà noted that although great progress has been made in the 15 years since the founding of the EBRD, there is still more to be done: there are many more women in government, but in the main they are given social and environmental portfolios, rather than economic. The discussion that followed gave a fascinating snapshot into women’s positions and responsibilities across the region.

Embracing the opportunities

Leading off the panel discussion, Ms Smale asked how transition has affected women working in the region. Ms Shamshieva commented on how in the Kyrgyz Republic democracy has not led to women in government, but it has certainly fostered an increase in the number of women in commercial enterprises. Drawbacks there certainly are, particularly with issues such as the ownership of real estate, but there has been progress. Women have embraced the opportunities that transition has brought.

Ms Spengler followed this up by pointing out that transition brought opportunities to all; women have gained as barriers to entry have fallen. She said that western countries have a great deal to learn from the transition countries, citing eastern directness and openness in communication as opposed to the more cautious, politically correct environment in the west.

Communicating success

Communication was considered by all the panellists to be one of the key factors in women’s progress across the region and across all spectrums of business and official life. Networking on a local, regional and international basis was seen as crucial; to support one another and encourage younger women to pursue successful careers in environments that can be challenging, if not downright difficult. Interestingly, the experience of most of our panellists was that although international and regional networking is now established and functioning, more difficulty has been experienced in setting up local networks. 

Another communication issue highlighted by Ms Puljic was women’s failure, in comparison with their male colleagues, to communicate their successes and take responsibility for their achievements.

The panel also noted, in a similar vein, that women are much less successful at negotiating their compensation and in fact are less willing to do so than their male counterparts. Ms Sandag described this as one of the most important lessons she learned from the team that turned around Khan Bank. The female mind was described as much more inclined to consider what it can put into a corporation rather than what it can take out.

Equal visibility, equal judgement

The media’s portrayal of women – which most felt to be insufficient if not actually counter-productive – was raised; Ms Smale stepped aside from her moderator’s role to highlight the dearth of images of successful women in news and business media. Other panellists asserted that it was time to shine a light on women’s achievements, which are generally less feted than those of men. An interesting point from Ms Puljic was that women’s activities, either successful or unsuccessful, need more visibility in the media; this would redress the balance fully between reporting on men and women.

A theme that recurred in various guises was that of the inequality of judgement applied to women in positions of power and responsibility. One delegate mentioned that having women in government was not necessarily a good thing – she mentioned a woman Minister of Justice in an EBRD country of operations, whose achievements were felt to be insufficient. Minister Macovei and Ms Spengler both retorted that the male members of that particular government were not noted for their successes either. This, said Ms Puljic, illustrated an assertion she made earlier in the session: that women have to work, harder, longer and more successfully to be deemed equal to men.

With Minister Macovei on the panel, who was given the justice portfolio in Romania with a specific brief to fight corruption across the country pending EU accession, including corruption in politics and public life, considerable attention was given to corruption, by the panellists and the delegates. Initially Ms Macovei focused on her political neutrality – she is member of no political party and while this means she is answerable to nobody’s political agenda, as she acutely points out, it means no political party will be responsible for any failures. At question time, though, an intrepid (female) delegate raised the question “So, is corruption a male problem?”

“Yes!” was the resounding response from Minister Macovei, amid laughter and applause from the delegates.

Written by Nikki Braterman, EBRD Internal Communications Manager

21 May 2006