Businesswoman Claudine Cassar: “We have a very serious problem.”Hundreds of talented girls are not pursuing the career they want because they are being discouraged from aspiring towards “boys’ jobs”, according to businesswoman Claudine Cassar.
Last year Ms Cassar was invited to speak at a seminar organised by Microsoft to encourage girls to take up careers in ICT.
Before she addressed the students, a man present told her it was a waste of time since girls were not interested in IT.
As she started discussing the matter with the students, one of the girls told her she wanted to study technical design but her career counsellor told her it was not for girls.
Another student said her mother told her she would be better off studying home economics.
At the end of the seminar, the man who spoke to her earlier went up to her and apologised. He had not realised girls were being given such negative messages at school.
“We have a very serious problem as we are losing out on hundreds of talented girls who have the potential to become leaders.
One student said her mother told her she would be better off studying home economics
“To these girls I say: ignore these messages and, if you are interested in IT, choose it,” said Ms Cassar, who is the executive chair of Alert Group, an ICT and marketing services group of companies.
She was speaking during a conference on women in leadership organised by HR Consulta yesterday at The Palace Hotel in Sliema.
Ms Cassar said this negative message was not limited to school. She recounted how when she set up her business the bank refused to give her an overdraft since “one day she might have children” and her company might shut down. She went on to get married and have three children while her business continued to grow.
“Be careful what messages you give your girls... encourage them and let them achieve their potential and, hopefully, by the time a baby comes along they would have been intelligent enough to choose a partner who will support them,” she said to applause.
During the debate those present – mostly women – pointed out that one had to keep in mind that not all women had support structures; single mothers were a case in point.
One woman said that as an employer she had the experience of women who returned from maternity leave as completely different employees, with different priorities that affected their work performance.
Ms Cassar said it was understandable that priorities changed and one should not blame the woman but the lack of support structures around her.
Labour MP Marlene Farrugia said the biggest hurdle men and women faced in being good leaders was overcoming the fear of voicing their opinion and fear of repercussions.
She encouraged people to push through this fear and make themselves heard.
Nationalist MP Claudette Buttigieg said she became worried whenever the word “women” was used in a title of a seminar or event. “We start thinking it’s a women’s issue. I believe there are no such things as women’s issues... Men need to listen to what we have to say,” she said.