«Work through people, and surround yourself with people from different backgrounds, profiles, and skills than yours. Be confident! A confident leader won’t be afraid to hire strong and bright people!»
Olesja Flores, General Manager JTI
Interview with olesja flores
«Stronger when equal»: We are all stronger, when equal. What does this mean for you personally?
For many people who come from the East, «equal» might have a negative connotation – there, everyone was equal, but also equalized. In the context of gender equality, of course, it is something positive – equally valued, equally worthy. So I understand the motto more as «Stronger when united.» Different perspectives, profiles and skills form a powerful team.
What advice about creating a diverse and inclusive workplace would you have liked to have as a young General Manager?
I am still a young General Manager…😉 But seriously, hire people for attitude and train for skills, as we say in JTI. Work through people, and surround yourself with people from different backgrounds, profiles, and skills than yours. Be confident! A confident leader won’t be afraid to hire strong and bright people! And remember, «No one is born a master».
«Teach children to get used to evaluating and considering people only by their actions and results, not by anything else like looks or words. Through this, you help reduce biases.»
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?
It’s possible, but you need to organize your life. I have a complex family, me and my husband, we both work and travel. And we have four cats, two dogs and five kids – three living with us. I have the HR director in my team who relocated to Switzerland from the US with a six-month-old daughter. So, there are different solutions, from splitting the responsibilities with your partner and children (our children cook and iron themselves, for example) to getting help such as a nanny, grandparents, cleaning robot… You obsessively organize your life 😉.
Teach children to get used to evaluating and considering people only by their actions and results, not by anything else like looks or words. Through this, you help reduce biases.
10 years Advance, engaging for a gender equal workplace. What is your wish for progress in gender balance in the next 10 years? And how do you see the role of leaders on this journey?
I wish that we don’t have to strive for gender equality anymore but have achieved it. Leaders must overcome biases, not only in terms of gender. We must hire people for their attitude and their abilities irrespective of gender, color, religion etc.
In my past ten years I was fortunate enough to have leaders that have pushed and supported me because I am good at what I do and not for who I am. And I as a leader in the past ten years have pushed and supported people because they have been good at their jobs and not for who they are. And I wish for this to be the standard in ten years from now. I put a lot of hope in the future leaders. There will be a new generation that has grown up with the confidence that professional success is not determined by your gender.
If you have a family or live in a partnership, is this work equally distributed? What is your preferred type of housework?
It’s based on who does what best – to deliver the best possible results at the best possible timing. Also, it depends on the situation. When one is travelling or has an intensive phase at work, the other will support fully. In the end, we are one team. I don’t have any preferred type of household work, but I can tell you many things I like to do in my leisure time 😊.
jti HAS CHOSEN THE «ADVANCINE» «UNITE», BY Catherin Schöberl
Partner companies of the exhibition could choose an «Advancine» as part of their sponsorship, which will continue to inspire employees, managers and customers alike after the exhibition at the company headquarters.
Discover the artwork «Unite» by Catherin Schöberl!
«Unite»
a conversation with jti
How is Gender Diversity connected with the business success of your company?
Our industry faces increasing challenges and we need to be flexible and adapt to ever changing situations. We want the right people with the right skills and the right mindset. We rely on ideas and innovations and therefore we need different perspectives to succeed. That is why gender diversity is key to us, we want smart people from different backgrounds to join forces and take us further.
Your three most successful initiatives to balance the gender representation in management?
In our management team, currently 40% of the members are women and for the first time in the history of JTI Switzerland we have a female General Manager. This shows that we are on the right track.
Generous parental leave
In 2021 we introduced a 20-week fully paid parental leave for all our employees. This offer ensures that both men and women face the same conditions on their career path.
GES-certified
This is further supported by the recently obtained Gender Equality Standard (GES) certification by Ernst & Young. The GES certification requires evidence of comprehensive practices that protect and promote equal conditions for all employees.
Empowerment programs
We have internal and external coaching and mentoring programs specifically for female employees. Internally, we specifically focus on areas with lower female representation like Sales or Factory operations to increase the number of women to have more female candidates for leadership roles in these fields. Externally, among others, we partner with Advance to give female talents the opportunity to build on their skills and grow to be or become successful leaders.
Why did JTI choose the «ADVANCINE» «UNITE»? What are the messages that you want to give to your employees and beyond?
In many aspects «Unite» is a very good fit. First, we strongly believe that only when we work together, we can achieve our goals which is why One Team is one of JTI’s four global flagship behaviors.
Second, more specifically, in JTI, female employees have united to form a global employee resource group named «Together» to push the agenda of gender equality. That is why we regard «Unite» an excellent «Advancine» as her message reflects one of our core values.
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