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From Lombardy, from the last interview, to Veneto where we move to meet another female protagonist of the Home Improvement world: Silvia Spillere.
We meet Silvia Spillere, who serves in the dual role of vice president and marketing manager within the diverse corporate universe of Telwin Spa, which also includes Valex. A new interview for the “Women Managers” series.
Tell us about your experience
I went to high school for linguistics and then graduated in political science in Milan. So I began to put what I studied into practice and acquire new skills, working for press agencies in the fashion world and in communication and marketing agencies. After this experience, I returned “home” to the family business 14 years ago to work on developing a spin-off dedicated to the world of renewables. Now, I serve as Marketing Manager and Vice President of both Telwin and Valex.
Both Telwin and Valex are companies with a distinct “male” customer base. A nice jump from fashion to technical products for professional and semi-professional use
Certainly these are different content and areas, but the dynamics for developing marketing strategies are based on the same mechanics. And this is extremely fascinating.
What obstacles have you encountered in the world of work. Do you feel in general that women are discriminated against in their careers and respected as much as a man? Do you find that being a woman leads to doubts about your professional value?
I believe that the professional value of the individual is irrespective of gender. That culturally gender still appears as a value or a limitation is something that our society is still processing, but on which progress is being made. In this sense, at both Telwin and Valex we have long since taken these steps forward: here it is commitment, merit and respect that count, three values that are the fruit of our philosophy of understanding work in general.
In what ways does a woman have an advantage over a man and in what ways a disadvantage (if any)
Variety, or diversity to borrow terminology that invokes a broader concept, in the composition of work teams is an asset to any organization, but I would not reduce it to a mere gender issue. We are all different, each with our own qualities and areas for improvement. The creation of teams composed of diverse people becomes an asset, but that is regardless.
Note that there is a change in recent years in the consideration of the Woman Manager by colleagues, customers, suppliers
There are more and more women in decision-making roles in Italy as well. This is driven by a number of factors not the least of which is an increasing training by women of skills in business and STEM fields. In our world, where fairness, trust and results count, consideration and professionalism are recognized regardless of gender.
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