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“ We think that being women helps us ... particularly when it comes to finding family friendly solutions . Often in global mobility you ’ re not just accommodating an assignee but an entire family .”
Have you had to face any challenges specifically due to the fact that you are women ?
Yanina : Even today , the world is not uniformly prepared for equality . A minority percentage of leadership positions are occupied by women in LATAM . This is because of several reasons … firstly , even today the perception exists in Latin America , that men are more prepared to apply themselves and work hard in positions of responsibility . This leads to there being a lot of women avoiding the risk of assuming leadership roles , because they have been told that they cannot or just don ’ t think that they can combine their professional and personal lives .
There is still some work to be done to ensure equality of opportunity for the upcoming generations , irrespective of their gender .
What ’ s your top tip for other women looking to start a mobility business ?
Our tip to start a new business is a phrase : “ trace your goals and never give up , despite the obstacles ”.
Finally , could you name one LATAM destination which you see emerging as key over the next few years and why ?
Yanina : The greatest growing markets in LATAM are in Brazil , Chile and Argentina . An interesting growth market is Uruguay , where the establishment of free tax zones is attracting significant inward corporate investment . We see this as a significant growth market even though it ’ s a very small country . It presents a huge opportunity and we have been working in Uruguay for several years . Hoihou provide approximately 70 % of the corporate housing in Uruguay .
Brenda : And yes , we have been through several situations where men evaluate whether we are “ reliable businesswomen ” or not . Fortunately , our own history , personality , and expertise has shown that our success is just the beginning for Hoihou in the corporate housing industry .