Breaking barriers: Yulia Stark on Women’s Leadership and Gender Equality

Looking back, women in the sphere of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have made significant strides in combating bias and advocating for equal opportunity.

These efforts set the stage for future trends focused on intersectionality, technological integration, and global inclusiveness.

In the future, mentoring will become a critical component in empowering women to overcome career challenges, develop leadership skills, and cultivate an inclusive environment. Through mentorship, experienced leaders can guide the next generation, ensuring continued progress and innovation in DEI initiatives.

Let’s examine various key aspects of women’s professional performance in the field of DEI, including overcoming mistakes such as, strategic hiring practices, attracting top talent, the role of quotas in achieving diversity, and developing the landscape for women in leadership roles in regions such as the Middle East.

You probably didn’t try or play too well if you didn’t make any mistakes. My ones are:

• Trying to do too much alone
• Having too many projects simultaneously
• Accepting too much
• Not asking for help
• Thinking I could do everything independently.

Looking back now, the fundamental mistake I made was when my son was just a baby, he’s almost 14 now. I worked too much. If it wasn’t for my mom giving him attention, love, and care, I’m not sure it would have been healthy for him.

Okay, that’s who I am, but how can I work around it and still make it suitable for everyone I care about? That means maybe I should find a way to support that personality by getting more help, from cleaning to cooking, to supporting the children in school.

But I think it’s asking for help, and what I see, not only in my mistake but for many women I’m working with, is that we don’t invest our time properly in strategic networking. We go around; we know many people but don’t leverage them. First, the people we know are not strategic enough to make a difference in our careers.

This is where men are naturally great. They have built up such a big social capital through networking in circles and brotherhood clubs, and they do it very smartly. I’ve learned from most of my male business partners how to network by giving to the right people who appreciate and give back much more in return.

They are in the right rooms, at the right tables, to have the power to support you and open opportunities for you. I think that’s the biggest thing I didn’t do. I’ve caught up, but in the first decade of my career, I was everywhere doing too much and not finishing many of the projects I started.

Second, when it comes to C-level, to me, it’s the experience they’ve gained. I want to see it in numbers. I want to see certain KPIs. I also appreciate that it largely depends on the region, but for example, the GCC region, I will re-examine the social capital they have built. So, what is their reputation in the market? How connected are they in our industry?

It means I should be able to send this person on my behalf to discuss certain possibilities. This is largely coupled with the social capital they have built up throughout their careers.

Of course, in our ecosystem of the European Women’s Association, the members who join are natural givers. You don’t come only to take. Of course, you’re coming to get your salary, but what are you bringing besides the job description? What’s the attitude?

Some people won’t work for me if they don’t have this entrepreneurial attitude. I’m not looking for a 9:00 to 5:00 mentality because our projects are flexible. Sometimes you’ll have to work in the evening or fly at the weekend.

With the C-level, it’s very interesting. Most of their kids are already teenagers or older, so they’re much freer than the young generation, making it easier for them to travel with us. I think that’s the main thing.

I recently joined hands with a new co-founder in the last six months. She’s another leader, incredibly smart and amazing. She was based, and still is, in Cyprus. What drew her in was the opportunity to collaborate with decision-makers on a global scale, travel, and engage with different cultures.

This is not just about women, but it’s also about the sisterhood of women. It’s not something everyone may resonate with, as it’s generally not easy to find women who genuinely support each other. I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by women who give without expecting much in return, perhaps because they have already accumulated enough to give. You can only share when you have enough.

I believe that’s the beauty of embodying this international entrepreneurial vibe. We aren’t corporate in the traditional sense. When we bring people on board, we expect them to be adaptable and, I’d say, come up with solutions.

But there are fields where women, as a rule, don’t have such an opportunity. Take women in finance as an example. I’m from investment banking and was the youngest woman on the team.

Quotas should only be a temporary measure, serving as a tool to achieve diversity until it is naturally integrated into the hiring process. At that point, the focus should shift solely to talent and ability. Artificial intelligence in HR can play a significant role in this transition by removing gender biases from the equation.

You will be surprised, but the diversity in the GCC is much better than in most European countries.

There is no gender pay gap; men and women are equal under the law. The GCC has been stringent in promoting gender equality, establishing a gender balance council at the federal level to oversee and develop policies that empower women. UAE is a young country, only 52 years old.

Women need to be motivated to work in the private sector, where about 30% of management positions are held by women, which is not bad compared to Europe. They aim to reach 50% and want to be an example for other Gulf countries. They are collecting data from the UN to demonstrate how to empower women economically.

The government supports women by providing top-tier education in the country’s prestigious universities. Recent partnerships, such as with Zayed University, focus on entrepreneurship programs that guide women from concept to market and provide support through investment.

Saudi Arabia has seen similar progress, with women rapidly gaining many rights. Some women feel this progress is happening too quickly, leading to a backlash. They are rapidly catching up and, in some aspects, are more developed than Europe. This is the price of democracy in Europe; it requires more time.

As His Excellency, our Belgian ambassador, said, democracy has a price. However, overall, women in the UAE are quite advanced, and the Gulf countries are not far behind.