“Diversity ensures a more creative and innovative environment”

“My mother was always a very advanced person for her time, she was never afraid of any effort. And, at home, she gave me and my brothers the same opportunities, it was part of our family culture”, says Gal Barradas. In their home, women had been at the forefront of business for years. The grandmother had founded and managed a liquor factory. The mother was the first woman to graduate in architecture in the state and later opened a school.

Therefore, when it was her turn to enter the job market, Gal Barradas did not see many barriers that could stop her. “But I soon saw that I was the exception of the exception, that prejudice is still very strong. That’s when I decided to join groups that discuss women’s issues,” he explains. Gal went through major advertising agencies, such as W Brasil and F/Nazca. In the process, he took on large and often perceived as male accounts, for example beer brands.

Today, she is responsible for the entire Brazilian operation of the Havas group, which, in addition to BETC, contains other advertising agencies.

CLAUDIA: Did you encounter a lot of resistance in the advertising environment?
Barred Gal: If I found it, I didn’t realize it, but I believe that because of a characteristic of mine, I didn’t pay attention to these things, I just continued walking my path. However, advertising agencies have always carried that “you have to stay up all night, you have to work late” thing, which hindered both men and women in the family issue. Today, this is so old. This sacrifice thing is a very masculine ideal of competition and productivity. We women take the competition with more subtlety.

How do cultural changes occur in this environment?
We are in a process that is slow, but I believe that some changes will benefit us. Today, we measure competence by delivery, no longer by the time we spend in the office. I believe that change has to happen at all levels and it has to include men as well. It’s no use just talking about it, we have to call them to enrich the exchange of ideas. For advertising this is especially important. Diverse environment means more creativity, innovation, more solutions. The consumer also impacts. We cannot portray an old-fashioned, antiquated, backward character, because he will be rejected.

READ MORE: “You can’t be perfect at everything. You’re going to drop the ball at some point,” says Sylvia Coutinho, president of UBS bank in Brazil​.

Outside of your advertising career, you invest in a women’s finance business. Why did you choose this area?
It is a financial education platform for women. As this area was reserved for men for many years, it is rare for women to master this knowledge. But in recent years, 40% of micro and small entrepreneurs are women. And the number of women supporting their families is increasing. If the woman is fired, she tends to undertake. For all these reasons, I want to help these women. They need to be prepared to deal with this issue. Now, let’s turn it into a mobile application, it will make it much easier.

What other traits are still female weaknesses?
We still need to improve our networking skills, we are not as good at it as men. A career is you being your own entrepreneur. You don’t have to surrender to the company and see what it does for you. Your actions define where you will go.

READ MORE: “Women need to plan their careers”, argues Tania Cosentino, president of Schneider Electric for Latin America​.

You are a mother of twins. Did you have difficulty adapting to the return of the leave?
No, I was itching to get back to work. My children know the mother they have and are proud of it. I share everything from my career with them, as does my husband. At the same time, they know they are the priority. There are moments of our own. I go to all the school meetings and every day I cook breakfast – which is never the same as the day before. I know that Monday is a heavier day here, that I’ll be home later, so I make a point of spending time in the morning. I remember one day, when my son was about 10 years old, and he saw me solving various household issues. He looked at me and said: “Being a mother is the most important profession there is, right?”. (Laughter) I agreed, he was recognizing my effort there.

What still bothers women so much?
I think the misconceptions that many people still carry. There are those who still believe that, after becoming a mother, a woman will be less interested in her career and will dedicate herself less. Or that women can’t handle so many hours of work. All this is a woman’s option, she should be able to choose if she wants to work less, at what time. She doesn’t want to work the first two years? All good! And companies need to be prepared for this: they cannot be prejudiced and must value these women even after the hiatus.

READ MORE: When women reach the top, company revenue increases​🇧🇷