Climbing the corporate ladder

Alicia Wiecka, General Manager at SAS Institute is a textbook example of a woman who built her success from the very bottom. Her battle wasn't easy in a country that believes that for a woman to reach the top of the corporate ladder she needs to work ten times as hard.

Fresh out of university with an IT degree in computer science from Warsaw's University of Technology, Wiecka moved to the United States in 1987. At a time when few young Poles were able to leave the country to seek work, she began her career at SAS. But, when Poland started to change in 1989, she was not afraid to return to her roots. "It was thanks to Mr. Barcelowicz's reforms that I returned home," she said.

That is when she started to conquer the Polish IT market. At first, she didn't want to work at SAS because the only job offer on the table was for a sales representative. "I rejected it. I thought it was below my standards... It wasbelow my standards." She knew what she wanted and she wasn't afraid to go after it. Thinking the opportunity over, she gave in.

Wiecka's success in the world of business was automatic. She doesn't believe that as a woman she had to work harder than her male counter-parts. "If it's true that women have to work ten times as hard to get them to the top, then I worked with the top women."

When SAS's Polish division opened in 1992, Wiecka was the only employee. There are now 200 people working in Poland. "In one year in Poland, I was able to be profitable." At 45, Wiecka wouldn't call herself a workaholic, but loves her job and knows when to pull herself away from the desk.

It is no wonder that according to a new study released by HayGroup, women who reach high managerial positions earn around 30 percent more than men. However, the number of women in high positions is still rather small.

Women at the top

According to Bogusław Dąbrowski, an analyst at HayGroup, there are a number of factors to this. "The most important conclusion of the study is that there are very few women in high positions and the higher [the position] in the corporate hierarchy, the fewer [the women]."

Last year, a female bank CEO earned almost zł.1.3 million. The average woman director of a firm earns around zł.900,000, while in some firms that figure can be as high as zł.1.5 million. That is twice as much as the average wage of zł.700,000 for males in similar positions, according to data released by HayGroup.

The survey, based on a pool of 102 women heading top Polish firms, revealed that women in high positions in corporations, especially with international divisions, may earn more than their male counterparts.

However, their earnings are not based on their sex, but rather performance and bonuses. "If you have higher bonuses and they are based on performance, which they are, that means that women perform better in these positions and their remuneration is justifiable. If you are a male counterpart you cannot be angry at this fact," said Dąbrowski.

Those who make it

Unfortunately, those who make it to the top make up a small group. In CEO positions, women account for only 9 percent. The figure is slightly larger with women acting as directors of firms with 31 percent.

But, what distinguishes these women from the rest? According to Dąbrowski, these women spend more time at work and are more committed to their work. Their home life takes second stage. "Those women are rich enough to hire assistance, and they don't have to take days off if their child is sick," he said.

Wiecka admits that she doesn't have children, but she also doesn't stay glued to her desk working more than is necessary. She has a passion for traveling, kayaking and exploring new places with her husband.

She never believed the hypothesis that she needed to be twice as good to be promoted. For her, talking to women in similar positions helped her make her way to the top. "I am not saying it was easier. I see this as an additional support from them."

Today, she encourages young women to enter the IT sector because she believes there are not as many as there should be.