Representatives of CEMEX, Alinnea, and the Council of Industrial Chambers of Jalisco participated in a panel organized by the EGADE Business School Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club. 

By VALENTINA FLORES CÁCERES | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Female leaders of the construction industry addressed the opportunities to increase women's economic participation and transform their role in businesses in a panel organized by students from EGADE Business School's Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Club, Guadalajara Chapter. 

During the event "Concrete dialogues: Women in the construction industry," Martha Herrera, Global Social Impact Director at CEMEX and President of the UN Global Compact in Mexico, underscored the need to recognize inequalities and promote diversity in organizations to build a more equitable, diverse and inclusive world where everyone, men and women alike, has the same opportunities and can contribute to solving the country's challenges. 

"As a society, we must recognize that a problem exists and create awareness. And to assure a collective impact, we need to stop thinking about individualism," Herrera said. 

Martha Lucía Henao, Director of the consulting firm Alinnea, citing a study by McKinsey & Company, commented that 9 out of 10 women aspire to become top executives. Still, only 3 out of 10 women think they will make it to these positions.

"As women, we have to tell ourselves 'we can do it' and then prove it with actions, achievements, acting and not waiting, and, of course, with a positive, successful attitude; attitude has a multiplying rather than an adding effect," the former Director of Institutional Relations at Canadevi Jalisco claimed.

Henao explained that if 8.2 million women join the formal sector every year, the GDP will grow 15% by 2030, reaching the OECD average, according to estimations by the Mexican Competitiveness Institute (IMCO). 

Moreover, Betty Mora, President of the Young Entrepreneur Council of the Council of Industrial Chambers of Jalisco (CCIJ), mentioned that all women entering the educational system should be able to develop equally in their professional lives having their capacity stunted because of their gender.

The panel was moderated by Ana Karen Acedo, EGADE MBA student in Guadalajara.

Watch the complete panel here.