We spoke about flexibility with our colleague Renata Santos who joined Team Dow in 2005 in Estarreja (Portugal) through a one-year internship and is now a Personal Safety Leveraged Delivery Leader for Dow in Europe, Middle East, Africa and India.  

Renata, you joined Dow almost 17 years ago as an intern. You are now the EMEAI Personal Safety Leveraged Delivery Leader. Can you share more about your current role? 

I have people leader responsibilities and support the Dow sites in the South European Hub in Personal Safety topics. I am also involved in various projects; some are related to innovation while others mainly focus on personal safety expertise. I am also a Personal Safety Auditor, a training facilitator for several Life Critical Standards trainings. In addition, I serve as Chair of GLAD – Dow’s Employee Resource Group aimed at creating an inclusive workplace for LGBTQ+. I must juggle many topics in a day but I have the freedom to set my schedule, which enables a good work/life balance.

My current role provides me with flexibility in terms of time management, but even in previous roles, I have always had that freedom. Whenever I needed to take care of a personal situation, Dow was there to support and provide me with the flexibility I needed. There were times where I felt that work had to come first, and that was also ok.

I try to combine the things I like doing as an individual with spending time with my children. I enjoy participating in cultural activities and engage my children as much as I can so we can spend time together going to art exhibitions, concerts, and theatre, or visiting our friends.   

Focus on your role and ask yourself what the expectations are and how you would like to succeed. Align your answers to your personal self - this will keep you stay motivated and passionate about everything you do at work. You should do the same exercise in your private life; what do you want to be for your friends, children, and family? Don’t focus on preconceptions and be aligned to your personal self - this will keep you present in your beloved ones’ life. 

Other advice I can give to “single parents” is to stop feeling guilty but believe that you are setting a great example for your children. Be proud of the example you are as a person and to those who look up to you. 

We need to be grateful for opportunities we have but also acknowledge that we deserve them! In this way, we build up confidence and we can succeed in different aspects of our life. I also think that sorority is key: we can help each other unblock the chains of feeling guilty that we may experience as working mothers.