We don’t need special network for women anymore: Ikea India chief Susanne Pulverer

Women constitute more than 60 percent of the brass at Ikea Global. In India, the company has 47 percent women, while globally, they outnumber men with 55 percent share of the workforce. For Susanne Pulverer, the newly appointed country chief of furniture multinational, the assignment brings with it the challenge of equalising the gender parity.

The job of being the chief executive and chief sustainability officer for India is Pulverer's third stint in the country. She was earlier the business risk and compliance manager at Ingka Group, where she contributed strongly to the brand’s strategy in times of transformation and pandemic. Passionate about yoga, fitness, nature and well-being, the young woman of 62 years lives in Bengaluru with her family.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol’s Vandana Ramnani, Pulverer talks about the need for an exclusive Women’s Day as also the importance of having policies that support equal career opportunities for both men and women. Excerpts from the interview:

Retailers often refer to customers as ‘she’ as it is women who are directly responsible for many retailers’ sales and successes. However, they occupy only 6 percent of CEO positions at retail companies. Isn’t it imperative to have a leadership that better matches customer demographics?

Absolutely. Could not agree more. Since long we know that women have a big influence at home. But we have also seen more and more men being engaged (at home). I wouldn’t say it is typically a women’s thing. This should mirror throughout when it comes to leadership of an organisation, their ability to cater to and to understanding customers’ needs. The leadership and the company needs to mirror the market where you are present. That’s very important. And we should be inclusive about men, women and other groups.

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Vandana Ramnani

Associate Editor, Real Estate|Moneycontrol News

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What is the percentage of board seats filled by women at Ikea?

Globally, the manager ratio is 50:50.  If you go to senior positions, over 60 percent are women.  Many of my colleagues who are country managers in other countries are also women. There is a very good representation of women in top leadership positions at Ikea.

As the first woman CEO at Ikea India, what are the changes you plan to introduce in the retail space? To what extent do you plan focusing on retail technology?

Every segment and every team we talk about should have a gender ratio that is 50:50. So, it is not good enough to say that we are all equal. If we have some teams with more or less number of women or only men. That needs to balance. I think if you search well, you will find talent and professionals who can contribute in non-specific areas where you would normally not find women such as in areas such as technology and in logistics. We are an omni-channel retailer. We would want to meet our customers wherever and whenever and that’s the reason digitisation of our businesses as well use of technology will be increasingly important to complement stores.

In future, there will be a mix of customers physically experiencing what we can offer them in stores as also digital possibilities. We are taking steps within Ikea to have a more digital experience. There is no area where we would say that we don’t see many women but everyone needs to work hard at finding talent in areas where many women are conventionally not present such as in the area of technology.

What steps is Ikea taking to make sure that the recruitment and career management system is ‘gender neutral and performance focused’ and there are measures that can facilitate employees’ flexible working hours and breaks throughout their careers?

If we look at India specifically, when we introduce policies and principles, they should be equal for men and women. It should not benefit just one group.  For example, the parental leave that we are so proud of. We have introduced six months of parental leave to make it possible for parents to take a break. It is also to make it possible for the father to enjoy that time with the child. Women leave the work-life after they have children but it is also possible to find the balance and be great at home.

There are support systems for this. We have policies that support this and we also have equal pay. It is important that your pay is based on your job and not your gender. Also we have internal development programmes that ensure equal participation. We have figures that follow the KPIs for gender, so we need to see all the time that we keep the balance. If we see we are dropping in one area, we try putting in efforts to shore it up. We can never say we are ready because being gender neutral requires constant and consistent work.

What was the company’s experience like when it came to employees working from home during the pandemic? Did women prefer it over men or are they eager to return to work?

I can relate to Europe where I worked in the Netherlands and in Sweden. I think most people want to bring in the learnings from working from home. But many long to return to work and to collaborate with colleagues in real time which is not possible while working from home. Having said that, I have not experienced any difference between genders when it comes to having worked from home for so long.

At Ikea, do you encourage women to find mentors, be involved in peer groups, and make their networking strategic?

We have a women’s forum at the global level. We see less need for it because now we want it to be integrated in every leaders work. But depending on where you are, there could be a need for it but I actually feel we have come quite far and we don’t need special networks for women but we need to encourage them and support them in every situation where there is a need. But when it comes to special groups we have passed that stage.

What are the women-centric facilities that Ikea has introduced at its stores in India? 

With the pandemic, it was difficult to introduce child care facilities for our employees at Ikea stores. We will introduce them soon but for both men and women. These facilities will not be exclusive for one group. This is planned in Mumbai and in all the big stores.

Connecting with customers is the foundation of good retail. Women aspiring to leadership roles need to learn the art of strategic influence and persuasion which, like any skill, takes practice and dedication. Do you think retailers can utilise these skills and help women employed in the sector break into the top ranks?

Absolutely. To develop leadership skills is a big priority for us. It is important that you lead in your assignments, in your profession and everyone needs to think how I can become a better leader and make an impact no matter if you are a man or a woman. We spend a lot of time to develop our leadership skills no matter where we are and I think that we will continue to focus on programmes with an emphasis on gender balance.

Globally, there are several programmes where we make sure that we have a balanced participation from different markets as also from gender and age perspective. We cannot have programmes where we do not have a representation of diverse groups. This is normal for us. Women and men have equal opportunities. They both can be fantastic leaders and we want to nourish both men and women to grow and develop and taken on more responsibilities. I don’t think there is any challenge for women to take this step. They are as strong as men in taking on leadership positions.

Should there be a separate day dedicated for women?I think it is good. We can celebrate and focus on other days as well such as  the environment day, children’s day etc. But if we look at society today, we are far from having an equal society. That’s why I think we should have it. It generates a lot of energy. While we are taking steps on the gender diversity front, we have many more dimensions to work with women when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Women’s Day spreads energy and pride within an organization. It should probably stay for a longer time.