Women are a minority in leadership positions in the country. When the sector is technology, then, female participation is even more reduced. The executive Paula Paschoal, however, is a point outside this curve. Senior director of the Brazilian operation of PayPal, one of the largest payment companies in the world, the specialist seeks to inspire the arrival of new market leaders.

“We dream of what we see,” explains Paschoal. “There is a need for policies that offer this equal opportunity, and one that I like to use a lot as an example is the issue of equal pay. This seems so basic, but unfortunately it is a factor that exemplifies how much there is a big difference between men and women.”

The executive also points out that since 2016 PayPal has paid exactly the same salaries for employees who perform the same functions. The technology company also has ‘affinity groups’, focused on providing support and promoting inclusion and support for employees of the most diverse ethnicities, sexual orientations and backgrounds. “I think we live in a world where people talk a lot about meritocracy, but in my opinion, it only makes sense when we have equal opportunities,” she says.

With more than 1 million new Brazilian users in 2020, PayPal seeks to show that the concern with diversity is not a purely social issue, but it is important for the success of a business. “I don’t see the space for a company to be successful without taking a very careful look at the issue of diversity and inclusion, at least not in the long term,” says Paschoal.