Flair Magazine By: Nour ElBakry
At the recent Carerha Summit 2024, Mennat-Allah Sharkas, General Manager of Lipton Egypt, captivated the audience with her powerful insights on advancing gender equality in the workplace.
With more than two decades in the FMCG industry, Mennat-Allah is not only a respected professional but also a proud mother, daughter, and passionate advocate for inspiring others to drive change. Her address touched on the essential role men play in these initiatives and offered practical steps for fostering a more inclusive and supportive work environment.
Mennat-Allah began by discussing the role men can and should play in achieving meaningful gender equality. For her, this is a natural and necessary partnership; both men and women contribute unique perspectives and skills, which become particularly
potent when combined in diverse settings such as education, sports, and business. She emphasized that breaking down gender barriers is not a solitary task—it requires the active participation of all.
“Humans are both male and female; our roles are interconnected. It’s essential for men to support women, just as women should support men,” she stated. Reflecting on her time at Lipton Teas & Infusions, she noted that when men advocate for women’s advancement, they not only set a valuable cultural example but inspire others to join, creating a ripple effect of change.
Mennat-Allah also addressed the topic of unconscious bias and how it continues to hinder progress. Despite advances in gender equality, biases still surface in many professional fields, often subtly reinforced by stereotypes around traditionally male-dominated roles like engineering, architecture, and wholesale. Yet Mennat-Allah believes progress is happening. “The focus should be on qualifications, not gender,” she remarked, noting that today’s younger generation appears more adept at recognizing and challenging these biases. Reflecting on her personal journey, Mennat-Allah spoke candidly about biases she’s encountered, from assumptions that women with children lack ambition to the double standard applied to assertive behavior across genders. She has seen firsthand how women are often perceived as less confident than men, even when equally qualified, and how team successes are sometimes attributed to male members by default. To address this, she is a strong advocate for skills-based evaluations, where each individual is assessed by their expertise and experience rather
than their gender.
Throughout her talk, she highlighted that promoting a truly inclusive workplace requires more than just good intentions; it demands concrete action and accountability, particularly from male leaders. Creating an inclusive environment, she stressed, is not simply about hiring women but ensuring equal opportunities based on merit. In her view, male leaders are instrumental in shaping company culture by advocating for policies that support work-life balance, fair evaluations, and equal opportunity. She encourages leaders to communicate the importance of gender equality from the top down, making it a core organizational value that everyone can stand behind.
At Carerha Summit 2024, Mennat-Allah Sharkas painted a hopeful picture of the future, workplaces where skills, rather than gender, determine success, where biases are actively dismantled, and where individuals, regardless of gender, can truly thrive.
