If effective COVID-19 vaccines could be prepared faster than the expected few years, why should we wait as long as 250 years for equal opportunities in business and the economy for women and men? – says Ann Cairns, one of the Vice Chairwomen at Mastercard and also the global head of the 30% Club, which works for diversity and equal opportunities in companies. The crisis resulting from the pandemic has become an impetus to re-examine many issues. One of the topics that resonates even more strongly than before is the greater presence of women in business. New realities and challenges in the labor market offer more opportunities, allow for greater flexibility, and make different competencies than before crucial in managing teams and companies. All of this can genuinely foster greater diversity in the labor market. These 250 years refer to a recent report by the World Economic Forum, which stated that based on current projections, achieving gender equality in the workplace will take precisely this long. Meanwhile, according to Ann Cairns, as well as many experts, the broader and more intensive activity of women in business or corporations brings benefits to the entire economy, as demonstrated by the examples of developed countries. At the same time, as indicated by recent Mastercard research, changes and local crises caused by COVID-19 offer an opportunity for a new beginning and faster implementation of changes supporting diversity in business. The Pandemic Hit Women Hard According to a global Mastercard study, women-led businesses were incomparably more affected by the consequences of the pandemic than companies headed by men. As many as 87% of businesses run by women felt the negative effects of the crisis, influenced by factors such as the overrepresentation of women in sectors hit hardest by the crisis, the necessity of undertaking additional domestic responsibilities, or a lack of motivation to conduct business online (e.g., in the USA, 43% of women are less willing than their male counterparts to develop businesses online). How does the situation in Poland look against this backdrop? If we are to believe independent research, we can be proud: it is precisely on the Vistula River that one of the most significant global leaps in leveling the playing field for men and women in business has occurred in recent quarters. As part of the fourth edition of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) study at the end of 2020, the contribution of women entrepreneurs from around the world to social and economic life was shown. Factors facilitating women's professional development and those hindering it were also analyzed. The result? Poland ranked 5th, moving up from 16th place. Thus, along with Sweden, it is one of the two countries that recorded the greatest progress in the past year. Factors influencing this change include improved institutional support for the SME sector, better perception and utilization of business opportunities, and an increasingly positive cultural reception of entrepreneurs, including women. Discussion? Always with a Woman Actions such as the pioneering Male Champions of Change club, which brings together CEOs of large companies operating in Poland, contribute to the increased participation of women in the economy and business. Its idea is to work together to support diversity in business and promote equal opportunities for women and men in the labor market. The club was established 3 years ago on the initiative of the founders of the Sukces Pisanego Szminką Foundation – Olga Kozierowska and Olga Legosz, and the Ambassador of Australia to Poland, Paul Wojciechowski (the idea for the organization comes from Australia, where the first Male Champions of Change club was founded 13 years ago). The most important goal of the Polish branch of the club is education and building awareness regarding diversity. Members share practices and specific tools that can also be applied in other companies interested in better utilizing the talents of women and men and building a culture of diversity. Additionally, each affiliated company commits to undertaking its own initiatives to equalize opportunities for women and men and enable their development. Mastercard, for example, has expanded the scope of its global plans related to combating financial exclusion, committing to provide access to the digital economy for one billion individual recipients and 50 million micro and small businesses by 2025. Among these are over 25 million women entrepreneurs, to whom solutions enabling the development of their businesses will be offered. This will include various initiatives, such as financing, mentoring, and creating technologies that reduce exclusion. And this means that more and more large, influential companies are not accepting the prospect of waiting 250 years.

The pandemic has not only accelerated digital transformation in many areas of our lives but has also permanently – as predicted by Kinga Piecuch, Head of Industry Sales Team at Microsoft in Central and Eastern Europe – changed our approach to remote work. This is confirmed by the results of the latest Work Trend Index study titled “The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work – Are We Ready?”, which shows that as many as 73% of surveyed employees want to continue working in a flexible hybrid model. Microsoft’s expert discussed the challenges of remote work with Paweł Oksanowicz during the May Impact’21 event. When asked what we already know about remote work, Kinga Piecuch argues that one thing is certain – it will stay with us forever. “The model of work has changed significantly. We have seen that thanks to technology, we are able to work more efficiently, more productively. On the other hand, we have understood that the combination of technology with a very personal aspect, namely our expectations related to human contact, is also important. This means that we, as leaders, must understand that the hybrid work model is inevitable,” Kinga Piecuch said on the Impact’21 stage. As the expert emphasized, one needs to prepare for remote work, and discussions about this work organization system are simultaneously a discussion about organizational culture. The extent to which our approach to remote work has changed is shown by the cited Work Trend Index results – almost half, as many as 46% of employees, plan to change their place of residence due to the possibility of performing duties remotely. Piecuch also highlighted that the number of job advertisements on LinkedIn that include the possibility of remote work has increased fivefold during the pandemic! Several Generations in a New Labor Market According to Kinga Piecuch, the new hybrid work model allows companies to attract more talented employees working from any location, as well as adapt to the expectations of the youngest generation. “Let’s be honest, this is a generation that expects great flexibility when it comes to the place and time of work. Among them are outstanding people, exceptional talents, and we want to attract them,” explained the Microsoft expert. At the same time, she pointed out that research results, which also consider employee efficiency and productivity during remote work, show that we are responsible and very focused on our tasks, feeling ownership of the solutions to a given problem. “Today, if we look at the history of the labor market, we have 5-4 generations of employees. Each of them has slightly different preferences, but each of them is undoubtedly affected by one very important element: adapting to the change that has been imposed on us and the change that has been forced not only by the pandemic but also by other economic conditions,” states Piecuch. The Microsoft representative highlighted the fact that each group of employees requires direct and personal contact with their leaders. Unfortunately, research shows that this aspect is not being fulfilled by organizations at the expected level. When asked about the future of office work organization, the expert emphasizes the importance of teamwork, but also the need for focus and independent work. So how can these expectations be reconciled? “It is very important to meet diverse needs. Working in small groups, in teams, in silence, independently, or creative work during brainstorming requires adapting the space to their specifics. The office, as well as working from any other location, from home, from a café, or from a client’s office, should provide us with comfort and adaptation to the requirements of a specific task. The freedom to choose the place of work should be rooted in our adopted organizational culture. In the case of Microsoft, it promotes a continuous learning process, collaboration in creating innovation, and respect for diversity and multiple points of view,” emphasizes Kinga Piecuch. What Future Awaits Us? “I am a supporter and have strong faith in the hybrid model. I believe that this model will remain, and we will not exclusively work remotely, but we will combine these two elements,” concludes the Microsoft representative. At the same time, she emphasizes that the organization of work and the choice of a specific work model is the task of leaders, but with simultaneous attention to the needs of employees. “They should listen to their people, they should listen to their teams, to what the expectations of their employees are – both current and those they wish to attract. And I think we should all, those managing organizations, adapt to these expectations, while clearly setting goals. We need to organize various interdisciplinary teams, consider the complexity of these teams, the diversity of organizations, but also inclusivity, meaning the involvement of every participant in the process of building it.” The pandemic has brought entirely new phenomena in work organization, such as, for example, workation, which is a break from work in everyday conditions, but not from performing it. Is such work effective? Does it bring positive results? “I think many people work this way today. One only needs to look at Instagram, at LinkedIn, where people boast about this approach and engage in discussions about it. At this point, I will return again to the company’s organizational culture. The success of workation stems from trust and a sense of responsibility for tasks, a results-oriented approach, clear goal definition, as well as the ability to motivate people and teams in remote work,” concluded the expert.