Our Chat with Joèlle Ochsner

Joèlle is co-founder of maruu, a community for female leaders, and a diversity expert.

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Interview Team:

Welcome, Joèlle, and thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. You are the Co-Founder of maruu. Could you tell us a bit more about your community?

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Joèlle:

Thank you! We are a community for women in leadership positions driving innovation across various sectors, industries, and organizations, be it in startups, SMEs, or corporations. Our members share their knowledge and experiences, learn from each other, and support one another in both their personal and professional development. The personal framework and safe space for exchange are important to us. Our Circle Events, focusing on specific topics, are particularly special. Our goal is an economy shaped by women at all levels.

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Interview Team:

That sounds very intriguing. What topics do the Circle Events cover?

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Joèlle:

That depends on our members. We aim to bring peers together on an equal footing to discuss and advance topics that matter to them. Currently, we have two Circles with fantastic Circle Leaders covering Future of Work, Purpose at Work, and AI. These are generally future-oriented themes.

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Interview Team:

Now that we've learned about your work, we're naturally interested in how you, or rather, how maruu came about.

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Joèlle:

It was a collaborative process. Several years ago, regular wine evenings were held at CareerTeam. During that time, we realized that female leaders often lacked the exchange with peers in the workplace. This is not surprising when looking at the numbers, as the percentage of women in executive boards ranges from 11 to 21 percent, depending on the organizations and studies consulted (https://www.diversityreport.ch/). For this reason, we initially organized women's wine evenings and are now taking it to the next level within a professional, curated community.

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Interview Team:

maruu sounds like an amazing network. What criteria must be met to join?

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Joèlle:

We categorize members at maruu as Grow and Bloom members. What they have in common is leadership experience. The central focus is on fostering in-depth peer exchange.

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Interview Team:

Thank you. Now that we've learned a lot about maruu, we're also interested in your general stance on diversity. What does diversity in the workplace mean to you, and why is it such an important issue for you?

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Joèlle:

Diversity, for me, primarily means variety—not just in terms of gender but also regarding dimensions like age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, social background, etc.

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Personally, I believe creating an inclusive environment that values diversity is the right thing for our society. And, of course, diversity can also have benefits for organizations, such as greater growth opportunities, innovation, or better ESG results—my background in business administration probably shines through here. However, to harness the benefits of diversity, we need an inclusive environment.

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Interview Team:

That's certainly true. Companies also benefit from a diverse team. Do you have any tips for a company looking to become more inclusive?

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Joèlle:

There are many possibilities on individual, structural, and cultural levels. Organizations should scrutinize processes and can, for instance, promote mentoring programs or employee networks. But we should also reflect on ourselves in everyday decisions and consciously counteract unconscious biases.

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Interview Team:

You're absolutely right. Dear Joèlle, we thank you for this insightful interview and wish you and maruu much success in the future.

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