Women know their rights

A European through and through, Monica Beltrametti is the Vice President and Director of the Xerox Research Centre Europe. A key player in turning research into financial resources for the company, she also develops connections within the wider European scientific community.

An Italian citizen, who earned a doctorate in astrophysics from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany, and now works in Grenoble, France, Beltrametti was working in North America before her roots and a good opportunity drew her back to the continent. “I knew I would be able to practise languages and work with different cultures,” says Beltrametti, who joined the research centre when it was created in 1993 and was named to her current position in 2000. “Between a research project and a product, there’s always a big gap. You have to be able to articulate the value of your research,” she says.

Beltrametti, 54, and the mother of two children, says women have gained in self-confidence in the past 20 to 30 years. “Now women understand what their rights are and speak up. This is a quality change,” she says.

Women who want to progress in their careers must have peace of mind at home, says Beltrametti, and a “new generation” of men inherently understand this: “It’s becoming more and more obvious that there should be equal opportunity at home.”

At work, Xerox has implemented a corporate-wide diversity program to support women and minorities in the company. Today, 31% of the workforce is made up of women, including 9.5% in senior management positions.