Women Encouraged to Pursue Finance Careers says Russia’s Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova
The number of women elected into public office is dropping. But Russia’s Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova shows there’s room at the top in finance.
Last week the city of West Hollywood co-sponsored an event featuring several women’s political groups and the California Commission on the Status of Women. Unsurprisingly, the status of women, so to speak, remains disappointing from the view of women in public office. Government positions, like CEO and president roles at most multinational corporations, are still held by men. “We’re not making the gains we should be making” said Abbe Land, West Hollywood Councilwoman. Rachel Michelin of California Women Lead added: “You’re not going to change the number of women elected to office until you change the number of people who run.”
The events held in California were intended to encourage women to enter the election race and compete for leading government positions.
Meanwhile across the ocean, Russian history boasts a number of well-regarded women politicians: Catherine the Great, Elizabeth Petrovna, Elena Glinskaya, and Catherine I, among many others. And today, Russia’s Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova notes that while the number of elected females may drop in certain countries, the world of finance is opening more doors to women in managerial positions.
Having most recently served as adviser to the chairman of the board at Russia’s Natsionalny Kosmicheski Bank, Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova knows a thing or two about breaking the glass ceiling. Natsionalny Kosmicheski Bank, also known as NK Bank, is one of Russia’s most prestigious institutions. In addition, Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova is wife of Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov, an esteemed Russian businessman known for his impact on Russia’s nuclear non-proliferation movement. The couple has two children and is active in supporting Russia’s continued efforts to engage in nuclear non-proliferation.
So while women may be progressing brutally slowly in the arena of government positions as demonstrated at the California conference, Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova’s ability to rise to the top of one of Russia’s leading financial institutions shows that abroad, women are indeed coming into their own in the realm of finance. And finance, as Wall Street is wont to remind us, means power.
Leave Your Comments