QA with Victoria Kozmina, Business Development Director, Hays Russia Viewpoint careers advice blog

QA with Victoria Kozmina, Business Development Director, Hays Russia In this interview, Victoria Kozmina, Business Development Director, Hays Russia, based in Moscow, shares her experience of gender diversity in the workplace, speaks about her progression into a leadership role and assesses the survey results of the Gender Diversity Survey in Russia. What was your route to Hays? I have always worked in business development, managing corporate accounts. I began my career with Coca-Cola in 2002 as Key Accounts Manager. I was later promoted to Channel Development Manager and finally Global Accounts Manager. After 10 years with Coca-Cola I was looking for a new professional challenge and decided to change industries. I knew I was a confident negotiator and I had a good understanding of the Russian business environment, so exploring what the recruitment industry had to offer seemed like the right step. I moved to Ancor, one of largest local recruitment firms in Russia, to work as Director of FMCG accounts. Later in June 2014 I decided to join Hays as Business Development Director. In 2014 our business had already been present in Russia for 5 years and I was delighted to join a team notorious for its quality of recruitment services. My role here is focused on building solid relationships with existing clients, business development and designing new business offerings. Tell us about your progression into a leadership role, what challenges did you face along the way? I have been managing staff for a very long time, since I first joined Coca-Cola. I haven’t experienced any significant obstacles in my career so far and certainly not any based on gender. I believe that career progression is primarily based on you as an individual. When I decided to move on from Coca-Cola I was keen to learn about new business and embrace the recruitment industry. The approach to sales and business development is similar across all sectors, however, for a skilled business developer, male or female, it is important to focus on the benefits of your product or service and its quality. Regardless of gender, what really matters is whether you are willing to work hard, adapt and prove yourself in a busy environment. In your opinion is there a difference between how men and women progress in their careers? No, I don’t think that there is a difference between how men and women progress in their careers, not in Russia and not in my experience anyway. Progression largely depends on the individual however there may be differences across sectors. Sometimes women feel they are restricted in how they can develop their careers, this may be about prioritising family over work or difficulties in organising a successful work/home life balance due to demanding working hours. Maternity leave has an impact on a woman’s career path but I do not think of it as an obstacle. It seems to me it is a choice that every woman has to make at some point and although it may stall career progression temporarily it does not stop women from advancing into a leadership role. Have you encountered any gender specific obstacles in your career? Not in my personal experience but certain industries may present barriers for women, perhaps within state organisations or construction and engineering companies. Some men and women in Russia have a degree of prejudice against having a female boss. It is not very common but it is a cultural attitude that exists within the workplace. Russian men are concerned about their own subordinate position to a female boss, whereas a woman would be concerned about an ‘emotional’ component being added to their professional relationship. Do you have any advice for female professionals who are in, or looking to work in, a leadership role? I think it is important for female professionals in Russia to identify their priorities and understand what they want to achieve, both in their careers and personal life. How women handle their family life is significant. It is a question of prioritising either your career or family and when/if you come back to work after having children. In Russia it is not common for women to have a family and come back to work part time; it is not something that is done very often. The norm is for women to come back later and work full time. My advice would be to be very organised, prioritise and focus on your goals. In Russia, 75% of respondents said that their organisation did not have formal gender policies in place and 11% weren’t sure. What do you think are the implications of these statistics? I think these statistics are true and represent the situation in Russia very well. There are no formal gender policies in the workplace. Women receive benefits when they have children but these benefits are not controlled by companies, they are decided and implemented by the state, unless an organisation decides to provide more than is expected by the state. Maternity leave conditions seem to be somewhat better in Russia than in many other countries. Local Social Insurance Fund is responsible for the benefits received by women on maternity leave. These include at least 140 days at 100% of salary (70 days before the birth and 70 days after). A mother is also able to extend maternity leave to a maximum of three years without losing her job. Upon her return, the company has to offer her the same job as well as the same salary. It is important to remember that Russia is a huge country with a relatively small population; we need as many people in the workforce as possible. This is reflected in the excellent maternity leave offered to women by the state. However, out of the respondents who said their organisation had formal gender policies in place, 78% feel they are adhered to well/fairly well. This implies that gender policies are valued in companies that have them. Is this something you agree with? I think that this statistic reflects the benefits that women receive/that are offered by the state. The respondents who answered these questions may think these are a company policy but they are benefits provided by the state. Globally, 48% of women do not think they have the same career opportunities as men. In Russia only 37% of females do not think they have the same career opportunities as men. What do you think about this? It is common to find women in leadership positions in Russia but women are not dominating all senior roles, it is still a male dominated zone. I don’t think this is a question of men having more opportunities than women, I think it is a question of choice. When a woman chooses to focus and develop her career, there is no barrier or obstacle stopping her! Also, the divorce rate in Russia is very high, a single mother working full time is not a rarity. Women are expected to be able to take care of themselves and develop their own careers. 64% of female Russian respondents believe there is equal pay between genders, compared to 84% of male Russian respondents. Is this an expected trend? If a man and a woman are working in the same position in the same industry, they would be paid equally. A higher proportion of men work in senior positions, which means more men are being paid a higher salary. This may have influenced the respondents’ answers. Unequal pay based on gender only is not something that is common in Russia. Russian respondents working in IT Telecoms, Construction, Property and Engineering, Manufacturing and Financial Institutions, feel there is equal pay between genders (ranging from 71%-68%). This trend is similar across all industries surveyed, is this surprising? I am not surprised that 68-71% of respondents, working in any industry, feel there is equal pay between genders. The high statistics show that the majority of people feel they are being treated fairly in the workplace. When looking at the number of placements consultants in Russia made in 2014, we can see that a number of industries are male dominated. Financial Institutions: 50% male / 50% female (gender-neutral) Industry, Manufacturing, B2B: 73% male / 27% female Construction Property: 75% male / 25% female IT Telecoms: 79% male / 21% female Russian respondents under the age of 25 are less likely to think there is unequal pay between genders. Is this a trend you agree with? Most professionals under the age of 25, both men and women, work at the same level, which means they would be paid the same salaries. The older you get the more you are likely to advance into a senior role. Differences in pay are seen between seniority. This would explain why Russians under 25 believe equal pay is more likely, because they are working in junior roles. It’s all they know. 60% of respondents (both male and female) believe that women encounter barriers in their career development. When analysed further, 73% of all Russian female respondents agreed and so did 37% of all male respondents. Is this something you agree with?* I think if women have children when they are working in lower/middle level positions, taking time out can be a barrier to career development. This is because some employers may be reluctant to hire a woman if she has a child. If you do not possess certain skills or have a certain level of experience, an employer may hire a female without children. I’m not saying that having children is a barrier in the workplace because many women have families and a successful career; however children can be seen as a barrier by companies and by the woman herself. Globally respondents (both male and female) believe that allowing more flexible working practices and changes in workplace culture through education across the business, will have the biggest impact on diversity in the workplace. What do you think about this? I think that flexible working practices would have a positive impact on diversity in the workplace and would help women balance their family life and careers. However, I believe that the expertise and determination of an individual has much more of an impact on career progression compared to companies implementing flexible working hours.