[00:00:37] Good morning and welcome to a new episode of Supply Chain Out. Today I have a very, very honored guest with a very, very successful professional career and with a very important impact for the community and for Mexico in general. I would then say with me. Hilda Hilda Hill, Director of Institutional Marketing at Tec de Monterrey. Hilda, how are you? How are you?
[00:01:04] Hello Enrique. How was everyone? Thank you very much for inviting me. I hope you are all in very, very good health and so are your families.
[00:01:12] Well, thank you very much for being here with us and giving us a little bit of your time. And well, without further ado, give us a little bit more. Who? Who is Hilda Gil? Who? Who are you? Where were you born? A little more history of your childhood.
[00:01:26] Thank you Enrique. Well if this my name is Israel, I am 38 years old, this I am married, I have two small children. We are still here sheltered now at home because of the pandemic situation that does not want to end yet. I live in Monterrey east, I have been living in this city for more than 15 years, but I am from Sinaloa, I am from Culiacan and well, that’s where I grew up and lived all my childhood with my father, my mother and my two brothers. I studied marketing at the Tec de Monterrey, at the Sinaloa campus and well, life brought me here and I stayed here, I got married.
[00:02:07] Here I am Mr. Ray, and your whole life revolves around Monterrey.
[00:02:11] That’s right. I had my first job, I started there in Culiacán and then I came back here to work and well, I did it and I was leaving.
[00:02:21] So far we will talk a little bit more about your professional career as well and what you are doing now, which again is something quite shocking and I am sure many of us would like to hear a little bit more about that, but going back again to your time still in Sinaloa, maybe with your family before you started, maybe the career, some, some experience you had when you were young that started to motivate you or give you some guidance in the path you decided to take later?
[00:02:53] Well yes, the truth is that I was always like a creative person, a person who likes to speak in public or a person who did like with my dad. I remember when I was a little girl, I used to make videos and interviews to people, characters.
[00:03:09] You danced and acted.
[00:03:11] He danced, acted, did everything. So it seems that the advertising part, the creative part, always called my attention and well, I think that since I was very young I knew that my path was going to be through something there. In fact, at some point I even thought about being an actress or singer, but I don’t act, dance or sing. So I said I don’t know, I don’t know what there is or can be something out there, along the path of different creativity, that doesn’t necessarily have to be, that has to be artistic. And in fact when I was studying I was very curious, because my parents told me hey, you have to study something that is here in Sinaloa, because we are not going to give you permission to go to Monterrey or to another city where there were more careers. Back then, there was no marketing, advertising, or any career that resembled it. At that time I was already very determined to study industrial engineering, that is to say, no, nothing to do with what I do, nothing, I don’t see myself there apart, but it was what there was and the career that was the most popular, maybe more interesting, of course. And I just had an opportunity before I decided to go to live in Vancouver for a couple of good, a six months, do a summer, study English and so on and so forth and. And then that was a very cool experience, because I also got to know what it was like to live alone, what it was like to manage yourself and to be in a city where there was no GPS, there was no GPS yet, neither the GPS nor the wey.
[00:04:47] A culture, a culture very, very different from what.
[00:04:50] That.
[00:04:50] I can imagine. It’s like I was already very determined and I said no, let’s see, I already know how to live alone, I’m going to tell my parents to send me to Monterrey, I don’t want to study Industrial Engineering, well, I arrived and just when I returned to Culiacán the marketing career was opened there, so it was like I still had a lot left. I didn’t have the nerve to ask for permission to leave, so I studied marketing. But it was very curious because inside me I always knew that I wanted to come to live in Monterrey and well, it didn’t happen studying, but finally I ended up here. So I do think that I think that part of having left and knowing very well, very clearly what I wanted to do helped me.
[00:05:28] And that trip, I imagine, helped you a little bit, wasn’t it the catalyst that gave you the strength to say well, hey, if I like marketing, why not do another career?
[00:05:37] And I felt that I matured a lot, I felt that many of the things I experienced there helped me to ask my parents to trust me a little bit. No, there was no fear that I would come to this city to study.
[00:05:52] Hey, and well, I imagine that many people go through the same thing, many young people, who may even be listening to us, have that, that, that, that no problem. But that question of what do I want to do in life, what career do I want to study this one. Well, it was very useful for you to leave Mexico, to travel, to be alone for a while, what? What recommendation would you give? Maybe someone who is listening to us says hey, I want to be an engineer or I want to be a lawyer or I want to go into logistics, but I don’t have the possibility or I don’t have the desire or I can’t make up my mind. Te.
[00:06:26] You know I think that before, at the time when I had two hands, you see, I was my age at the beginning.
[00:06:33] No, no, no problem.
[00:06:35] At the time when I had to study, it was just that. I mean, you were either an engineer, or you were a lawyer, or you were a graduate and now you wanted to choose a career where you could obviously see yourself there working and earning money. And that was the goal, wasn’t it? Now I think there is much more openness from the kids, from the students to not necessarily choose a career that is going to give you an instant economic remuneration, right? Now there are many other things you can do, there is a lot of entrepreneurship, there is a lot of digital industry where finally I almost believe and I say, maybe I am not shooting myself in the foot because I work at Tec de Monterrey, but I almost believe that it does not matter what career you study, because the path or your passions, your dreams, will guide you to do what you want, regardless if you are in finance or if you are in marketing or if you are an engineer. So I think it is very interesting now as this openness and this vision that they have, because there are many more things and there are many more possibilities than what to do now. Borders have been broken. For example, I had to travel to another city to maybe discover my path, but now you don’t even have to travel. I mean, now that you explore a little bit, that you are on the Internet, that I explain myself, then I think that part gives many advantages as well. Maybe it’s confusing, right? But I guess one piece of advice I would give is to stay true to what you really like, right? I think the career is something secondary and they are going to enjoy it because, because it is a very cool stage, but that they stay faithful to what they really like to do and that is where they are going to do it.
[00:08:21] I totally agree with you. Well, and going back a little bit to your story, then the career opens up in Sinaloa, you don’t necessarily have to travel anywhere to study what you want. Well, tell us a little bit about what happens after you start in marketing, I imagine you are happy that it was the career you always wanted to study and what else?
[00:08:43] Yes, well, it was always, it was, I was, I was very nerdy because I was on scholarship, so I was, I was very nerdy. Note that this was a very curious thing. I always thought that because of my good grades and my performance and everything, I deserved the scholarship that Tec de Monterrey gave me and that I deserved it because I had earned it. I was always very studious, I mean, the truth is that I had a lot of fun. For me, high school and college were stages with a lot of very, very fun experiences, but now and then we’ll go a little deeper into that because it’s part of my job, of course, but now that I’m on this side I realize that in what? Well, the scholarships are not necessarily given by the TEC, there is a whole group of people behind them, businessmen, governments, individuals, collaborators of any company that contribute money, that donate money to the scholarships of the kids, right? That’s very interesting because nobody told us. And you thought Tec de Monterrey was the one that put up all the money for what? So that you could study and there are not many people who, out of sheer will, make donations and, well, thanks to them, many of us were able to have a university degree, so yes, I definitely finished my studies there.
[00:10:11] This was, it was a, it was a, it was quite an experience, the truth is that, well, at that time I was living at home with my parents. It was good because at the end I got my share as. Like having fun, having fun, going out, hanging out with friends, having my boyfriends or whatever. But at the same time I had the responsibility to come home at a certain time, fulfill my subjects, fulfill my grades, because I had this part of the scholarship, of course. And well, that’s, that’s how I carried it. And it was something that was something that I really liked. East. I don’t think I made a mistake in my career, I always worked in what I studied and although things change and obviously what you learn in school is one thing and then practice and work experiences teach you different things, but well, the basics are always important.
[00:11:07] Which is the good thing that is something I wanted to ask you about. You also graduate and start working in consumer companies a lot, right?
[00:11:14] Yes. Before graduating I started working in a company called Productos Chatarra, which is from Sinaloa and is a maquiladora that produces packaged food products, beans. Chile also has cold meats, sausages, ham, chorizo and others. And I started there before graduating, doing my internship in the area of market research, which I really liked. In fact, I thought I was going to stay in that, in that part of market research, I was fascinated to go and ask consumers what they preferred, what they wanted, because yes, why not do the analysis, present the results and then know that thanks to those, to that analysis you did, the company makes decisions to make better products or different things or better campaigns. So I was very fascinated by the market research part of it. And I thought the truth is that that’s where I was going to stay. No, no, I don’t do that now. But, well, it is something that interests me a lot when I have to send my studies, and I was working there for three months. Well, I started with my internship, I graduated, they hired me now, full time and I had been working there for three months when they made me the offer of hey, look we want to open a position in Monterrey, it wasn’t, it wasn’t market research, it was a kind of trade marketing because it had a sales component and a marketing component, and what the company wanted at that time was to open a market here, because here, you know, in Monterrey there are very important accounts such as OXO, it was like a kind of trade marketing because it had a sales component and a marketing component, and what the company wanted at that time was to open a market here, because here, you know, in Monterrey there are very important accounts like OXO, Soriana and TGV, this Seven Eleven and others, so the corporate cheeses are here. Then they told me, we are people in Monterrey, we need a team in Monterrey that you want to go and I with my, with my madness.
[00:13:13] How things happen, right? At the beginning you didn’t have that idea and it came to you in a totally unexpected way at the time.
[00:13:21] And me, I am a great believer in things, that you are manifesting things and working on them. So when this happened to me, I said hey, I always wanted to go to Monterrey, I mean, I didn’t, I didn’t go as a student, but I always wanted to be here and now I don’t have to ask for permission because it’s my job, they are sending me, they are doubling my salary, they were giving me a garage.
[00:13:44] It was an excellent opportunity.
[00:13:46] Besides, I was 22 years old at the time, so it was like, for me at 22 years old, that opportunity.
[00:13:52] A great responsibility too, I imagine.
[00:13:55] Yes, totally, totally. And the truth is that I was lucky enough to have family in Monterrey. One of my father’s sister lives here with her husband, her children and so on, so it was no longer a matter of asking permission, it’s already dad, mom, I’m going to Monterrey and I talked to my aunt, so I told her hey, while I get a place to live, she could receive me at your house.
[00:14:16] In case you did accommodate all the logistics of the change, let’s say, but hey, I was excited. Obviously you were leaving a little bit behind what you loved the most, which is market research, but ready to take on the new challenge, I imagine.
[00:14:31] You know that I have always had the idea that you have to take opportunities when they come because you don’t know if they are going to present themselves again. Probably yes, but you always have to say yes to everything. I mean, I, I have as it is, as is the motto, so much.
[00:14:47] For an opportunity.
[00:14:47] Professional as well as personal. In fact, it is something that I might have to work on, but it is very hard for me to say no to something, so I think that is something that we need to work on. So I’m going to ride you? Yes, that is, and let’s see how we do it. Hey, don’t you know how to drive? Because they gave me a standard car and I didn’t know how to drive in Monterrey, which is the city of the mountains, right? So I would say that I am going to crash at any moment, but if we learn what to do, we learn what to do. Knowing the addresses we know them. My aunt used to tell me to guide you through the mountains when you see this mountain, for her that is my home, when you see this mountain, for them Tec, I mean she saw me like that in case one day it would be cloudy and foggy, because.
[00:15:33] You were already lost. That day.
[00:15:35] I got lost. Yes, exactly. I didn’t have many adventures getting to know the city, to be honest.
[00:15:40] Hey, but you got here then? Well, here I am in a completely different country, but you came to Monterrey and how did it go a little bit in that change of industry? Tell us more about your responsibility and how your professional career evolved.
[00:15:54] Well, it was interesting. I got to a place where I had to buy my own printer, my own chair, my own desk, because there was no one, there was nothing. What they wanted was to open an office and I was the first person they sent here. So we had a space, let’s say, with one of the distributors that. That he supported the company at the time, but he was a total outsider. So I asked Hey, can I use your offices for a little while? No, I have nowhere to put myself. At that time it did not exist in.
[00:16:26] No part of the.
[00:16:27] Home office. Like no, I didn’t even have it in my mind. So I went looking for an office, a printer, a desk, chair, whatever. And my job was, apart from doing the negotiations with the purchasing people of these self-service stores that I mentioned. Make price negotiations for in-store location promotions. I also had to visit each of the stores to organize the whole promoter thing, organize tastings, because we were selling food at the time and we were new in the city, we had to do tastings and testing and so on. I had the opportunity to appear on television in some local programs, also promoting the products.
[00:17:13] I really had to do it all.
[00:17:14] Basically I did everything from sales, I made her a promoter, I made her a hostess, I made her a television model or.
[00:17:22] He left.
[00:17:22] A little bit of whatever it was, because I was really the only person here and little by little it went away. People were coming, but before that it was a little less than a year, almost a year. Where it really was. Alone. Alone, alone, alone. Me and my soul at work. And yes, I had a lot of things to do, because between visiting each store, that was a whole day and so I was organized. But it was something that was difficult for me, because I really like to be with people. That is, I am a sociable person by nature, I like to share, I like to talk, I like to listen. And working alone for so long did make me rethink whether this was what I really wanted. It’s nothing other than I’m not a big fan of being in the car all day driving, so I did it a lot. So I was saying, you don’t have to stay here forever, you are already, already, already, already, already, already crossed the bridge to come to the city of opportunities, basically what else is here, right? Then I started to investigate what things, what industries there were, what companies, and well, there really is a lot, isn’t there? If you want cement, if you want glass, if you want food, if you want pharmaceuticals, if you want television, you name it, there is it in Monterrey. Then it was a matter of. I found an opportunity at Gamesa, which was my next job.
[00:18:49] Then you get when you change that it is again a totally good industry, not totally, but different also with a different policy, with a different culture.
[00:19:01] Well, you know the first thing that caught my attention is that it was a, it was an established company. Right, right. At that time I was already part of Pepsico, Alimentos, Mexico and there were processes, there was a hierarchy, an organizational chart, there were salary scales here, it was still like that.
[00:19:23] What.
[00:19:23] We were just starting. It is a family company where you bend, say hello, I’ll bend it for you, no, it’s not better, it’s not better for you. I mean, it was the decisions, they were made by the owner and and and and it was very rare so when I came here and wow, there are processes.
[00:19:38] Wow.
[00:19:38] I have to. I mean, I mean, isn’t decision making like that? So I was very interested in that and especially in going back to pure marketing, which I had never really been able to do, because first in market research, then this sales part will fall into marketing as the owner of a brand, making strategies, making promotions, making advertising campaigns, the market research part, which I liked. Then I met people who were already working here and who talked to me and said no, if I want to be there, I want to be there. Then I entered a panel where there were about 50 or more contestants or candidates, let’s say for four or five vacancies. And well, I was one of those who, fortunately, was able to stay.
[00:20:36] Well, you had an excellent career and taking on the previous challenge, trying to open something, has helped you a lot. That you learned a lot. Do you remember anything in particular that you learned from that more entrepreneurial culture? Let’s say something I don’t know what you were able to learn about yourself.
[00:20:56] In a bedpan, you say? Yes, yes, well, that’s it. In other words, I learned. The truth is that I like him even though I am a marketing person. In marketing we tend to be a bit more disorganized or part as more impulsive. In the professional area I like order and I like the process because yes, yes, this one. I think the part of entrepreneurship is to take a big risk or not and make these decisions on your stomach and say here we go, here we go, here we don’t go. And I think it’s not for everyone, not this one. Many times I have questioned myself if I could become an entrepreneur, if I wanted to or would like to do some kind of entrepreneurship and the truth is that I have had to make peace with myself that it is not for everyone and that I am fine where I am and with the career I am doing and not forming, but I admire very much those who venture and those who leave theirs. Maybe their life of Godin, I am going to say it this way, would not have been as a professional in one, in a company for venturing and entrepreneurship and for putting this and they make a mistake and start again and maybe they start with a sauce business and end up making toothpaste. I don’t know what, but they are very motivated people who. That. That he is not concerned. No, not if you don’t care. It does concern him, but. But you take a risk and you. And he goes all out.
[00:22:22] No? Y.
[00:22:24] And I learned that about myself, which is the best thing. So maybe I do need a little more baby, a little more structure process and to grow according to the times. No?
[00:22:34] Hey, well, and then, going back to Gamesa, do you accept the offer? Obviously, AND you’re in a career or more of a marketing position, which is what you were looking for? And tell us more about what’s next in your career.
[00:22:51] Well, I started. I started with a junior coordination position. This one there was still very. Chava was 23 years old. Then I started learning about Quaker brands of cookies. I had some important launches like costilla, which are healthy granola bars. I was also in charge of the cereal part, which many people don’t know, but Quaker has cereal. And my treasure at that time was also a Gamesa plant. Well, if one. A branch, shall we say? So I knew a lot about the food industry at that time, in this branch of the processed food industry, and it was like a dilemma of how you are going to be promoting and publishing cookies and they are not healthy at all, so we got involved a lot with the research and development people to see how we could improve the products, always the portions, the ingredients to try to, yes, we understood as an industry that we were an industry, a brand that gives fun, right? That it gives indulgence, that it was fun, that it was for those moments for both children and adults, of what? Well, no, I’m not necessarily thinking of.
[00:24:12] Health, the.
[00:24:13] Diet and health, but we always wanted to give as the best ingredients for as to avoid this.
[00:24:21] There is some.
[00:24:23] The problem.
[00:24:24] Any important challenges for you? Maybe in that home stage you had several, but a little bit in your professional experience, some industry challenge eh?
[00:24:35] Well I think look, I think it’s A2A personal way. One challenge was that it was, it was a good place. The first day I entered and was already hired, I went in and saw all the people working in marketing and I said this is like a Tec classroom, right? I mean, this is like a university, because we were all about the same age, we all had the same tastes, we loved to go out, we loved to party, I met a lot of people and that part that I felt so lonely, let’s say that I felt in my previous job here was that I came to the party with a lot of responsibility, because obviously we had to meet the objectives, but we were like many colleagues of the same age, we all loved to party, so it totally turned my life around, because obviously we had to meet the objectives, but we were like many colleagues of the same age, we loved to party, so it totally turned my life around, but the challenge there was that we were so many, with so much ambition, with so much passion and all so good at what we did, that there was a lot of competition, right? Because as you know, the positions are closing a little bit, the more, the more you grow. So I said hey, I have a challenge here because I am a foreigner, I am a woman, I am the new one. So I think I think so, I think so.
[00:25:50] The issue of positioning my personal brand, of demonstrating with results, with networking, with this multi-functionality that we also had with the teams that we managed, well, I think it was a challenge to show that I could continue, that I could grow, not in that sense, but in the personal and work part. I think that what I am telling you about the products, how do you make an industry that is not healthy and also we had a crisis in Mexico, we still have overweight, obesity, a lot of restrictions from the government with the issue of the portions of the extra calories, then the amount of sugar we were handling, how do you do it? How can you continue to sell these products? With a purpose behind it. That is, as. How do you do that. How do you tie the issue of the problems that existed in our country or that exist in our country and continue selling because what you want is to continue selling and for people to continue consuming you. So it was the repositioning of the products and the redesign of the products, both in terms of ingredients and marketing as well as marketers. I think so.
[00:27:08] It was a synergy, which was a challenge, a big challenge for sure. Hey, and well, changing the subject a little bit, here I see that you are very involved in the Center for the Recognition of Human Dignity. The CR DH.
[00:27:23] Recognition Center.
[00:27:24] It is best known for the Center.
[00:27:27] Recognition of the.
[00:27:27] Human Dignity Complete. Okay, hey, tell us about it. Well, first of all, for those who are listening, tell us what this organization is all about. So, tell us a little bit more about why you liked it and what you are working on in this organization?
[00:27:43] Absolutely, thank you. Well, first I’m going a little earlier at the table. Pepsico, Mexico. I worked there for almost ten years, I grew, I had a little more responsibility there and it happened that one day this change to Tec was forced, because one day it was decided at corporate level that all the marketing, finance and human resources would move to Mexico, right? This Pepsico Alimentos Mexico is composed of Gamesa, which was here in Monterrey, but Sabritas or Hikari Sonics, which are the four. The other three business units were located in Mexico City. So it didn’t honestly make sense for a business unit to be in Monterrey just because we started. I mean, the cookie was Mexican, that is, Gamesa started in Monterrey, but being part of Pepsico, it didn’t make sense for it to be far away. I do not go back to the same thing. There was no, there had been no pandemic, we didn’t know what it was like to work remotely. So it was that we don’t have to consolidate everything in one building in Mexico City. And they offered us all to leave. This one told us hey, well it’s you go with your, with your position. Did they even offer us many more benefits or salary increases, position changes as to make the idea interesting or if you decide not to leave we offer you your severance pay, right? So for me it was super difficult. This was another great challenge. Well, more than a challenge it was a very, very difficult decision to make because I loved, I still love this company and if they hire me again I will leave again. I almost believe this one. I mean, everyone at Tec knows this, I don’t hide it, not this master, I love Pepsico. And well, it was very difficult because I was already married, we were building a house here in Monterrey and my children were already in our school. My husband’s job was here in Monterrey, so we said hey, I can’t do it.
[00:29:44] Go.
[00:29:45] And he is also leaving with me, so what is he leaving here? Well, to keep it short, I decided to stay in Monterrey, I took my severance pay and then I started looking for another job and I said well, there will be opportunities, there always are. And they just told me about the Tec de Monterrey and that’s another thing that I also like.
[00:30:07] Without looking for it, it wasn’t something like that either.
[00:30:09] Without looking for it and I tell you, it is another thing that I never imagined that I would end up working at Tec, but at the same time I knew that I wanted to work for a greater purpose than just the products that are for fun or to have a good time. Rico here, here in the text we transform, we train people, we really train people, we transform lives. This and especially in the area where I am, which is the Vice-Presidency of Inclusion, Social Impact and Sustainability, where the center I am going to talk about now is located, is how my job is to position Tec so that people realize that it is not only a prestigious institution, where people where students come out super well prepared, but that we also do many things that have a positive impact on society. We do not work on community issues, we work on scholarship issues, we work on environmental sustainability and climate change issues, we work on issues of human dignity, where we see gender equity, discrimination, we see and even diversity issues, inclusion, etc. So for me the fall here was oye. What father that I will be able to contribute from what I like to be, in something, in a purpose that really transcends? Does it really have a positive impact, not only in Mexico, but also in the world, because our TEC graduates are all over the world, they are all over the world, right? So I was very interested in the offer, I accepted it and I’ve been working at Tec for four years now and the marketing area is divided as Tec is so big. The marketing area is divided into the different areas of Tec. So there is a marketing part that looks at the whole rectory part, the cartoon part, the schools, and it’s this as a unit, as a unit, as a prestigious university, right? How to position the curricula, how to position the careers, etc. In other words, it is selling Tec.
[00:32:21] What are we most familiar with? Isn’t that a little bit what people really think of first? Says the Tecnológico de Monterrey, which, by the way, I am also a graduate of. This is the first thing you think of logos, marketing focused on the school itself.
[00:32:37] Let’s see, to sell Tec, that is, to admissions, not to bring people to Tec. And here is another part that maybe you don’t see so much. We are still working on it. But it is this as the more human side, not the more human side of Tec. The Center for the Recognition of Human Dignity is an entity within Tec that was created about three years ago, where students, collaborators, parents, even graduates, can go to report cases of abuse, right? Did it start because of all the women’s problems that started, especially women, but no, no, it is not necessarily a gender issue, but it is the majority, because they started to expose or evidence cases of harassment, abuse, gender violence, for example LGBT communities, who felt discriminated against, people with disabilities, etc. So it was like a problem started and there was no institution or an instance that dealt with the problems in a standardized way, right? As you know, Tec has a multi-campus, there are about 26 campuses. So if the director of one campus decided to plug the hole or the director of another campus, I decided to make a fuss. So, what was thought at that time was good, we are going to homologate this. How do we deal with this problem at the national level and how do we mitigate and eradicate it? More than anything else, don’t be here the center is nothing more to see and bring me the reports and I will help you to solve it. Rather, it is how we create a culture where we really have zero tolerance for gender-based violence, discrimination and so on. So where we promote an inclusive, diverse culture where people can feel safe, and that is what we are working on. I mean, I don’t work directly in the center, they have like a team where they are very expert in the subject matter, right? There are issues there from psychologists.
[00:34:59] Del is a very, very big problem, isn’t it?
[00:35:02] Um and what I do as a marketer is to promote to students, parents, TEC collaborators and others. One. To promote the existence of this center, that is to say, that people know what it is and what it is for, and two, to permeate a culture of post, of diversity and of.
[00:35:23] Inclusion, not of.
[00:35:24] How you do that. And well, I guess we don’t have enough time. What for? For you to give us all the answer. But how do you change a culture, something that is already rooted in so many years and maybe it is from generations after generations of certain types of stereotypes, of certain types of ways of looking at life, of certain types of this discriminating against people and against genders and against tastes and whatever. How? How does one begin to think about this from a marketing standpoint?
[00:35:54] As you can see, it is difficult to change a culture. In other words, what we as marketing can do is to begin to disseminate messages, not to disseminate messages, but perhaps to have strategies that go beyond dissemination or advertising, but perhaps to help those in charge of the center to think about whether we can do some course, whether we can do some certification. If we could do any campaign, what other means could be used. I mean, hey, if you send an email, so what? Difference will be. So how can we get this information passed on by word of mouth? I mean, I think it is changing the culture itself, it takes a lot of resources and a lot of time. But I think you can start e o o o o My job is to start the change with the visual part, so to speak, and with the and with the permeating messages. But I also believe that now those who are studying today, the new generations, generation Z, who are studying today in high school, already have a little more of a change of chip than before. Maybe as a woman you tolerate abuse or you tolerate harassment and don’t mention it, don’t report it. Now I think the students themselves are the ones who are making this culture change of hey, I have to raise my hand for me and everyone else.
[00:37:27] You see, you see, you see the change. That’s very.
[00:37:31] And what I would like. My dream is that they would not exist, I would not have the need to raise my hand. Nobody, right? But well, I think we have to keep fighting against that and I think we are doing a good job there. No, not us, that is, not me as marketing or the center, but the new generations, making it visible and that is part of my role. I think that this is where the change begins, so there is a whole movement that, well, yes, I think that if we continue like this in the future, if we are going to be able to put an end to this and say hey, I remember when before we had to fight and raise our hands and say and now it no longer exists, then I wish it was my turn, I wish it was my turn, I wish it was my turn, my children’s turn. To live, to live this, not to live like this.
[00:38:16] I hope so for you, for your children, for all of us who are living, because everyone obviously needs it. Don’t talk the news day by day and still, there is still a lot of discrimination, there is still a lot of inequality, there is still a lot of lack of acceptance in general in people, in communities, in countries. What is your perspective? A little bit, for example, in terms of gender equity. How important is it and how do I feel? Delayed It is in Mexico, especially in Latin America, especially in Latin America. I think there is a little more work to be done everywhere. Is it wrong, but I think that particularly in our countries is where we struggle, right?
[00:38:57] Yes, absolutely. At Tec, here at the Human Dignity Recognition Center, a committee was created called the Impulsa Committee, of which I am a member, and it is made up of men and women. But what I worked in this committee is to promote gender parity or gender equity, not more in labor issues than in anything else, right? You know, here.
[00:39:26] For example here.
[00:39:29] In Mexico, women earn between 16 and 20% less than men.
[00:39:33] Same as above.
[00:39:35] And the positions are also becoming much more difficult to reach. I just saw an image of a campaign they did in New York that fascinated me, where they put some stairs in a subway in New York with normal stairs and escalators. Then the escalators were painted blue and the regular stairs were painted pink. So who is going to have the hardest time getting to the top? Who? They’re both going to make it, but who’s going to get there first? Well, who is going to have the hardest time, who is going to arrive more tired, who is going to arrive with more difficulties? So that’s it. Finally we have a position where we ourselves are the ones who have to work to achieve this equality, not me or my perspective and what I have had to live with. Fortunately it has not been that difficult and I think I find myself in a privileged position because for the career that I am in I think it has not been difficult for me as a woman to get to this position. However, I do see that the gap is closing or rather opening up as you get older. No? The management positions, the vice president positions, the God-given positions are usually held by men in companies, no matter what industry you are in. One. Because if there is still this unconscious bias part of hey, but you’re going to want to be a mom soon and you’re going to want to go, hey, but it’s just you have to deal with this part.
[00:41:10] It is definitely not a lack of education.
[00:41:13] Totally. Es. It is like this bias that we have and also the women themselves, because of priorities or preferences, we are moving aside, we are becoming smaller and smaller in this professional area and those of us who do not, that is, those who do not, those who want to continue working, growing and having a professional career, we are becoming less, not less in quantity. I believe that it is our responsibility as women to continue, to continue fighting. And men also have to begin to understand the biases, because we have to eliminate them from our vocabulary, don’t we? The issue of whether you are going to be a mom, if you are not going to be a mom, if you have to take care of soccer, of the children or not? He is still relapsing. Unfortunately, much of the responsibility still falls on moms rather than dads.
[00:42:02] Yes, it is a cultural change that I believe we should all participate in. And you said it very well. I mean, women have to fight a lot for this, but this is not a women’s problem, this is a men’s problem as well, isn’t it? And I would even say that we have more responsibility to change this, because at the end of the day it is our prejudices from previous generations, the ingrained machismo in our families, etc. that started the problem. So I think you’re right and well, I think we should all do what we can to what? So that our children and our children’s children and the following generations, as you decide, will have much more equal opportunities than the one we are seeing.
[00:42:41] Not now?
[00:42:42] Yes, totally, totally. I believe there is still a long way to go in this regard. We have made progress on the issue of making this visible. I think it is a great step forward that people know about it and that little by little we are becoming aware, men and women, that the problem exists and that it is there. Well, I think it’s a breakthrough, isn’t it? But this is true for everyone, for all the issues that I address in my role, such as gender equity, the issue of violence and discrimination, the issue of environmental sustainability, for example climate change, because many people still do not believe that it exists.
[00:43:23] So, yes, we are even further behind.
[00:43:25] We are far behind. In other words, there are people who do not even believe that it still exists, that it does not, that it does not, that it does not, that it does not, that it does not, that it does not, that it does not. That. That with the. With small individual actions you contribute nothing. No, no, why do I recycle if this is going to do any good? So it is also part of my role to begin to disseminate, to make visible, to permeate this culture and little by little the generations are becoming a little more aware and, well, it is a hope that we will be able to make this a reality.
[00:43:51] No, and I hope not, you do listen to the people and well, your role is a very important role and not only yours, but of all your team and of the whole center and well, of many similar centers that I imagine will exist in the country and in other countries. Hilda, if you could go back, if you had to give one piece of advice to yourself when you were 18, what would it be?
[00:44:18] To Híjole! Let’s see. Honestly, I think. That I did what. What I should have done. Not this one. I don’t think I don’t think I don’t regret making the decisions I made. I don’t regret doing everything I did, how I lived, how I enjoyed, how I worked and how I worked. How I studied. I think. I think I would rather give the advice to my children to follow and to follow my my, my role. Maybe it would have been if I was really that passionate about the artistic theme. There would be a piece of advice that I would give me is to look for him, I didn’t notice, I noticed. Don’t get discouraged because today you think you can’t sing, today you think you don’t know. I was only 18 years old, I was looking for him and you don’t have to act or sing. Or maybe you can play an instrument, you can paint, you can. I mean, let me explain. Creativity I think goes far beyond just singing and dancing and acting. And I think that if I was really passionate about that part, and what’s more, now that I’m saying it, I’m reflecting on the fact that maybe it’s never too late, right?
[00:45:29] If you still can.
[00:45:31] Maybe I still can, because I think that’s a piece of advice, that is, rather look for you, your, your dream, your passion and look for it. In other words, you don’t have to please anyone but yourself, because you are the person you are going to be with all your life and trying to meet other people’s expectations is quite exhausting and frustrating because you will never achieve it. Isn’t it always, there will always be people who are not happy with what you are doing and it is useless to try to please everybody, it is useless and besides, it is, that is, it is not, it should not even be done, no?
[00:46:06] Excellent, excellent advice and well, thank you very much again. The people who are listening to us and want to contact you, contact Tec, contact the center, what would be the best way for them to find you?
[00:46:21] If you want to contact me directly I give you my email is Hilda is with my name Hilda dot il at tec dot mx. And yes, I invite you to enter the page where you can see everything we do there. From. From this Vice-Presidency of Inclusion, Social Impact, Sustainability is double WPA, tec. Mx, Diagonal, flourishing, Human script, Human flourishing Because we believe that all the actions we do are precisely so that a person can feel fulfilled, feel happy and can flourish in an environment that favors him/her. So that is what we have called this project.
[00:46:59] Thank you very much again. We will obviously put all these links and comments when we post the episode, but Hilda, thank you very much, it is a pleasure to talk with you, you have our full support and well, to those who are listening to us if you like the talks like the one we had today with Hilda Este, be sure to subscribe again Enrique Alvarez with his movie in Spanish. Have a nice day.
[00:47:24] Thank you very much Enrique. Thank you very much to everyone who listens to us.
