Business Emirates Kz #18 (January - February 2018)

KAZAKHSTAN For the time being in Kazakhstan, financial instruments are not as developed as in the advanced countries. Residents of our country, still investing free money in real estate, buying apartments and lands. Although this estate is the most risky or unfavorable tool for investing. Or, there is still "cash storage" in Kazakhstan or "storage under the mattress". Since, I have a very large experience in the financial markets, I certainly would like to help the citizens of Kazakhstan and open up opportunities for them to invest in stock tools of the world's leading companies. This is one of my ideas, but these are still ideas. Now I'mmore concerned with opening companies in Switzerland. Aziza: Did you say that you have plans to enter the markets of the Middle East countries: the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, etc.? Dayana: The countries of theMiddle East are very young and dynamically developing countries. I believe that this region is very promising in the modern global competition. And even these countries are young, the culture of theMiddle East has thousands of years. The Arab world was the most advanced in the Ancient Ages, which gave mankind mathematics, medicine, philosophy, astronomy and many other sciences and technologies. I really like the culture of the East. I love oriental cuisine. And by the way, the theme of my dissertation work at the Eurasian University was exactly about theMiddle East, its economy, international relations and the development of the region. I also like the fact that a multicultural society is being formed in the East, because the local population in the UAE now stands at 13 percent, all the rest are migrant workers and ex- workers from around the world. Each person has his own excitement, someone has casinos and cars. And I have the excitement to study different cultures. Aziza: I also would like to ask a question about women leadership. I actively promote this topic and because I am a member of the Association of Business Women of Kazakhstan. This year, we formed a youth community that includes young girls and women between the ages of 18 and 35 with the existing business in the period from six months to two years. In Kazakhstan, youth entrepreneurship is gaining momentum. And if in the 90th years women went into business to survive, as many enterprises stopped, now young women go into business to realize themselves. Although taking into account that the volume of the public sector exists, the Kazakhstan market remains rather narrow. But the young people still try to find some niches for themselves. What can you advise to our women in terms of forming themselves as an entrepreneur? How do you evaluate the gender sides of the business? Dayana: I certainly do not knowmuch about what is happening in Kazakhstan. For many years I came back here only a few times. It happened that in September I spent a month in Astana and held many meetings with students of the Nazarbayev University. At these meetings, many students asked the following questions: "So I passed to Nazarbayev University, I want to get a second education, and many relatives and friends say:" Why do you need this? What will you do with it? Why do you need so much education?" In such situations, I ask: "Do you study for yourself or for somebody?"I always answer such questions that girls and young women need to do something for themselves, based on their own interests. "You do not need to live for somebody or because, someone needs it". I believe that you need to consciously treat your life and clearly understand what you want from this life. If you want to realize yourself, then of course you need to raise your education and invest in personal growth. Recently, I read an article in which there is a term: "the richer the country, the more its free socially." In America, people live their own lives, independently choosing their own life scenarios and social roles. In American culture, it is accepted to be responsible for one's own life, in the truest sense of the word. Therefore, in many families, parents do not pay education for the children, young people mostly attract loans themselves, find additional earnings to pay for their studies. Therefore, I recommend that young women do not look at the expectations of society, find their vocation, their niche and realize their goals.Maybe this advice does not correspond to theKazakh traditions. But I really want to say that the result of our life is the result of our own business. This applies to professional growth and personal achievement. Such recommendations I can confidently give, since I have passed this way bymyself! Nobody sent me, no one gaveme any recommendations for choosing a place to study, at the choice of industry and field of activity. This is all my conscious choice andmy personal area of responsibility. Aziza: At the stock market in the world, women are also not so actively represented. Dayana, you were able to succeed in the stock market, in the US. You are a girl from Kazakhstan. For me, this is a heroic achievement. What do you think, why there are not so many women in the US in such complex industries? Dayana: In fact, gender inequality exists in the US and in some European countries, to some extent. Inmany media, this issue is being discussed, there are significant differences in payment for men and women who hold the same positions. There are not many women in the financial system of the USA either. If you come to any conference on banking, investment or stock market activities, there will not be more than 10 women for 300 men. In America, women tend to be more represented in creative sectors, such as PR, marketing, design, education, and of course more women in the Small and medium-sized businesses. The same spheres as finance, law, oil and gas industry, engineering and technical directions, remain as before purely masculine. And this is understandable, because in the first place it is very labor-intensive, intellectually intensive industries that require total immersion, dedication, waste of a large amount of working time. These specialties have a more complex educational process and take a lot of time both during study and work. Women, as a rule, do not go to these sectors themselves, because women, when they are married, give birth to children and can not spend so much time for work. All the same, women need to maintain a balance between family and career. Secondly, these sectors are rather boring and have many frameworks, prescriptions and limiting or "constraining" factors. While women are inherently more creative, they need a certain amount of freedom both for their work schedule and for self-expression. Speaking about myself, I can say that I was able to achieve current results because, I do not have a family yet. But I have plans to start a family and now I'm thinking about how I can rebuild my schedule. Definitely, it will be quite difficult to maintain its position in the industry in which I am currently doing business. Although in the world there are quite interesting trends, for example inNorway. There, 60% of the executives of the companies are women. This is partly due to the fact that the men in this country are quite relaxed, they like to fish. And women in the meantime are more educated and have a higher career motivation. Therefore, inNorway there is a reverse gender imbalance, in which women travel to neighboring countries in order to find a worthy partner. Worthy is because of the level of education. You see, all these gender differences are very specific and still depend on the level of culture and economy in the country. Aziza: How do you feel about imposing quotas for women occupying certain positions that take place in different countries. For example, in Japan quotas are introduced for the representation of women on the boards of directors of all corporations. There are quotas for the representation of women in the political system and corporate governance. FEMALE LEADERSHIP 26 / JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2017 / BUSINESS EMIRATES