Serra Bicak is the Senior Vice President Reckitt Africa Middle East. As part of her role, she is responsible for gender balance within the organization. In our interview, she shares her own journey and discusses why a shared culture and individual action are both important in bringing sustainable change.

Why is DE&I so important at Reckitt?

We operate around the world, and we have a diverse workforce – people with different nationalities, backgrounds, belief systems and ages. Putting that workforce on a pathway to maximize potential in an inclusive environment is a strength, a muscle to flex and a power for the organization’s performance. It’s all about building the next generation of leaders that perform at their best. That’s how you give back to your community, how you build your brands, and how you create a sustainable flywheel. It’s win-win-win all around.

What’s your personal journey in the DE&I space?

My inspiration started at home. My parents are architects and my mother – don’t tell my dad (Serra laughs) – is actually more talented. But she took a back seat to be the backbone of our family. She was offered an international assignment in Switzerland but turned it down. Instead, she settled and followed a different path in life. But she chose to call me Serra – a name that would travel well internationally. I think my experience influenced me, my choices, the path I took. I saw first-hand that people need support because there are career clashes, particularly for women. And I wanted to be part of the solution.

Now here I am in my 24th year around the world. Germany is the eighth country we’ve lived in. I met my husband in New York, our daughter was born in Argentina. We have a caretaker who’s from Georgia. So we have a lot of passports that we travel with! If you think about this background, I’ve always been a minority. I’ve learned a lot in these eight different countries: different languages, cultural norms, traditions that I had to understand very well. Feeling like I belonged was about survival, and an inclusive environment was essential for me to be able to adapt and to thrive.

The week I arrived in Reckitt, I was invited to a session called “Stronger Together” and the topic was gender balance. I had never really considered myself a woman leader before. I was just a leader. Suddenly, putting a name to some of these issues, and sharing the topic so openly and transparently, triggered something in me. Reckitt has been a catalyst for me in better defining the “why”, the “how” and the “what”. So it’s not just about building awareness – it’s about taking action. Reckitt has created platforms to do that. And this is why I am here now leading on gender balance for Europe on top of my business role for the company.

What have you done in the last two years to address gender balance in Europe for Reckitt?

I started with mentorships and expanded the pool of mentees over time. Throughout this process, I’ve been very conscious and intentional about building a DE&I agenda in the organizations that I lead. You typically have a better gender balance at the lower ranks of the organization. But leadership is difficult. We’ve reformed our sales organization, which was inherently male, from 11% women representation at the leadership level to 44% women today. It took 12 months. But quite frankly, this is not about stats and numbers, it’s about building the right culture.

How do you measure the impact?

To measure our progress, we obviously track our gender balance. We report our gender pay in 9 of our bigger markets. We keep track of measures and we also partner with external experts to track our progress against some of the industry leading practices. At the people level, we also incorporate inclusion in development plans and performance reviews. Besides the formal measurement elements, there is also this informal, intangible “freedom to succeed” culture that propels the company forward in the right direction. When you look at our global engagement surveys, you see that authenticity is a strength and a high-scoring area.

What’s next for Reckitt? And for you on your personal journey?

I personally would like to see a German woman on the General Counsel in 10 years. That’s my ambition. But that all starts from building the right talent bench. Progress is what I truly care about. It’s not about hitting a numerical target because that can also risk making you do the wrong things. We are building the next generation of leaders of all genders. They have to be the right people with the right skill sets and the right capabilities. I have intentionally made a lot of decisions in my team to create a strong talent bench. It’s going to be very fulfilling to see the fruits of that labor.

As for me, whatever my roles in this company – and I intend to do many more – our cultural transformation is going to continue. I don’t think Reckitt will ever be “done” and I’m excited to be part of that ongoing evolution. At the same time, I know it’s going to be a marathon to get to a point where I no longer consider myself as a woman leader, a point where no one has to consider their gender when they are defining themselves as a leader.