Breaking Barriers: A CEO’s Journey to Leadership on International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day was first recognised by the United Nations in 1977, at a time when women still faced significant inequalities in various areas. In many ways, a lot has improved since then, with more girls attending schools globally, more women having entered the workforce and there are laws in place prohibiting gender discrimination, but we’re still far away from a completely equal world.

The UN Women theme of this year’s IWD is For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. It calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all, with a vision to empower the next generation, particularly young women, as a catalyst for lasting change.

One area where women still fall behind globally is leadership, with women still holding only around 6 percent of CEO roles globally. On top of this, female CEOs often stay in the position for a shorter period of time and face a higher likelihood of being dismissed. It looks a bit less gloomy if we look at women in senior management, where women occupy approximately 33.5 percent of senior management positions worldwide, a one percent increase from 2023.

At Ikano, we have a fairly even division of men and women when it comes to Business leader/CEO positions for our five businesses. We met with one of our leading ladies, Angela Mall, CEO of Ikano Rei, to talk about her career and what she’s done in the past to get to where she is today.

This year’s IWD focuses on empowering young women and unlocking equal opportunities for all. As a female CEO of a successful business, what advice would you give to young women aspiring to leadership roles?

Trust yourself, be yourself and always meet the people around you with respect and openness. Don’t shy away from situations outside your comfort zone, you will grow with them and from the mistakes you make on your way. Be humble, but not too much!

You didn’t exactly have your eyes set on the CEO position from the beginning. Could you share a bit about your background and how you got to where you are today?

I started off in banking, and an international staff exchange programme brought me to Geneva, Switzerland, where I worked as a Relationship Manager for international, wealthy clients. I met my husband and when we had our first son and moved to Zürich in 2002, I decided to stay home and take care of our family. Daycare wasn’t very accessible and very expensive, and I was happy to stay home with our three boys and four more children that I took care of as a child minder. It was an inspiring time that I wouldn’t want to be without, and not least it improved my organisational skills!

About ten years later, I went back to work, but decided to learn something completely different, hoping to combine my love for both numbers and people. This brought me into the role as technical assistant in reinsurance, where I supported a team with data entries and office admin. I found this new field interesting and was promoted several times. When they decided to close the Zurich office, I applied to Ikano Re as Assistant Underwriter and got the job. I’ve now been with Ikano for seven years. Two years ago, my predecessor Tomas retired, and I was offered the job as CEO!

That’s quite an impressive journey. Many women in leadership positions around the world still face barriers, such as unconscious bias and a lack of mentorship and work-life balance. Have you faced any challenges as a female leader?

I’ve never actually had the impression that I’ve faced different challenges than others because I’m a woman, but it could be connected to the areas that I’ve worked in. Both Banking and Insurance are open and diversified.

Ikano aims to be an inclusive workplace, with high ambitions when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and we want all our co-workers, regardless of gender, nationality, religion and culture, to feel welcome and appreciated. We offer the same opportunities to grow, and the same promotion chances, to everyone, and we aim to reach gender balance at all levels of management in our organisation.

Do you think that men and women are given the same opportunities at Ikano?

Yes, I do! Ikano is a very good example how we all want to be treated, fair and respectful. This is special, we all should be proud of our values and help to support them.

How can both men and women work together to create a more inclusive and diverse workplace?

From my perspective diverse teams are always best. We are more creative, listen better to each other and get more inspiration, both when it comes to gender and other aspects, such as different nationalities, social backgrounds, religions etc.

Today’s successful women in leadership positions set an example for coming generations. What legacy do you hope to leave for the next generation of female leaders?

I have three sons, so hopefully I do not leave a legacy for female leaders only. Specifically, I am very proud of the fact that my boys will never question if a woman can be as successful in her role as a man. Just one example: When I told my youngest son that I will be taking over the CEO position, he didn’t really have a clue what it meant, but his answer was “I’m certain you can do this, mum”, and when I asked why he was so certain, he said:

“Because you can do everything.”