Working at InSight means working hand in hand with our clients, wherever and whenever they need us. Recently we were in the Bolivian Amazonian jungle, where we experienced a series of adventures, some of them fun, some others more extreme. But what was most significant to us, was to witness countless examples of women´s courage, strength, adaptability and love.
Everywhere we went to through rivers, unpaved roads and jungle trails we found wonderful life stories of men and women who work hard for their children, dream of going to school, who look after their parents, feel a deep love for what they do and transmit it to everybody around them. However, as a woman, it was striking for me to hear the stories of women who are trying very hard to become stronger and create better opportunities for those around them even in the challenging circumstances they live in. Women in different roles, who taught us about the true meaning of resilience, in a world where every day more demands are placed on us, where it seems that success must be achieved at any cost.
And one of those women is Cecilia, who has worked for 14 years in a factory that processes the most famous product in the department of Beni. Speaking in public is difficult for her and her shyness was evident from the very moment she entered the room where we met, because although I invited her to have a relaxed chat, it was an unusual situation for her. I started by trying to 'break the ice', asking her about her work and everyday issues, and then moved on to an increasingly personal conversation. At that point, I started to get to know Cecilia, the woman.
Cecilia is the mother of three children aged 24, 18 and 12, and currently lives with her youngest daughter and her parents, whom she accompanies and supports financially. Before starting to work at the factory, she was a housewife; however, when love ended and she separated, she had to take over the reins of the house and her family, and started working at what has been her only job so far. When asked about her beginnings in this job, she recalls that at first she only went on Sundays, when she was allowed to enter the factory to learn the process, and little by little she took on small tasks with which she earned her wages.
Today, after so many years, she feels very proud of her professional path, because it has allowed her to educate her children (the older ones are already professionals and have formed their own homes), and to pay for the house where she lives today. And without a doubt, for her, the company is like her second home, since it has helped her to overcome her difficulties and has given her reasons to move forward.
When I asked her about her dreams, her shyness returned, she rubbed her hands together, looked at the floor and finally began to tell me that her dream is to become a supervisor in the area where she works. However, I was surprised to hear her say that she doesn't feel she has the ability to lead her colleagues, after all she has told me and all the strength she has shown to overcome barriers.
So, instead of continuing with the questions, we went on to reflect on the courage she has had to face each of the trials of her life, and so I decided to set her a challenge: to make a pact of resilience, which consists of my commitment to return to Bolivia when she achieves her goal of becoming a supervisor, and to sit down again, but this time to celebrate her strength and determination. The best part is that the challenge was accepted and here I am waiting (and something tells me it won't be for long) for Cecilia's message notifying me of her new achievement. I love the thought that soon I will be buying that ticket.
And just like Cecilia, many women tend to doubt our capabilities, so part of what we can do from the social performance, is to work with companies to open spaces and new opportunities where they find their place, where they can shine and contribute their full potential to the development of companies, and that is one more step to open roads to equity.
