What does the Advance motto «stronger when equal» mean to you personally?

It has a very strong meaning, and one I am deeply convinced of.
I was lucky to grow up in a family where both parents had senior management jobs. I was also able to witness many examples of women with rewarding professional careers – in my family, at my parents’ workplaces, and early on in my career.

I looked at my parents as equal professionals and loving caretakers, and leaving the house to go to work was never associated with a gender-specific role. But I know that this is not always the case, be it in families or at the workplace. This undermines our strength as a society, which is why we collectively need to continue working on strengthening gender equality.

What advice about creating a diverse and inclusive workplace would you have liked to get as a young leader?

A piece of advice I would have appreciated is that granting equal opportunities to everyone means acknowledging differences and turning them into strengths. According to research, diverse teams perform better and make smarter decisions than homogenous teams.

So, what leaders need to do is on the one hand, actively build these extraordinary and diverse teams and make sure they unlock the full potential of their collective talent; on the other hand, work to eradicate any bias that even the most well-meaning may – unintentionally – bring to the workplace.

What would you tell young people who would like to have a career and a family? How should we raise our children to achieve gender equality faster?

Talk it through with your partner. Discuss what are non-negotiables for each of you, and what you wish to achieve together, both in your family and at work. Sometimes we take it for granted that our family members are there to support us, but not having this kind of dialogue may eventually lead to misunderstandings and missed opportunities. Also, it’s good do the same thing at work: I’ve found that I do get lots of help and understanding if I am open about my needs and boundaries.

As far as our children are concerned, I believe role models are key. You need to walk the talk at home, making sure to quash any wrong ideas they may have heard in school or in the media. I also believe that, if you have the opportunity, it is a good idea to raise your kids in diverse environments, be it your choice of school, the sports they practice, or any other activities they are involved in.

The Advance initiative for a gender-equal workplace started ten years ago. What kind of progress would you like to see over the next ten years in terms of gender balance? And what, in your view, is the role leaders need to play on this journey?

Even if, arguably, many companies have made major steps in eradicating the biggest gender-related differences and stereotypes, we still have a long way to go. All the better, then, to see great initiatives such as Advance creating a platform for discussion and for exchanging ideas on how to make sure our kids will be «stronger when equal».

Personally, I wish the more subtle forms of bias will have disappeared completely in 10 years, and that we will finally embrace diversity – of any kind – as a genuine value, rather than seeing it as a social constraint. Leaders need to be role models here. They need to actively engage in the debate on why diversity is important, weaving new ways of working and thinking into their organizations’ fabric.

How much time do you invest in domestic work? If you have a family or live in a partnership, is this work equally distributed? What is your preferred type of housework?

My wife works full time as well and has her own career, and we have each other’s back. We try to live a model in which each of us is able to take on any house chores required, whenever the other is traveling or working longer hours, making sure our son will always have a parent to take care of him. Since my own experience with two working parents was very positive, I hope my son will say the same when growing up.

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