WORKPLACE SISTERHOOD
Lina oversees a team of over 30 creatives working daily to shape the narrative of the ARKET brand. Copywriters, art directors, photographers, stylists, retouchers, coordinators and project managers are among her dedicated team members designing and producing content for arket.com. In her role, Lina can directly influence how we present our brand online, be it the models we cast, the language we use and how we display our products.
‘Since I work with a team of creatives, my job is to give them space and confidence to develop their ideas. My goal is to be available to listen, guide, and strengthen them to deliver their best. I’m a big believer in a holistic approach to leadership. Through trust, healthy values and motivation, my ambition is to inspire the team to meet their full potential. Having said that, I also want my team to know that personal life and family always come first.
On a global scale, family values and expectations towards women to take care of a household often stand in the way of the possibility to pursue a career. Growing up, I didn’t know any female leaders, and I saw women around me fighting hard to be treated as equals at work, especially after having kids. Being a woman and a mother myself, I have not always felt it was okay to stay home with sick children or leave early to pick up the kids from school, either. I remember feeling a lot of pressure to perform as if my family did not exist, and I pushed myself too hard to please.
Now that I am in a position to influence the culture in a team, especially a team with a lot of new parents, it has become my mission to show that there is another way. A healthy work-life balance will free up the energy and creativity we need to deliver on the company goals. The fact that we can have this approach in our workplace is an example of company values set in motion. It also sends a clear signal out there about what is possible. Today, I wouldn’t want to work for a company that doesn’t actively create equal career opportunities for women.
My advice to women who aspire to be leaders is to choose a career path they genuinely feel passionate about and trust their gut feeling. But most importantly, to have fun and make friends. Work should be a positive experience, so make sure to enjoy it on the way. I wouldn’t be the same person without the sisterhood I have experienced during my career.’
We do this by committing to our diversity, inclusiveness and equality policies, setting goals and measuring our performance as a brand. We actively share our insights and expertise with our business partners and support them in creating more gender-equal leadership structures through a number of initiatives together with the H&M Foundation.
As individuals, we also hold immense power to lead by example, endorse women around us and challenge the status quo. At ARKET, we believe that each of us can be part of the change. Our joint efforts will eventually lead to a structural shift that will enable people of all genders, identities, talents and backgrounds to equally participate in society and be meaningfully represented by leadership bodies.
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