Anna Gener is president and managing director of the office of one of Barcelona’s biggest real estate companies: Savills Aguirre Newman. She is also a board member for several institutions, including the Equestrian Circle, PIMEC and the Barcelona Urban Cluster. In short, a successful businesswoman who, from her position, speaks loud and clear about the need for more female representation in senior management and greater female solidarity in the world of work. Matters she discussed on 16 May at UIC Barcelona, in a talk organised for Faculty of Economic Sciences students, in which she pointed out that, “diversity is becoming increasingly important for companies”. 

Gener talked about her career path, how she got her start in the world of consulting and her subsequent switch to the real estate industry. She advised the students to be brutally honest with themselves and ask themselves where the want to be in the near future, to give direction to their careers without forgetting that, in time, people tend to find their place. 

After this, the discourse shifted to diversity and the inclusion of women at all levels of business. “When I first began at the auditing firm, I saw that all the partners were men cut from the same cloth, and, subconsciously, I didn’t think I’d make it because I was a woman”, explained Gener. A situation that did not stop her from achieving her goals and, later on, from her position as senior manager, advocating the need for greater and better female representation. 

“Diversity from an economic perspective is positive”, she vindicated, going on to add that, “it’s not a question of justice (for women). It’s about creating a better society”.

Gener also noted the “huge loss of female talent” and the gap between the numerous women with university studies and the number of women holding senior positions. “It’s not fair that, with all the education and experience we have, more women aren’t higher up”, she remarked.

Gener also stressed the importance of solidarity between women, this sense of sisterhood. “Let’s get connected and support each other”, proposed the managing director, in a talk that she concluded by saying that, despite having “made up ground”, there is still a long way to go.