DEI Changemaker: Alkistis Petropaki

"The career game needs equal rules for men and women."

Welcome to this edition of DEI Changemakers, Thriving Talent 's series dedicated to highlighting the courageous journeys and inspiring achievements of individuals making significant contributions to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.

We're honoured to feature Alkistis Petropaki (She/Her), General Manager at Advance – Gender Equality in Business , and Advisory Board Member of Hintsa Performance and University of Zurich as our Changemaker.

In this interview, Alkistis shares her advice for aspiring DEI changemakers, stressing the importance of learning from experienced peers, leveraging data-driven strategies, and securing top leadership support to champion inclusive initiatives.

Alkistis's dedication to DEI is fueled by inequalities such as the financial dependence of 67% of Swiss women at retirement. She emphasizes the importance of women’s involvement in the burgeoning tech industry and advocates for power positions, dispelling negative myths and highlighting their potential for driving change.

We hope you enjoy reading her story.

Can you share a specific moment in your “changemaker” career that you feel proud of?

One of my greatest moments of pride was when I saw the huge Advance exhibition “Equal?!” – in?celebration of the 10th anniversary of our organization – for the first time in the middle of Zurich Main Station. It gave me goosebumps as I realized that with this exhibition, we had left the corporate world we usually act in and were addressing a much broader public.

In fact, we were influencing Switzerland, creating awareness for the advantages of gender equality and aiming to change the gender stereotypes that still persist in our heads, like the one that says men should feed the family and women should take care of the family.

For two weeks, 30 “Advancine” sculptures created by Swiss artists sent a strong signal about the benefits of gender equality for everyone. The sculptures were sponsored by member companies. After the exhibition, they took their “Advancine” home to their offices, where she acts as a constant reminder to keep up their efforts for more female leaders.

It’s not by chance that our members consistently show better results in the Gender Intelligence Report compared to non-members. This too makes me very proud.

What fuels your dedication to your mission?

For instance, the shocking fact that in Switzerland, one of the richest countries in the world, almost 67% of women are financially dependent at retirement age, because they don’t have their own pension. How can this happen? Typically, when women become mothers, they stop working or reduce their working hours dramatically.

This has big financial implications for them – as big as 1 million CHF, as you can read in our recent whitepaper “The 1 Mio CHF Gap” . In the career game, women and men do not encounter the same rules. Who gets promoted? Who steps back when the kids are small? We need to change those rules and we can only achieve it together.?

Looking ahead, what future trends do you anticipate in your field, and how do you envision the evolution of this space?

The era of high tech has only just started – take the growing influence of AI and how it already impacts so many aspects of our life. It is essential for women to be present in this field and be part of this evolution as more and more money and power shifts to things related to tech.

One interesting fact: according to a recent study , tech-savviness in female leaders is perceived in a much more positive way than it is in male leaders and might pave the way for women to reach powerful positions in this branch.

Generally speaking though, wherever power is involved, women are still far too rare and don’t have enough influence on decisions with wide-ranging implications. It is going to be more important than ever to awaken women's desire for power positions, so as not to be left behind.

How to achieve this? By busting negative myths around power and highlighting all the positive aspects about it. Power enables you to drive change.

What advice would you give to other DEI changemakers who are just starting their journey?

First of all, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Exchange ideas with experienced changemakers and get their advice. Sure, one size does not fit all, yet you will get a feel for what could work in your environment and find plenty of inspiration. In the Advance program, we offer many platforms facilitating cross-company exchange, and we believe this has a huge impact.

Second, and very important, get a clear picture of your organization's current situation and choose a data-driven approach: A thorough analysis of facts and figures is the foundation on which to build a business case and strategy for change.

Last but not least, build your tribe and find allies, especially male ones. ?It is imperative to get the top leadership on your side to act as sponsors for your DEI initiatives. They need to walk the talk and role model inclusive behaviors.?

What easy-to-implement best practices can you recommend?

This will sound like a no-brainer: my advice is to ensure that mothers return to work at high enough working percentages. As long as there is a gender part-time gap in the Swiss workplace, we cannot achieve gender equality.

So, check how big the gender part-time gap in your company is and let the Advance returnship guide inspire you with good practices on how to enable mothers to return.?

In your view, what role does leadership play in driving meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion within an organization, and how can leaders effectively champion this?

Leadership plays an absolutely crucial role – or to put it in another way: any effort is futile without sponsorship from the top. The top leaders need to stand behind a DEI commitment, and they need to hold leaders on all levels accountable for clear DEI objectives. They must lead by example, raise their voices when injustice occurs and act as sponsors of female managers themselves.

All this in place, the good news is: Existing gaps around gender equity are fixable, given an inclusive and equality-minded culture.

Feeling inspired by this interview? You can follow Alkistis Petropaki and Advance – Gender Equality in Business on LinkedIn.

Every month via this newsletter, we feature DEI Changemakers who are making a real difference in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. If you would like to nominate someone, let us know at [email protected] .