We believe that female leadership comes in many shapes and forms - whether you’re pursuing your dream career, motivated to inspire others by leading by positive example, raising a healthy family or just to live your life by your own rules. We’ve got first-hand insights into the mindset of some our very own Women in Power within PVH; Marie-Fleur van Hollander, Victoria Earl, Sabine Kromowidjojo and more. This month we celebrate the leader in all of you!

EXPLORING HOW TO STAY POWERFUL & TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE IN CORPORATE/MALE-DOMINATED SPACES THAT OFTEN EXPECT US TO BE STRONG & PERFECT.

Nikkita talks about the predictable cycle of automatic behaviour. Self-belief, automatic responses, overworking, and common behaviours while discusses the steps towards change.

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE TODAY

It’s might seem that some are naturally gifted with this talent and that’s the only way to require it. Luckily this is not the case. Like many skills self-confidence can be learned with the right practice and dedication. Susie Moore, life coach and author of ‘What if it Does Work Out’ emphasises that a few small daily habits and rituals can help you increase your confidence and self-esteem. Here our personal go-to tips for a daily dose of self-love and pep talk.

• UNFOLLOW
Social media can be a great tool for inspiration and aspiration but it’s a fine line between that and putting yourself down with unrealistic lifestyles and body images. What you will see on scrolling through your phone will have an impact on how you view and appreciate yourself. Our advice? Unfollow anyone who makes you feel self-conscious and start following inspiring people and companies with a positive effect on you.

• SPRINKLE COMPLIMENTS
Giving out genuine compliments to everyone you will meet will immediately boost your own confidence and at the same time raise those around you. A win-win!

• MASTER YOUR INNER CRITIC
You’re your own biggest enemy. Negative and self-doubting thoughts and self-talk will chop away your confidence layer by layer. It’s up to us to master our inner critic and to fill ourselves with positive and motivating thoughts. See our recommended podcast tip for how to start.

• SWEAT YOUR WAY TO CONFIDENCE
This tip has nothing to do with changing your physical appearance to feel more confident. The endorphins released by physical exercise are an instant confidence boost and by the time you will gradually get stronger physical and also mentally. Our PPGYT is there to help you!

WOMEN IN POWER

Meet a few of the women that raise the bar within PVH.

Marie-Fleur den Hollander

Executive Assistant to Martijn Hagman - CEO Tommy Hilfiger global & PVH Europe.
Mom of three.

How did you balance being a mother and a woman in power? What have you sacrificed (both personally and professionally) at each stage of your career?
Most importantly we have made good childcare arrangements. We chose to have a babysitter at home which gives us flexibility at the start and end of the day. This reduces the unnecessary stress of dropping off and picking up our kids on time. My working hours are from 8.00 to 17.00, so my husband is taking care of the kids in the morning and I’m with them end of the day with undivided attention. I’m off on Wednesday- and Friday afternoons, so I have had a work check-in in the morning and can be full with my kids in the afternoons. In the end I find balance in a clear structure, which benefits both myself and the kids.

As a result, I have never felt having to make sacrifices. Being at work gives me a sense of fulfillment that motherhood doesn’t and vice versa motherhood fulfills me in a way work could never do.

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
The simple fact that women have a womb. Apart from the physical ability to carry a child, it also gives us the urge to care for a child. We are literally differently built than men. Where women might suffer from feelings of guilt when they are working full time, men ( seemingly ) are less bothered by these kind of feelings. I’m not an expert, but women have all these hormones driving their moods, which men don’t have.

What will be the biggest challenge for the future generation of women behind you?
I can imagine women might feel a lot of pressure to succeed professionally. Female leadership is such a big topic that one might feel you have to pursue this, whereas there is nothing wrong with being a stay-at-home mother or not ambitious for a big career. 

Do you experience resistance when you are leading men?
I’m not leading men, although the men I’ve supported throughout my career might feel otherwise :-), but I’ve always felt appreciated for the qualities I bring to the table. 

Where will we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m.?
Saturday mornings are very easy. We get up late. So at 10 am I’m just out of the shower, dressing my kids before I get dressed myself without any rush.

Victoria Earl 

Procurement Director.
Co-Chair of UPWARD EU committee.
Psychologist.

What would your advice be to young women who are at the start of their careers?
To keep a learning mindset and to listen a lot but also to speak up and make your voice heard when you have something to say.

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
Systemic inequality because its perpetuated through social, political and economic institutions and ingrained in our society. The barriers are embedded in our everyday life and we need to work hard to change them. But we ALL need to work together, women alone should not be responsible for driving or owning this change. As part of the leadership team for UPWARD within PVH I really hope to make a difference – on Wednesday 10th March at 15.00 we have an interesting keynote from Robert Franken on deconstructing typical messages on the equality topic, in-group / outgroup privilege - we hope to see a big turnout to listen to him and have the opportunity to ask him questions on this important topic so look out for the invite as part of the International Women’s weekly sessions.

What is the biggest thing you had to overcome?
Breast cancer 9 years ago and the chemotherapy and other treatments that came with it, on top of that I was hit by a car during radiotherapy so suffered a broken leg and cheek at the same time. This was a very tough year that taught me patience, determinism and to not worry about all the small things.

How can women be empowered in their professional life while maintaining their femininity?
I think femininity means different things to different people, we are the most empowered when we stay true to ourselves and are authentic. Often there is an expectation to be a certain way or dress a certain way, as long as we show up exactly as we are we can maintain our sense of self and perform at our best.

Where will we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m.?
You will find me at the kickboxing gym working hard. Saturdays have always meant sport for me, such a great start to the weekend.

EVENT TIP: Let’s Talk… Male Feminism by Robert Franken
You’re first to read it here! As the Co-Chair of the UPWARD EU committee, Victoria wil host a talk to discuss diversity within the workplace together with Robert Franken.

An activist, public speaker and consultant, Robert Franken advises organizations and people on the subjects of digital transformation, D&I and organizational change. He founded the platform “Male Feminists Europe“, where he started the initiative #men4equality against all-male panels. He is one of six honorary catalysts for HeForShe Germany. Robert will talk about his journey of embracing feminism, changing perspectives, identifying privilege and challenging paradigms and put the spotlight on some of the blockers and enablers in our systems and to learn about human behavior in the context of equal opportunities.

Details:
Event: Mindset, Privilege & Culture: Why we should talk less about Diversity
Date: Wednesday March 10th 15.00-16.30 

Fleur Peters

Director Marketing & Communications Mea+ and the Netherlands.
Mom of two.

How did you balance being a mother and a woman in power? What have you sacrificed (both personally and professionally) at each stage of your career?
Efficiency and prioritization are my mantras; asking myself the question; how can I get the most out of the time I have? What priorities are the business or family asking from me, where can I really be of value for work and at home? Becoming a mother during your career is to me is speeding up the process of understanding real business needs better and quicker, of forward-thinking and what needed to be prioritized over the other. Becoming a mother while having a responsible job makes you grow quicker in seniority and better decision making. But only if you settle for great support and collaboration, you cannot do this alone, not at home, nor at work.

First years of motherhood I’ve sacrificed mostly me-time and time for romance. But also the more social things at work I sacrificed, which as a team manager I find hard to let go of more, as this is important too. When the kids grew older, I found more balance, and now also feel less guilt for not being able to be at work OR home.

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
In most companies historically the decisions are made by what I call an ‘old boys network’; a (white) male-dominated group of leaders. As a female you most certainly weren’t historically part of that and because of that it is not a surprise that costs females more effort to get ‘in’ / or to get equally perceived. I cherish the fact that PVH has committed to break this trough already a while ago.

What will be the biggest challenge for the future generation of women behind you?
The expectation of performing on all ends like physical appearance, success, health, wealth, parenting etc. has increased, mostly because of social media. I’m worried women of a younger generation than me are demanding so much from themselves related to this, that they are tended to get insecure or overworked more easily.  Keeping your own focus over answering to others’ expectations is important. 

Do you experience resistance when you are leading men?
No.

Where will we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m.?
At our kitchen table reading the Saturday newspapers after a late and slow breakfast, while making plans with my family for the rest of the weekend.

Sabine Kromowidjojo

Director Inclusion & Diversity at PVH Corp.
Mom of two.

How did you balance being a mother and a woman in power? What have you sacrificed (both personally and professionally) at each stage of your career?
Great question. I was never good in balancing. I really believe my journey was only possible due to the many sacrifices I made. We need to stop thinking we can have it all. As it is absolutely fine to not excel in all.

I became a mother very early in my career. I was only 21 years old and my main focus was raising my daughter and proving to the world I would pursue a career while being a young mom. So I worked my ass off and sacrificed my social life to get a fixed contract and earn a decent living. In other stages I sacrificed love, focusing on being a mother and trying to build a career didn’t work well with dating or putting a relationship first. When my daughter was a bit older, she was much more independent so I sacrificed being the perfect mom, skipped many school activities and she had to be a lot by herself and at times I wasn’t home till 8. But there was also a time I took a 1 year sabbatical to focus on my daughter and myself, taking a step back to reflect, to focus on learning and I sacrificed the career I had built so far and a fixed contract, to be able to find joy in other things.

Being able to sacrifice is very healthy and it teaches you a lot. It allows you to be able to take risks regardless of what you think you will lose. 

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
Limited beliefs about yourself or others posing them on you.

What will be the biggest challenge for the future generation of women behind you?
You know, I wrote different answers here, but then I had to think of my daughter, she is for me the future generation of women behind me, she is 17, so in a few years from now she will start her career and when I think of gender equality in the workplace, we make progress but very slowly. The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report says it could take 100! years to reach gender parity. Pre-COVID-19 the gap was huge but now studies are showing that the social-economic implication of COVID19 will lead to even greater inequalities between men and women. It’s like we set the clock back on gender equality. Absolutely critical for us and next generations is to understand our problems,  to continue the fight because if we do not accelerate the gap will become wider and wider.

Do you experience resistance when you are leading men?
No, I luckily don’t.

Where will we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m.?
I’m probably in my bathrobe on the couch doing nothing, just enjoying my free time and the company of my family. You know I had a son 9 months ago and that is an absolute blessing.

Nicla de Keijzer

Executive Assistant at PVH.
Mom of two.

How did you balance being a mother and a woman in power?
What have you sacrificed (both personally and professionally) at each stage of your career? Being a mother gives me enrichment; it makes me stronger, but also more vulnerable and by accepting that, it gives me even more balance in life, and this also reflects in my work.

What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
When leading (whether it’s a team, a household, your own life…), the challenge is most of the time yourself – you need to face the barriers yourself with help of colleagues, family & friends and by doing so, the path will open up to guide the team, family and your own life.

What will be the biggest challenge for the future generation of women behind you?
One of the biggest challenges for every person is to see each individual based on their talents whether it’s being caring, or being strong; I think society is moving into a good direction, and for future generations to define this view.

Where will we find you on a Saturday morning at 10 a.m.?
You can find me on the yoga mat, next to a soccer field watching the game of my sons, while having a cup of coffee with friends. Well…, maybe not at all at the same time, but one of them for sure!

SHARON ASSCHER

"Voeding maakt je beter / Food makes you better"

An orthomolecular therapist, hormone expert and gut consultant who believes women can truly improve their hormones from the power of nutrition.

Balancing hormones alongside anti-conception, genes, lifestyle connects directly to skin, periods, weight, mood swings.

www.voedingmaaktjebeter.nl

FERTILITY
Anti conception and hormones (why, how, what) and life after anti-conception (hormone not balanced).

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