“Today it is still news the first woman that… and it is obviously something that we have to move”, says Botero, who is an economist and financier, but who turned his career around in the Human Resources area of Scotiabank, after several years as trader.
She says that from a very young age she realized that she had to study and work harder than her peers to be considered a professional. An idea that was born from her house. “For me the most important thing was to be intelligent, to be the best; even beauty was an inconvenience, don’t think that I’m half pretty because you think I’m not capable,” she says.
The also known as imposter syndrome (an insecurity regarding her own work) could only lessen when she met leaders who motivated her and pushed her to run for higher positions.
“You always count people who help you believe. If I hadn’t believed so much in me, surely I wouldn’t get to where I am because I wasn’t able to apply for anything, it was always my leaders who told me: go, you are capable “.
While some women like Botero try to change the work culture within the bank, with initiatives that prevent violence, there are others, like Catalina Tobar, who want women to lead projects or who seek to educate others on investment matters.
Visa has around 50 collaborators globally where initiatives on the crypto ecosystem such as central bank digital currencies (CBDC’s) are being developed.
As advice for women who want to get closer to the crypto world, Tobar says that the first thing is to look for content that helps them understand the ecosystem and thus encourage them to use this type of asset.
Recommendations if you are going to apply for a job
As an expert in Human Resources, Botero comments on some mistakes that could put women at a disadvantage when looking for a job.
1. Put a photo on the CV. Companies, according to the expert, should no longer ask for this requirement if they really seek to attract talent.
2. Believing that jobs have gender. It sounds illogical but, according to Scotiabank, some women decide not to apply when the vacancies are male (advisor, programmer, etc).
3. Want to cover 100% of the requirements. Botero says that it is very common that when a vacancy is published with -for example- 10 requirements, men apply even if they only have three of the required skills, while women who have nine of them decide not to.
4. Do not negotiate your salary. Women tend to settle for the salary offered by companies and sometimes accept salaries below what they expected.
