Inspirational speeches on women in leadership

We have all been subjected to unconscious bias in the workplace and it is our responsibility to change that mindset: that was the message coming from keynote speeches and panel discussions at UEFA's Women in Football Leadership Programme in Nyon.

The message was consistent from contributors representing different and varied backgrounds, on the second day of the week-long course.

Tabi Haller-Jorden, president and CEO, The Paradigm Forum Gmbh

"Mindsets and assumptions get in the way when it comes to implementing gender diversity, in spite of all the evidence that shows that when females are better represented in the workplace, it has a positive knock-on effect for the business. What is becoming increasingly apparent is that by looking at someone, there is an immediate judgement made, and often, that men are promoted to leadership positions based on potential and women are judged on their performance."

Kieran Finn, international vice-president of human resources, PAREXEL

"Creating awareness [of gender equality] is something that we're working a lot on in our company over the past year. As we go deeper into the data, then we are looking to make more structural changes to the way we work. But we know we are accountable for that because we have all experienced the negative impact of someone else's unconscious bias."

Martin Kallen, CEO, UEFA Events SA

"Your career is your personal project, so you need to get fully involved in it. That means that you need to invest in the preparation of your sessions to get the most out of them with your mentors. The planning is also very important because you have to have your own vision of where you wish your career to go in order to reach the next levels, projecting yourselves to where you wish to be in the next two to four years."