International Women’s day

For women’s day we asked our office assistant in Mozambique, Sônia Abdala, a few questions about working as a woman.

Do you feel that in Mozambique there has been progress towards treating men and women equally as workers? Can you give us an example?

Sônia: Today I can say that there has been progress in gender equality and one of the examples is that we have women members of parliament, ministers who run our country and one of the examples is Luísa Diogo.

And in your personal case, do you feel you are treated differently at work because you are a woman? Do you want to share any episode?

Sônia: In my humble opinion no, I don’t feel treated differently at my workplace for the fact that I am a woman, in the sense of being disabled or even belittled for the simple fact that I am a woman. However, there are a few moments when colleagues make a gesture of chivalry looking in the sense of being a woman or out of good manners.

What motivates you most in your work?

Sônia: What most motivates me at work is knowing that I am surrounded by people who do not measure effort day by day, who teach me something that I have difficulty with, and by the fact that I know we work towards one and the same organizational goal. In this case working towards the development of Ascending.

This year Ascending celebrates 5 years of activity. Can you name an outstanding moment or a good memory from the years you worked at Ascending?

Sônia: One of the defining moments for me was when my superior, Ricardo Martins, called me to talk and said: “Sônia, you are capable, I trust you and your work” even before he met me. I will carry that with me for life, because he made me realize and gave me the opportunity to show what I am capable of.