As part of our series of features of women in leadership in honour of International Women’s Day 2022, we spoke with Renata Mrazova, Chief People Officer, Home Credit about her journey in the male-dominated financial services and insurance industries.
Renata Mrazova, Chief People Officer, Home Credit
Mrazova embarked on her career by joining pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in their finance division, eventually rising to the CFO position. Mrazova played a guiding role in the merger of the two companies — Astra and Zeneca. Subsequently, Mrazova held prominent C-level roles in financial services and insurance businesses including ING. Usually, financial services and insurance sectors are perceived as heavily male-dominated industries though Mrazova points to the shifting dynamics within them, “I believe there are countless exciting opportunities for women in these sectors, we just need to address the perception challenges. That’s why embracing DEI principles is critical if we are to break down barriers and evolve perceptions in the long-term.”
Self-awareness is key
Mrazova highlighted her thoughts on the importance of building an inclusive culture to businesses, “I believe that inclusion starts with diversity. That is core to my beliefs as a people professional and respecting personal differences sits at the very heart of that. For leaders, it is an ongoing journey when it comes to workplace culture. I am very conscious [as a leader] of the importance of strengthening my self-awareness — that means understanding the impact of my behaviour. It is critical that we, as leaders, elevate issues such as talent management, talent acquisition and the creation of talent retention strategies to ensure not only diversity within our organisations but also the ongoing success of the business."
"Leaders should think of their business as a stool, if you remove one of the legs (DEI), the whole thing collapses.”
Pointing to the obstacles encountered by women on the way up their career ladder Mrazova added, “Many of us are not aware of our internal decision-making processes, which can often be influenced subconsciously. This is a significant barrier for leaders when trying to build inclusive environments that is why self-awareness is key. As a female leader, gender diversity has been an obstacle I have seen for many of my peers. Sometimes we, as women, struggle to be confident or vocal in certain situations. Many women do not want to raise their voice for fear of looking stupid."
"I want to challenge this attitude as it holds female leaders back.”
Mrazova is unabashed about the campaigns that have been ushered in at Home Credit under her leadership, “Something I am particularly proud of is our work driving the importance of women in technology. 20% of our technology team is already female and we want to increase that. We have also undergone a rapid digital transformation with the key facets of openness, transparency and accountability embedded throughout. This ensures our DEI approach harnesses the power of digital and enables us to deliver our initiatives to teams anywhere in the world in a dynamic, consistent way. Additionally, several of our markets are also delivering awareness campaigns in collaboration with NGOs. These joint activities promote the value of women in the workplace as well as encourage the rise of the next generation of female leaders.”
Looking ahead, Mrazova lends the following advice to the women leaders of the future, “Being yourself can often be difficult in professional settings and that is why we need to invest in DEI to create a pathway that enables people to be their true selves when they go into work every day. I recommend finding a mentor from any part of your life, not necessarily professional to help guide on their journey. Be authentic and hold the door open for others.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
