“Our advantage is female logic”: Alina Mantseva about women in business

On the eve of the International Women’s Day, Alina Mantseva, director of HR and internal communications of Astrazeneca, talked about how

women fight gender stereotypes at work, withstand competition with men and remain successful not only in a career, but also in personal life.

– Alina, in your opinion, the competition between women and men for key positions in companies today is still acute or this is already a relic of the past?

– In the modern world, competition for strategic roles and positions is intense, but I am sure that large companies compete primarily competencies and skills, and not women and men. Numerous studies show that an effective business is the one in which both the team and the board of directors consist equally of women and men. Of course, there is always an amendment to the industry. For example, in our company more than 70% of employees are women. Despite this, in the pharmaceutical industry, women have doubts: “Can I build a career?”,” Are I worthy of victory?”,” Do I have enough time for my family and children?”. It seems to me that in this sense a man is much bolder than us – they immediately rush into battle, believe in themselves and their victory. And as we know, the mood and visualization is already half the success.

– And how modern women can overcome this glass ceiling?

– I think you need to start with yourself and your own attitudes. We women are often inclined to doubt ourselves, always strive for the ideal and very often compare ourselves with others, including men. And this slows down us, prevents us from trying something new, taking a career step and, in the end, be yourself.