INSIGHT 2|2019

18 | Prysmian Group I N S I G H T FOCUS ON A PASSION FOR INNOVATION: WOMEN IN R&D SHARE THEIR STORIES We asked four females in R&D leadership roles to talk about their experience and pass on advice to young women. P rysmian Group is committed to building a more inclusive workplace, as we believe different points of view make for a more competitive and stronger company. That’s why we launched the Side by Side Program in 2016, a project that promotes diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organisation. The Group has set gender targets for 2021 and is actively working towards them through the Side by Side Program, recruitment, its Build the Future Program, and the Make It/Sell It management training programmes. Our 2021 targets are for: • 40% of all recruits to be female • 15% of total executives to be female • 10% of total managers to be female. As of 31 March 2019, 16.4% of our workforce are women, making up 11% of blue collar and 30% of white-collar roles. R&D is an area with a large gender gap. According to a 2018 UNESCO study, only 28.8% of scientific research workers are female. As we work towards a more diverse future, let’s celebrate the many talented women who have led the way on gender diversity in the Group. We asked those in senior positions within Prysmian Group’s R&D team to share their views and to pass on advice to other females interested in an engineering career. VALERIA GARCIA WHY DO YOU THINK THERE ARE FEWERWOMEN THANMEN IN ENGINEERING? I joined the group in South America. We actually have many female engineers in Brazil, because Brazil is perhaps more open to that than Europe. I have a degree in pharmacy and chemistry from the University of San Paolo. Vice President of R&DNorthAmerica WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUNGER FEMALE R&D ENGINEERS TO GROW THEIR CAREER? When we talk about a technical career like R&D and/ or themanagerial skills you need, my advice would be to be very focused and to believe in yourself. I found a way to be flexible enough to face the challenges and to prove that I had value. DID YOU FACE ANY SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AS A FEMALE ON YOUR JOURNEY AT PRYSMIAN? In terms of work-life balance, we often have to work weekends or nights because we need to follow new cable productions. But my family have always supported me in those initiatives.