Carlos Slim highlighted the preponderant role of women in business: “they have the same or greater capacities”

Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helú is the richest person in Mexico and one of the 15 wealthiest people in the world, according to the latest Forbes ranking . The magnate's fortune is USD 81.2 billion, which places him in 16th position among the richest people in the world, and the person with the most money in all of Latin America.

Slim managed to increase his fortune significantly, compared to the Forbes list a year ago, when he had an estimated fortune of USD 55,930 million. This means that from 2021 to 2022, his fortune increased by USD 25 billion.

Slim owns several companies, which have established themselves as some of the most important in Mexico and the world, such as América Móvil, Grupo Carso and Grupo Inbursa. The businessman was married for more than 30 years to Soumaya Domit Gemayel, who was his wife for more than 30 years. With her he had six children: three men and three women. Each of them has strategic positions in their companies. For example, her daughter Soumaya Slim Domit is vice-president of the Soumaya Museum; Johanna Slim Domit has an active participation in the Carlos Slim Foundation, mainly in education and health issues, as well as directing the Initial Education program at the Carlos Slim Foundation and being a counselor at Grupo Samborns.

In addition, Vanessa Slim Domit is president of the Association for Overcoming Mexico and Latin America (ASUME), which governs the social welfare programs of the Telmex and Carlos Slim foundations. This means that for Slim, his daughters play an important role in his companies.

The Mexican magnate has made known his point of view on the role of women in business. At the Woman's Forum Mexico 2016, for example, she spoke about the subject. “There has been no doubt that there have been great changes in humanity, and great changes in the role of women in society, in their activity, in their leadership, in all areas that they have been conquering in many ways through the efforts of many women who preceded you, but I think that there are never as today two women, especially two women women who are the leaders of the world (...) the two great leaders, one is Mrs Merkel, from Germany, who has taken leadership in Europe for all the changes that have been necessary (...) and the other, which I think if there was an election in the world she would win by a lot, is Hilary Clinton,” she said at the conference.

“Women have the same or greater capacities as men (...) we no longer need that physical work, so, since that physical work is not needed, it is already a matter of training, knowledge, education, women (...), in schools, the data we have, for several years, because they have even better qualifications than men”, said the businessman on that occasion.

He mentions that although there are some tougher or tougher activities, where there may be fewer women involved, there are others where there are more women. “For example, in commerce there are more women than men, the number of women in construction I think is 30% something like that, 25%, what I mean is that in this new civilization women already have a preponderant place, we think it is not, we, personally, that it is not a matter of quotas, I suddenly see: no, there must be 20%, or in the United States it is usual, minority quota, so there must be as much women, so much percentage of Hispanics, as much of African Americans.”

The businessman mentioned that he believed that women “must have, or already have, in Mexico we are seeing it, access and opportunities, perhaps we have to look for some things that are also important, more, but that it becomes a matter of capacity, of preparation, of merits and of tastes and desires, what vocation they have, what interests they have, what talents they have”.

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