Karin Schintgen spent most of her career in the finance sector, first in New York and then in Luxembourg. This career was enriched by two experiences in particular: when she worked as a diplomat in the ministry of foreign affairs and, separately, as the communications director of the RTL Group.

Passionate about economic diversification, Schintgen founded Lux Future Lab, the first incubator set up by a bank in Europe. She was its director until 2017, before becoming CEO of the House of Startups until 2019. She has also been active in the field of economic responsibility, setting up a summer school and supporting the creation of Microlux, the country’s leading microfinance institution, of which she is a director. In 2022, she became a director of SnapSwap.

Paperjam: What are the main challenges you have encountered as an independent female director?

Karin Schintgen: None except that accepting a position as an independent director requires, as the Anglo-Saxons say, commitment. Every director, man or woman, must make a serious effort to integrate, to get involved and to understand the company in question and its activities. One of the challenges--and not the smallest one--is also to continue training and keeping up to date, particularly in terms of new technologies. You have to keep asking yourself the question: what is the impact of these new technologies or developments on ‘my’ company? On the other hand, despite all the recent developments, I’m still convinced that, in the world of work, women are constantly having to manage a more complex set of challenges shared between their family, professional and social responsibilities. Coordinating all this at the same time is a real challenge, much more so for women than for men!

How do you deal with resistance or scepticism directed at you?

With an effort (if necessary) of patience and humour.

Do you think gender equality is progressing on boards of directors?

I think that gender equality is progressing slowly. It’s hard to say what the reason for this is. Perhaps it’s a question of women’s availability, perhaps men often have more room to manoeuvre to concentrate on their careers, perhaps old habits mean that women are not always thought of when looking for an independent director (particularly in large family businesses).

What do you think of quotas for women on boards?

I thought--15 years ago--that we should have had quotas for a transitional period. Today that stage has passed, even if not all the objectives have yet been achieved.

As a female director, do you feel a particular responsibility to defend issues of parity and inclusion?

Not as a woman, but as a director--yes!--in the sense that I am convinced that every company benefits from greater diversity. But not just male/female diversity: I’m also thinking of ethnic, cultural, sexual and educational diversity. Having a vast pool of professional experience and different backgrounds on a board of directors can only be beneficial. I’m all the more convinced of this because a good director can/should bring to the company, alongside their duty to control and analyse, an open and innovative outlook. And in this respect, the contribution of women is particularly valuable. Numerous studies have shown that women bring emotional intelligence, soft skills, creativity and a spirit of collaboration that is different from that of their male colleagues, not to mention the fact that, after all, they represent half the market! So can we as a modern business ignore all this? I don’t think so, and I have to say one of the things that makes my hair stand on end is when I hear people say “oh yes we’d like to [hire a woman], but we can’t find any”… when there are now more women graduating at the top of the best universities than men!

In your opinion, how does diversity influence the performance of a board of directors?

Diversity always creates a certain dynamic, that fresh look I mentioned, and perhaps also a questioning of certain modus operandi. Diversity brings new ideas and in that respect--and the statistics have totally proved it--it is profitable for the company.

What advice would you give to a woman who was hesitating about taking the plunge?

I’d tell her to go for it! It’s precisely this hesitation that’s holding us back. You know, men are generally less complicated. They just ask themselves two things: does this give me more power and/or more money? Obviously I’ll also ask her if she’s really interested in the future of the company and if she wants to contribute to its success, because you absolutely have to want to get involved! And above all you have to realise that as a director you have a real responsibility. But I’d say the same thing to a man too.

This article in French.