{"id":358,"date":"2024-09-15T23:09:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T23:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/\/?p=358"},"modified":"2024-10-16T13:31:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T13:31:02","slug":"la-nacion-mujeres-referentes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/la-nacion-mujeres-referentes\/","title":{"rendered":"Women leaders: they build bridges and share knowledge with an open view of the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Valeria Shapira, for La Naci\u00f3n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pollera Pantal\u00f3n organization makes its own background available to other women to generate business agendas and make visible those who make positive contributions from the private sector.<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One morning in 2022, in the municipality of Vantaa \u2013 one of the four municipalities that make up the Helsinki metropolitan area \u2013 the mayor, Ritva Viljanen, talks to a group of women about multiculturalism, education in Finland and citizen participation in the management of public affairs. A Master in Social Sciences and Master in Law, Viljanen answers briefly and concisely when someone asks her how she managed to reach high-level positions as a woman: \u201cIf the chair is there, just take it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her interlocutors are part of a delegation from Pollera Pantal\u00f3n (PP), an organization that was born as an initiative in 2018, in Argentina, when the thirteenth G-20 summit was being planned. A handful of professional women, leaders in various disciplines, decided that they were not going to wait for the business chambers made up mostly of men to invite them to be part of it; nor were they going to complain about why they were not invited. They said to themselves: They are doing well. Let's see how we are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pollera<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since that day, they have not stopped. They have already completed four missions abroad (United Kingdom, Armenia, Israel, Finland), where they have arranged interviews with politicians, academics and entrepreneurs (especially with women), visits to public bodies, companies and civil society institutions and also after-dinner conversations, where they spontaneously developed a way of working that is now a constitutive part of the organization: they all became selflessly consultants on the topics of the others. Today, they define themselves as united \u201cto share knowledge and seek entrepreneurial opportunities\u201d and to \u201csynergisely create new opportunities and solutions, transforming ourselves into a bridge between different sectors and regions in our country and in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What empowers powerful women? \u201cWe all had a professional career, most of us without glass ceiling experiences. We were not united by the desire to discuss gender issues, or to have an agenda on female quotas or the role of women in organizations,\u201d says Fabiana Ricagno, lawyer, founder and president of Pollera Pantal\u00f3n, partner at GER and director at Telteco. \u201cWe came together because we share a different outlook: that of having confidence in oneself, of creating opportunities, of focusing on merit rather than quota. The world is unequal (we know this), but we are not interested in being empowered but rather in focusing on the fact that a personal project is possible, that this project must be wanted, fought for and supported by others who have already achieved it and can help. Women who do and work often have as a common denominator the lack of confidence generated by the hypercritical view of being women and managing a company, a foundation or any organization that requires leadership skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since they began to think together, they understood that \u201cthe strength lies in the diversity of the group,\u201d says Maricel Lungarzo, an accountant, director at Banco Comafi and member of Pollera Pantal\u00f3n. \u201cWe don\u2019t fly trite flags. We maintain, as someone once said, that opportunities dance with those who are already on the dance floor. Many times, we don\u2019t take those opportunities. Out of fear, pressure, ridiculous perfectionisms or family situations. But we know that if you dare and get involved, in whatever you want, at some point you will dance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pollera<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The case of Carmen Laffont, among many others, illustrates this vision. A retired teacher, she runs a Basic Education Center for Youth and Adults (CEBJA) in Mendoza. Together with other women, she created a space where they teach programming for free \u2013Chicas Programadoras\u2013, in which women in vulnerable situations participate. Her link with Pollera Pantal\u00f3n is permanent, and last year she was recognized with the \u201cMujeres por +\u201d award given by the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agustina Catone, Director of Responsible Business and Corporate Ethics at Telef\u00f3nica Hispam and Fundaci\u00f3n Telef\u00f3nica Movistar in Argentina, and member of Pollera Pantal\u00f3n, says that in cases like this, and in many others, the women who make up the organization build bridges that unite distant points. \u201cThey are not whole beams, but constructions that are formed with different parts, each one collaborates from what she knows and can contribute: the legal perspective, that of execution, that of the social point of view, or the creative one, that of generating or identifying where the resources are. We unite a need with an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dreams that come true
<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

They couldn't believe it. They were in an imposing classroom at Trinity College, in front of the highest authorities of Cambridge University and several Nobel Prize winners. They were welcomed to the United Kingdom, and they were afraid that they would not be up to the exchange. They were the women of Pollera Pantal\u00f3n who had come from Argentina to immerse themselves in the academic, political, business and social world of that country. To tell and gather experiences. To understand geopolitics and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWould you like to tell us something about women first?\u201d they were asked to set the agenda for the meeting. They thought, somewhat nervously, about what they could contribute to the conversation that the people from Cambridge didn\u2019t know. Then, someone looked straight at Mar\u00eda In\u00e9s Costilla, a trade unionist for the Trade Employees Union of the City of Buenos Aires and also a member of Pollera Pantal\u00f3n.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Premios<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are going to talk about the role of women in unions, with a focus on Argentina,\u201d they answered with conviction. Ricagno recalls, laughing, that they had never imagined that the improvised talk would end with such generous thanks. Even in places where things seem completely resolved, there are always little-visited topics \u201cthat women enrich and explain with their particular view of things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unforgettable part of the trips also includes moments of astonishment, such as when \u201cin Armenia they could not believe that a group of Argentine women had gone alone,\u201d says Maricel Lugarzo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or the discovery that even in Israel, the democracy of the Middle East and one of the meccas of technology, \u201cit still happens, as everywhere, that many women do not apply for financing in technology companies because it is still men who lead the projects in that field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rules of the game<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

They never tire of working to \u201cgain first-hand information on international trends and best practices through conversations with world leaders,\u201d and then disseminate it to people and places where there is a desire to make plans happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exchanging figurines has been a constant since they first thought of working together; they did it in Helsinki, in Yerevan and also in Azul, where they traveled some time ago to build links with the women who produce in that nerve center of Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They define them with values such as \u201csolidarity, generosity and transparency. We like to promote real equality of opportunity, and we emphasize the freedom that allows us to take advantage of these opportunities,\u201d says the president of PP. \u201cWe don\u2019t give many explanations about the subjectivity of our approach, and (as Graciela Ad\u00e1n, president of the Global Foundation and member of PP, once said), if no one asks men why they get together, who said that we should give explanations?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, they plan to invite several women from the countries they have already visited to Argentina. With local and foreign women, the agenda will focus on women in democracy: \u201cWe would like to organize meetings so that the female candidates can tell us how they think Argentina will look in the future. Many of us flourished under the umbrella of democracy. We firmly believe in the Republic, and that we can only have plans if we respect its rules of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognize and celebrate<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The aim is to make those who take risks and bet on the rest of society more visible, taking the initiative and overcoming obstacles to create a positive effect on others. The Mujeres por + award, given by Pollera Pantal\u00f3n, is in its third edition. This year, the ceremony will take place the day after tomorrow, March 7, at the MALBA, at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrating the permanence and consolidation of democracy in Argentina, the organization will present Graciela Fern\u00e1ndez Meijide with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, the following will be recognized: Mar\u00eda Alcira Garcia Reynoso, for the Jes\u00fas Mar\u00eda Community Center (Education), Delfina Irazusta, for the Local Innovation Network (RIL) (Citizen Education), Mujeres de la vi\u00f1a (Agrifoods), Florencia Nicolet, for SeniorITty (Technology and Innovation), with a statuette and a cash prize sponsored by Banco Comafi, DirectTV and Experta Seguros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2021 edition, criminal lawyer Marta Nercellas (who is also a member of the founding group of PP) won the Lifetime Achievement Award. Silvana Figar, from the Hospital Italiano (Health\/Current Affairs), Mar\u00eda Jos\u00e9 Navajas, from Padres Organizados (Citizenship Education), Carmen Laffont, from Chicas programadoras (Education) and P\u00eda Garat, from Eolo Pharma (Innovation) took home the rest of the awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA unique point of the organization is that it is not made to highlight its own members; we join forces, and we become invisible in this chain of help. There is hardly one that stands out, and we all contribute. The award is an example of that: making others visible,\u201d reflects Agustina Catone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn an Argentina that sabotages private initiatives, we are excited to show how women (often without credit) manage to contribute to the country's growth,\u201d says Fabiana Ricagno. \u201cMaking their stories visible is also thanking those who dedicate their time and energy to improving the lives of all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: The Nation<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Por Valeria Shapira, para La Naci\u00f3n La organizaci\u00f3n Pollera Pantal\u00f3n pone a disposici\u00f3n de otras mujeres el background propio para generar agendas de negocios y visibilizar a las que realizan aportes positivos desde el \u00e1mbito privado. Una ma\u00f1ana de 2022, en el municipio de Vantaa \u2013uno de los cuatro que conforman el \u00e1rea metropolitana de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_gspb_post_css":"#gspb_image-id-gsbp-99efc34 img,#gspb_image-id-gsbp-a4d8031 img,#gspb_image-id-gsbp-f67d9f2 img{vertical-align:top;display:inline-block;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:100%;height:auto}","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-encuentro"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399,"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358\/revisions\/399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pollerapantalon.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}