Women in communication: interview with Alessandra Cattaneo from Thermomix
Alessandra Cattaneo, fair hair and proud smile, is the marketing director of the Thermomix® division of Vorwerk Italy.
He graduated in Literature with a specialist in Communication Sciences at the "beginning of the 90s" and joined Thermomix® when the company and its iconic product were still not as well known in Italy as they are today.
What attracted her then was above all the idea of being able to work with people and the fact that it was a start-up. In her career she has covered various managerial roles, always in harmony with her private sphere and she remembers with affection and gratitude as the return from motherhood coincided with a promotion. Hers is a "company on the market for over 40 years, solid and open and which owes much of its success to women: from over 7,000 in charge of sales to many women of the company management, such as Alessandra.
We asked her to answer 5 important questions about Women Empowerment.
Here's what he replied.
What is it like to be a woman in the world of work?
First of all, I am convinced that in a healthy work environment there must be a good numerical balance between men and women. To defeat stereotypes it is important that both parties learn to collaborate and live together by treating themselves as equals with a mutual desire to listen to each other. Today in the world of work, a fair appreciation of women goes hand in hand with a profound understanding between women and men. Let me explain: the character of the "workaholic business woman of the films" of the 80s was a model that did not value women at work and today I believe that the style has changed a lot. You no longer have to flex your muscles to make a career and another value that I am very attached to also comes into play: the balance between private and professional life. I believe that the more stimulating and happy the first is, the more the possibility increases that the second will be too and this applies to all types of work!
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What was empowerment for you when you were 18?
I have always been a very curious person. And this at the age of 18 gave me the courage to find my personality, to define my space through the desire to experience, to know, to grow.
For me, and it is typical of that age, there were no grays: it was all black or white.
But I was still willing to listen to the story of those who saw things differently, with great respect for those who had different ideas from mine.
This is what women empowerment was for me then: the freedom to know and the openness to explore new worlds, a cardinal principle that, fortunately, has remained intact over time even if I learned the grays and the middle way. in the years.
Three words that you associate with women empowerment today?
Independence: we are not just talking about the economic one, which is certainly important. But also of the emotional one, the independence of women who choose how to be, who to attend, which life to live. It has happened to me many times, in Thermomix® to hear the stories of our sales representatives who thanks to their work have been able to offer a I give them everything to themselves or to their loved ones.You understand that it is not a question of material value in itself but of the meaning that each of us attributes to our independence.
Balance: very present in my way of being. I try to be as dedicated at work as I am passionate at home, as a mother, wife, daughter, friend. It's one of the things I tend to most in life. Of course it's not easy and the path can be treacherous. Balancing it all is pretty tiring, but when you do it you feel really good about yourself.
Empathy: harmony with ourselves and with others. I believe that we women really have a sense of natural empathy and it is right to emphasize it as well as available to others. And this is very useful both at work and outside and can only do good.
What would you recommend to eighteen year old Alessandra?
First of all to look beyond the black and white, that in life there are a thousand shades and in each of them we can grasp the beauty.
To any eighteen year old I would say to welcome moments of weakness, to see them as phases of growth and not to be discouraged. To try to look at difficulties with tenderness and patience and not to be in a hurry to grow up, to love each other. We women often make peace with ourselves over time. But I would advise 18-year-old myself to love each other right away and I would tell her that we are all wonderfully fallible.
How should we talk about empowerment today?
It is important to talk about it in every place dedicated to information. Not only media but also at school. Starting again from the education of children, teaching them equality and equity. I see many media attention curves on the subject and I'm sorry about this. I wish we talked about it so much today so that we don't have to talk about it again tomorrow: I dream of a world where we don't talk about women's rights, but about people's rights, all equally free to choose
