IWD 2021: Jade Cohen - Empowering Women in Innovation

As part of International Women’s Day, we interview Jade Cohen on her role at Qualis Flow, her views on women in business and what a more gender-balanced world-view means to her.

Tell us about your role. 

I am the co-founder and CPO of Qualis Flow, which means I’m ultimately responsible for making sure we build the right tool for our customers and setting the high-level mission and roadmap for how our product will evolve over the next 1-5 years.

What do you enjoy most about your job?  

The people. I have the pleasure to work alongside an incredibly talented team, who have the same ambition and drive to just ‘do things better’. Each day is different from the next, and I’m fortunate that I’m able to cross different specialisms between construction professionals, sustainability, tech and sales/operations, giving me the best variety in delivering on the core mission and vision of Qualis Flow.

And what are the most challenging aspects? 

Knowing when to say no. Particularly when looking at our roadmap and identifying upcoming risks and opportunities, it can be difficult to know when to stop investigating avenues you just don’t have the time or resources to investigate. It’s all about precision, and this has been a lesson well learnt over our years with the business!

What 3 things do you think you need to progress as a woman in business?

I believe the skills needed by anyone working in business are universal, however we are still not in a position where women (and/or those identifying as women) are perceived equal to men when equal actions are taken in the workplace, therefore I believe the following things are particularly important for woman in business, particularly in male-dominated environments:

• Remember to focus on self-assurance; no one else will be able to do this for you, so you should build the confidence to remain steadfast even in high pressured situations.
• Remember that being compassionate is a good thing; this can often be perceived negatively when it’s misunderstood, but being a compassionate member of a team or a leader is a critical part of working in any organisation.
• Be brave; you will be tested and pushed to your limits, so make sure to step forward with a willingness to take challenges on and face these one by one.

What are the biggest challenges the future generation of women in business face?

I think access to finance is still a big challenge. Female founders typically secure less than 3% of startup investment and whilst there is more dialogue around this disparity than ever before, there is still a long way to go for current and future generations. 

What can the next generation bring to business that previous generations may not have?

I believe a greater awareness on wider diversity issues asides from only gender diversity. This is something which isn’t unique to the next generation of course, however the acknowledgment of “diversity of thought” remains important across various different dimensions, including cognitive diversity, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities and others. With each generation the understood importance of these diversity issues ever-increases.

What does a more gender-balanced world-view mean for you?

It means one where there is greater balance in terms of global leadership, and as such there are ways of working and living in the world which are less biased. Changing a lens on a camera provides a different way of seeing things, and it’s this diversity that we need in every corner of society which will help bring about greater equality.

How can we enable more women to take a place at the board-room table?

We need to start appreciating that diversity results in seemingly unexpected behaviors and norms, outside of what we know as ‘traditional board-room’ dynamics. This means we have to remain open to different forms of communication, different ways of interacting with each other, and clock our subconscious bias in how we perceive actions taken from those identifying as women, men and/or non-binary. It is only by being more accepting of this diversity, in practice as well as in theory, that we will be able to see positive change for a more balanced boardroom. 

How can businesses evolve to be more gender-balanced?

Attracting diverse talent is one thing and retaining this is another. Both come with challenges, but I think that it starts with leadership. If the business leaders can appreciate diversity and harbor this within their team, then we’ll see a culture shift over time.

What advice would you give to young women and men starting out in business today in context of promoting a more diverse world-view?

Remain open, honest, unafraid to question the norm and maintain a willingness to be yourself. This goes for all of us with different identifies; what we have to do is overcome bias, and this is what we need to constantly question ourselves on, and those around us. And please don’t sacrifice yourself for complying with what is considered the ‘norm’, in reality there is no such thing. Be you, be brilliant, be bold!

What women inspire you and why?

All the women in my family. I am very fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to have a close relationship with a lot of women in my family, and they’re the strongest people I know, both separately and a force to be reckoned with when together!