Turenna Ramirez Ortiz: My legal career has always been in Mexico, and we have, as women, a lot of, you know, continuous challenges as to the perception as to what women should or should not do, and especially in this type of career in which it's, of course, male-dominated, and especially in a country like Mexico with such a robust culture of male domination. We are very lucky to be in an institution that has this type of women leadership that have been a set of an example to all of us and that are still moving ahead and have surpassed many obstacles in their personal and professional lives. And nothing has made them drop the ball. So I think that it's fundamental for young women to try to follow up and to be close to those type of women leaders within the firm.
My family has always been a strong support. I have always been in a family with a lot of core values, but also in the legal profession, I mean, very important mentors within my career. The secretary general of the World Customs Organization with whom I worked at some point of my career, having a very high-visibility program against piracy and forged goods, but you know in a much more high level and global way of thinking also motivated me to continue trying to achieve further achievements in my legal profession. So yes, I have been fortunate of having some internal and external mentorship that I'm very grateful for.
I think that it's very important for you to take your own decisions throughout your career. You will face some obstacles in which you will hesitate whether you are good enough or not, whether you should continue, whether you can balance or not your personal and professional life, and perhaps you will face some adversaries that may want you to believe that you cannot do it. In any event, whatever you decide, may that be your decision, not what others would like you to decide. I think that we have all been in those types of situations, but the difference is to be resilient, to think about what you really want, and not let someone else decide your future.
At some point, I think that being a working mom is something that represents a lot of stress and sometimes, you know, hesitation as to whether you're doing enough for them or for the firm. And what I can tell you is I think that the perfect balance does not exist. I mean, this idea of finding the perfect balance between your working life and your personal life, I think it does not exist. But I think that what made me stronger at some point is to not fail not only to myself, but also to my kids. I mean, I want them to see not only a working mom, but a leader that was able to overcome many obstacles that they have faced with me together. And that life is like that, life is tough. I mean, if you're a man or a woman, that doesn't matter. I mean, whatever you need to do to stand up over and over again, you have to do it because nobody else will do it for you.
I think that it's important to acknowledge that we have done a very, very good job in terms of gender equality and women in leadership positions. I mean, overall, not only as lawyers or as members of an international law firm, but as a whole, as a community, I think that we have done a great job in trying to acknowledge that diversity is also part of the profitability of businesses. We're still working in how to make this gender equality better, but I think that overall I see that these generations have the privilege now of living in a moment of life that it's a little bit, you know, much more easy for them to succeed. But you need to stand up, but you need to make yourself relevant. I think that that is very important for the young generations to understand.
