Mexico City, August 18, 2023.— During the closing ceremony of the Continuing Education certificate program, Women: Leadership and Influence, the Universidad Panamericana held a panel discussion titled The Influence of Women in Business, during which professionals who have achieved professional and business success discussed the significance of women in these fields.
The panel included: Karla Iberia, an investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker, and anchor of news programs on Mexican television; Alejandra Espinosa, Head of the Vaccine Business Unit at Asofarma; Andrea Amozurrutia, Director of Finance and Sustainability at Grupo Herdez ; and María Martha Gómez, Head of People at Telefónica; accompanied by Karla Morales Esquer, Deputy Director of the Alumni at Panamericana, as moderator.
Women's Growth
Throughout the discussion, various questions were raised that prompted the panelists to reflect on why, in many cases, companies or women limit their growth due to the commitments that such growth may entail. These limitations, it was noted, stem primarily from a fear of having to give up certain activities, such as caring for children.
They also discussed how women’s resilience enables them to withstand adversity, which in turn allows new generations of girls to study, work, lead, and engage in activities that were previously off-limits to them.
Women's Empowerment
On the topic of women's empowerment, everyone agreed that women are already powerful from the moment they are born, but that, despite this, there are ways to foster this empowerment.
On this topic, María Martha Gómez spoke about safe spaces for women: “I think we women need to support one another; we need to build these networks where we can share our problems, our joys, and our advice.”
As for the power these businesswomen have to effect change, they agreed that it stems from their consistent commitment to doing their jobs well, since being a woman does not guarantee a position—rather, it is the desire to do things right that does. Similarly, they agreed that the best person should hold a position of power and that, unfortunately, the scales are tipped in favor of men.
Bring about change
As leaders in various professional fields, the participants stated that they have the opportunity to bring about change by implementing initiatives that amplify women’s voices.
Such proposals include affirmative action, regarding which Karla Iberia explained: “Affirmative action also means that you have to give someone who hasn’t yet acquired a certain skill the time to develop it without dismissing them.”
Panamericana University has not been left behind in this regard. In fact, there is an interdisciplinary group of feminist women within the university who take a humanistic approach and share this goal of ensuring that women enjoy equal conditions, not only in the workplace but in every other aspect of life as well.
To wrap up the panel discussion, the businesswomen encouraged women to set aside their fears and pursue their goals, making themselves a priority in which to invest.
