Trailblazing Women: Clara Gaymard, Co-founder of Raise (Private Equity firm & Foundation), President of Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society

As a woman, every day is a fight. Now at RAISE we have complete gender parity, but throughout my whole career in the public and private sector, I was the only woman in meetings, travelled only with men. The work and business side is not complicated for women, it’s the small talk at dinner and lunch, where men talk about football, cars etc that can make you feel like an intruder. Even when they do their best to make you feel comfortable in the conversation, you are still different to them. Women have to push to have more women on their team, so we can share what matters to us, be accepted and have more fun! Women tend to work too hard, trying to be the best and men seem to have more fun at work! I think it is important for women to tell men when they are make them feel uncomfortable, because often men don’t realise they have hurt our feelings. Let them know how their behaviour makes you feel, in a non-conflictual way eg ‘you see it this way, understand that can hurt/upset me’.

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