Women: the hidden face of Russian business

In its short 20 year history, business in Russia has been largely dominated by men. The chaotic transition years that gave birth to the country’s market economy in the 1990’s were ruled over by masculine tribal warfare, and the ensuing oligarch club which rules over the business world today is very much “men only.”

Even linguistics don’t present much opportunities for women in business, the term “businesswoman” not having followed its masculine counterpart when it made its language jump into Russian. Instead the feminine “-ka” ending is tacked onto the tail of the English “businessman,” to create a word that literally translates as “female businessman.”

But a recent list of the 100 most influential women in Russia, compiled by Ekho Moskvy and several other major media organizations, suggests that women pull more strings in the country than they are generally given credit for.

Tucked away among the usual pile of pop-stars, socialites, and public activists are around 24 mostly little-known businesswomen, whose resumes are studded with top positions and major achievements.

“There is a Russian saying that behind any successful man there is a strong woman,” said Elena Panfilova, director-general of the Russian office of Transparency International, who herself came 67th on the list. “The 24 businesswomen in this rating represent only those women who are visible, but behind the scenes, women are also playing a significant role because half of the chief lawyers and half of the senior accountants and financial directors in big businesses in Russia are women.”

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Self-made vs. well-connected

The group is a varied bunch and come from a wide range of sectors, from the traditionally manly world of aviation, technology and oil and gas, to more feminine sectors like media and retail.

There is a fairly clear-cut line between those generally less public figures who have attained their influential positions through years of conscientious hard work, and those who have been given a lift up by an influential and wealthy husband.

Two of the list’s most public businesswomen, Daria Zhukova and Polina Deripaska, were in relationships with some of the country’s richest men when they began their business ventures, which is not to say they do not deserve credit for their achievements.

Zhukova runs one of Moscow’s most popular modern art galleries, Garazh, while Polina Deripaska is credited with having pumped new life into Forward Media Group, the publishing house she was put in charge of by her husband.

Less reputable, at least if media reports are anything to go by, is real estate tycoon Yelena Baturina, the wife of former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov and the world’s third richest woman, according to Forbes, who is being investigated for alleged involvement in embezzling millions of dollars of state funds in 2009.

Up the ladder

But perhaps surprisingly, given the nature of Russia’s business climate, a large number of the business types on the list are women who have worked their way up the career ladder through talent and hard work.

A prime example is Natalia Kasperskaya, Russia’s second richest woman according to Forbes, who, together with her husband, founded and ran Kaspersky Labs, a world-class IT security company. Kasperskaya, who now runs her own company, InfoWatch, is often put forward as a prime example of Russia’s potential in the global technology industry.

Other businesswomen on the list have worked their way to high positions in major Russian companies, but have had little public presence and are rarely regarded as the face of the corporations they work for.

The deputy director of Sberbank, Bella Zlatkis, for instance is one of the founding figures of the Micex stock exchange and was a chief negotiator for the restructuring in Russia’s debt during the 1998 default.

And Olga Dergunova, ranked 37 on the list, has twice made it to the Wall Street Journal’s list of most successful female European business leaders for her running of Microsoft Russia and current role on the management board of VTB bank.

High achievers, low ambition

A study on career opportunities for women in business conducted last year by the PriceWaterhouseCoopers international auditing company found that, while Russian women are high achievers in the business world, they rarely reach top company positions.

The study found that some 91 percent of chief accountant positions were held by women, but only 6 percent of company president positions, showing that women perhaps have the right skills, but don’t generally aim for the top.

Panfilova, of Transparency International, says gender roles play a big part in perceptions of the types of roles women should play in the business world.

“Sometimes women just prefer to keep a lower profile,” Panfilova told The Moscow News. “We shouldn’t forget that most women are also mothers and simply don’t have the time to promote themselves. The time that men have to spend on selfpromotion and PR, women spend cooking dinner.”

But Natalia Orlova, macroeconomist at Alfa Bank and a prominent female figure in Russia’s financial sector, says the issue may also be a product of Russia’s immature business environment.

“Russia has had a market economy for just 20 years – not long enough to establish their wellprotected legal wealth,” Orlova told The Moscow News. “Women in Russia generally try to do business following business rules rather than their personal connections. You could also draw the conclusion that they are less corrupt, but I probably wouldn’t say so directly.”

Originally published in The Moscow News

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