Should we invent a new leadership style?
For a long time, we asked female leaders to act… like men. For a long time, the only women that managed to reach key positions were the pioneers, who opened and led the way with a machete (yes, I’m talking about the jungle of companies) and who only had men as models. So, to feel […]
[How to diversify your team] – Tip#7 Managing maternity leave
Today, we’re taking a look at this essential question: in the workplace, what’s the difference between a man and a woman? Generally speaking, one of the only answers to this question is the possibility for women to have children.*Important clarification: throughout this article, I’m talking about the mother and the father in the context of […]
HOLCIM – Circularity – The opportunity of our lifetime
Conclusions, reflections
“I would gladly agree that women are superior to men if only they would stop trying to be the same as us.” Sacha Guitry This sentence perfectly describes my state of mind at the beginning of my career and the immense misunderstanding I suffered from as a woman in a male environment. Everyone knows it, […]
Chapter 9: Indonesia
We arrive in Jakarta in January 97, with Charlotte, barely two years old and a baby. Didier jumped when I told him about David’s offer to transfer to Indonesia. We opened a representative office there three years ago. The person in charge returned to France a year earlier and only makes short trips to Asia […]
Chapter 8: The Return of the Prodigal Daughter
I am allowed to take business class for my return. It is true that I take up a considerable amount of space. Luxury is nice, I could get used to it, although I am not sure I’ll stay pregnant long enough. My father is waiting for me at the airport, it is six o’clock in […]
Chapter 7: A New Page Is Turned
It is seven o’clock when I arrive at my new job. It was a serious struggle to get up that early and cross the city to be on time. Never in the course of my short career or student life have I started so early. I arrive before Gerard, the chief of the base, and […]
Chapter 6: The Meeting
The vacation is already over. I do not feel very rested when I come back home. I am overdosed on the African continent. All in all, I do not think it was a good idea to go to Kenya. I needed a real break that this trip did not provide. As soon as I arrive, […]
Chapter 5: A Job Unlike Any Other
I am the only trainee on the base and the engineers all agree to bring me to the rig. I carry out many missions in record time. This has the effect of toughening me up and the engineer in charge gives me more and more opportunities to work directly on the computer. I prove to […]
Chapter 4: Nigeria, The Return
My return to Nigeria is similar to the first trip without the element of surprise. I walk around with a blasé look that seems to be the agreed-upon attitude of an old comer who is starting her second mission and crowned with her success at the center. I am picked up at the airport this […]