- Brazilian executives of the Japanese brand conquer space in several countries around the world
RIO DE JANEIRO – International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world and, therefore, naturally, each country or continent has its own sociocultural characteristics and languages. Brazilian executives at Nissan, however, have increasingly enriched the company’s internal diversity by bringing a lot of professionalism and, furthermore, the Brazilian culture and qualities – and the accent too! – to the most varied countries, such as the United States and Japan.
They contribute and are part of the collective construction at Nissan to move further and further towards women’s empowerment. An important step was taken by the company in 2021, when Nissan South America signed UN Women’s Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP’s) and the United Nations Global Compact. Adherence to the WEPs at the regional level led to the elaboration and validation of a plan with the UN. Along the same lines, Nissan was the first automaker to join the “Ganha-Ganha” program for Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru, with the aim of continuing to develop integration measures and promote gender equality in the work.
Nissan was the first automaker to join regionally under the program. And, specifically in each country, the company has also been building partnerships with important local entities and reinforcing its internal activities with a focus on gender equality.
The presence of women in the company’s operations in the country is increasingly solidifying and reinforcing, the fair space obtained by female employees also accentuates their qualities within the global organization. Thus, they become even more recognized and reinforce Nissan’s international teams.
Executive Marisa Peres, for example, who was Compliance Director at Nissan South America, recently assumed the position of Compliance Director for the Americas, going to command the area across the continent directly from the United States. In this international trajectory, Marisa reinforces family support and, precisely to guarantee this support, the importance of Nissan having equal treatment between genders, including families, in this experience outside the country of origin.
“A big difference in an international career is family support, because, until recently, the idea of a person being an expatriate was always linked to the man. The woman was expected to accompany and take care of the house. So, the support of, and for, the partner, who will also have an impact on his life, is fundamental. And that only works if the company understands and supports women’s families with equality. We are exporting talents in Brazil and South America and the company is giving all the support”, says Marisa.
Marisa will now be working from the Nissan Americas headquarters, but she won’t be alone. Ana Paula Serra has already stood out there since 2019 as Director of Governance and Sustainability also for the Americas, after having worked in different areas of Nissan in the United States and Brazil.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, more precisely in France, Cristiane Cola took over the role of Risk Management and Training manager in Nissan’s global Compliance team in February. Cristiane’s European experience began exactly at the beginning of the pandemic, in April 2020, when she was invited to take over as an assistant in Nissan’s Compliance area for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India and Oceania.
“A differential that I perceive in my experience outside Brazil is that women have cultural sensitivity and the ability to quickly adapt to changes that occur in projects or in the organization. Another aspect I experienced is resilience in crisis situations. We are often able to overcome difficulties more calmly, seeking immediate solutions to overcome the issues that arise”, comments Cristiane.
“In these almost 10 years that I have worked at Nissan, I can say that there are several opportunities for growth in Brazil, in South America and in other regions, regardless of gender. What I always say to the women I talk to about careers and challenges is that we have to look within the company for these opportunities for our professional growth and demonstrate that we have this intention and availability for mobility. The beginning of this journey has many challenges and difficulties, but Brazilian women have an incredible ability to adapt to different cultures and forms of communication, we are empathetic with others and this is a highly valued differential”, she adds.
With an international career that has already taken her through different areas at Nissan, Andrea Maia has been at the company’s world headquarters in Japan since 2017, and continues to evolve using what she considers some of the differences. So much so that, in 2021, she assumed responsibility for the global area of Digital Retailresponsible for the retail customer experience and development of standards and processes “online to physical” (O2P) with a focus on the best experience for Nissan customers.
“The biggest differentials are, without a doubt, the flexibility and creativity to create solutions and alternatives to overcome barriers and reach objectives. In addition, the positive energy we bring in our way of facing life and resilience are also other differentials”, says Andrea.
The executive uses these differentials exactly in a universe undergoing great transformation and increasingly important for companies and society itself, the digital world. So much so that even the theme indicated by the UN for International Women’s Day in 2023 is linked to this new reality: “For an inclusive digital world: innovation and technology for gender equality”.
W-Power: a network of women for action
Here in Brazil, and in South America – a region that the country is part of within the Nissan organization –, women also continue to evolve with the increasing support of the affinity group W-Power (Women Power), formed by more than 80 female employees and volunteer employees (ERG) working for gender equality at Nissan across the region. The initiative puts sorority in the work environment in the first place, with a strong commitment to sharing experiences, developing training and actions that promote the generation of more awareness, avoiding prejudice within the organization.
Among them are initiatives such as the review of salaries and benefits to ensure equal remuneration between genders, implementation of a succession plan focused on women and mentoring and career acceleration programs for Hispanic and Latino employees. Also noteworthy are projects to create exclusive rooms for breastfeeding employees in all Nissan units in the country and initiatives such as “Café com Elas”, periodic meetings to listen to the needs of operators. A “safe” environment where they can share their views on how the company can continue to move forward on the topic.
Nissan South America also has three other groups of volunteers or ERGs, which in total already add up to more than 170 people and collaborate in their areas of affinity:
- Racial Equity, of racial equity.
- Special Way, equality for people with disabilities.
- True Colors, focusing on sexual diversity and gender identity.