Nordic Life Science 1
Barbro also founded a company in New York during
the 1980’s – again, one of the first females’ in such a role. With her cosmetics company Swedish Secret, appointed Best Newcomer, she worked hard and a lot, so much so that only three days after her son was born she was back in the office. “He had a nanny and he was well taken care of. It was harder for me,” she says. “But I was lucky; I had my own company and could bring both my son and my dog to the office.” Women should think carefully about where they want to be working the day they have kids, she advises. “At a large company you will have a lot more security but in a smaller company maybe it is more ok to work from home.” aving a career in New York meant always acting professionally and in Sweden it is hard to understand the business culture there, she says. “You can’t just work a 40 hour week. In New York there are no safety nets and most people use a majority of their salaries to cover their living accommodation. A lot of people are only 2–3 months away from being homeless.” She describes for example how she lost almost everything she had in a fire, but nevertheless she went to work the day after – in borrowed clothes. Another time during a business meeting high up in a skyscraper the fire alarm went off but nobody moved, they just continued their discussions. But being professional and dutiful has also been an important aspect in her success, Barbro believes. “If I set a goal I reach it, and I felt that way even when I was young.” Despite her own journey Barbro thinks that in order for women today to reach top positions a greater flexibility is needed at workplaces. “Sweden is at the top when it comes to equality between men and women, but unfortunately it is still not ok or financially possible to hire help with childcare or household duties. Foremost we need to create an environment adapted to female executives that will work long-term.” Barbro adds that efforts should also be put into changing the workplace culture, companies need to step up their game and involve and include women, and frankly ‘men need to grow up‘. Barbro Dahlman Hall’s books on the subject of leadership with a gender perspective were an eye opener, she says. When it comes to affirmative action in favor of women (a quota policy) Barbro has changed her opinion. Previously she was against it but today she is for it, but thinks that it should be called something else, something more positive. “It is needed and it does not have to be such a big deal. Affirmative actions in favor of women have proven not only to increase the number of women but also the skill level in board rooms. An increasing diversity is a positive spiral, people are becoming more comfortable with each other’s differences, comfortable with change, and are daring to choose partners on the basis of competence and suitability for the job. With diversity comes innovation.” 44