Is there a glass ceiling? How can a woman in Kazakhstan make a career without losing herself?
The traditional opinion that a woman should choose between the family and career continues to predominate in the public consciousness. But more and more women declare that they do not agree with a necessity of making such a choice, and prove that everything is possible, and there is no need to choose between the family and work. The V Forum of the Kazenergy Women’s Energy Club “Women in Energy: equality and success” provided a platform for discussions about the possibility of achieving this balance and barriers that need to be overcome.
Olga Abdrakhmanova, Deputy Director General for Corporate Affairs of the Verny Capital Group of Companies, notes that being faithful to her own principles was key on her career path.
One of the challenges for Olga was the transition to a new career level – the Board of Directors. That is one of the situations when it is impossible to learn while doing, she notes, since both company and people working for this company depend on the decisions made by the management. Therefore, she needed to fill a gap in competences quickly and very efficiently.
“As a woman moves up the career ladder, she inevitably reaches a point when she realizes that she is the only woman in the meeting room, while the rest are the men. This is unavoidable. And that’s the hardest part. It’s not even a matter of a man or a woman. Whenever there is a dominant group, group thinking arises, and you must confront with most of the group because you have a different opinion. This could be very difficult. Confidence, and even self-confidence is needed”- Olga Abdrakhmanova stressed.
“We are on the verge of the golden age for women. The pandemic highlighted quite clearly that countries led by female leaders performed better. And there is no coincidence,” – Olga Abdrakhmanova says.
