Women business leaders have been cut short by the health crisis. Annie Viand, at the head of two integration companies specializing in recycling in the Chambéry metropolitan area, has just taken – in March – the presidency of the association “Femmes Cheffes d’Entreprise” in Savoie. 35 women manage more than 1,000 employees. “It is a network created in 1945, which is not basically a business network. The goal is to train and inform women, to support female entrepreneurship.” And this solidarity finds even more meaning with the current crisis, according to Annie Viand. “I realize how difficult it is today to be a mother in charge of a business. The damage caused by confinement is considerable. 30% of women who worked alone have ceased their activity. Whether it is coaching, well-being or clothing. Very feminine sectors very impacted. And in couples, as often the man earns more, there were painful choices to be made. And it is the women who suffered from it “. Annie Viand notes that women took up more space during major crises such as world wars. For the Covid 19, for the first time, it is “a step back and it’s terrible”.
This is why its network of women business leaders makes perfect sense. “We went to support videoconferences. Like ‘How to sleep well?’ Or with a cook. Women find themselves either alone at home, or with children crying behind … They really need support.” The support is not just psychological. The association which brings together 2,000 members in France has launched a solidarity fund.
–
