March 28, 2025
The monthly FemmesForce meeting welcomed Wojciech Pomykala, Member of the Executive Board and COO of the Group, for a discussion on the role of women in today’s professional world.
Christine Minne, Head of Business Analysis at Unit-T, opened the session by mentioning that of the 962 people who have received the Nobel Prize, only 63 have been women. She highlighted two examples: Marie Curie, the first woman to receive the prize twice, in Physics and Chemistry, and Malala Yousafzai, the youngest woman to receive the prize, at just 17 years old.
She then spoke about her female sources of inspiration: Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French professor and researcher in microbiology, genetics, and biochemistry, and Jennifer Anne Doudna, an American biochemist. Both received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020, marking the first time this distinction was awarded simultaneously to two women. For Christine, these two women embody pioneering spirit and strong values, as major discoveries often come with risks, and it’s not always easy to reconcile ethics with personal convictions.
The second part of the session opened the dialogue on the role of women in a male-dominated professional world, which led to identifying some paths to follow in order to stand out and advance to management or executive positions. Wojciech Pomykala emphasized the importance of expressing ideas with confidence, clearly sharing goals, and working as a team to achieve them, regardless of differing opinions.
The conversation also addressed the need to ensure equal opportunities and to demystify traditional gender roles in the workplace.
The session ended with a reflection on how to continue promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment within the company, through mentoring programs and ongoing training. Many interesting perspectives and viewpoints were shared and should be considered moving forward.