Having faith, persistence and a positive attitude with Hala Abdel Wadood - Women in Business Today 2022

Bubbly and personable, Hala Abdel Wadood attributes her success to the things closest to her heart. She sat down with Business Today to talk about how support for female empowerment, from both women and men, has changed over the past decade.

Director of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability for North Africa at Coca-Cola Atlantic, Abdel Wadood handles the multinational beverage corporation’s efforts in “refreshing the world and making a difference” in the region.

This interview is part of our Women in Business Today 2022 issue and video series. You can find the full video series on our Facebook and Instagram under @btegyptmag.

What does Women’s Month mean to you?

In my opinion, it is a token of appreciation for all women, for their efforts, success, input, and their impact. It is a token of appreciation and acknowledgment from the entire country for women’s role in numerous areas, whether on the point of helping society through economic means or through supporting her family.

Women represent the mother, the educator, the sister, and the wife; without her, neither men nor women could be successful.

As the mother of two young men, what teachable moments have you had with them to teach them about gender bias and inequality?

My sons grew up with a community and culture that automatically promoted gender equality. For them, it wasn’t just that I was talking to them about it. In truth, they were supporting me throughout my own career and life, pushing me forward. I have heard them tell me so many times that they are proud of me, to keep going, keep shining, and keep rocking. I believe that my sons taught me a lot about gender equality, both theoretically and practically.

I am lucky to have had very supportive sons who were always pushing me forward, and I feel energized from all their words and encouragement. Throughout my life, I have had many challenges and difficult moments, and their words were boosters or catalysts for my achievements.

Do you feel that being the daughter of a diplomat set you up for success? If so, in what way?

Being the daughter of a diplomat set me up for success. The fact that I had to adapt to different environments, and interact with different cultures, helped me become more flexible, agile, and able to adapt to difficult situations, as it exposed me to so many things.

This was very important for me at work, helping me understand how to network well, and how to talk with people from different backgrounds.

What was a lesson that you learnt from your parents that you felt was especially important to share with your sons?

One of the lessons that I found important to share with my sons is giving. I always told my sons that if you have the opportunity to help someone, help them without asking anything from them, because in the future, there may be a difficult situation and someone will come and help you, just as you did. It doesn’t have to be the same person you helped, but just like you helped someone, someone will help you out. In the end, life is all about give and take.

Another lesson is to work hard and leave the rest to God; just do what you can and have faith.

What do you see as the key/s to your success?

The keys to my success, I believe, are hard work, passion for what I am doing, and support from my sons, family, friends and my mentors.

There is also patience and persistence, learning to accept criticism, as well as making peace with challenges, win or lose. Anytime I made mistakes, I would take lessons from it so that I could improve myself.

And of course, above all, God, where without him nothing would be possible. We work hard, we give it our best, we strive towards success, but in the end, we owe it to God.

In general, do you feel that there has been better support and encouragement from men in the workplace today, compared to 10 years ago? How would you advise other men to improve how they lift up the women around them?

Certainly, there has been better support from men in the workplace when compared to 10 years ago. Today, I have been lucky enough to have three male bosses who were very supportive, believing in me, pushing me forward, giving me opportunities to prove myself, and giving me guidance to improve.

I can definitely see it around me, at work and with my female colleagues; now some of them are CEOs, Managing Directors, General Managers, and even ministers.  

There is more awareness at work about male colleagues supporting women, believing in her, pushing her forward, giving her opportunities, as well as within the state institutions that empower and support women in different sectors and jobs, and this provides significant empowerment for women. It proves that women have the ability in various fields, whether it is political, social, economic, or even at home.

Mental health has begun to make more and more headlines in the past few years. How have you handled your own mental health during your career, motherhood, and the pandemic?

Throughout my career, and throughout my life, mental health was always important. Like any other person, there are ups and downs, hard times and good times; to deal with this, what I learned is to focus on energizing myself.

It is about energizing myself, counting my blessings, standing up again and moving forward.

There are times when things look dark, but take a look around, count your blessings, and count your achievements, all of these give an internal boost to a person.

I also believe in the power of positive words and I try to practice this with other people as much as I can, because I believe this energizes the people in front of you.

Do you have a mantra or saying that you would like to share to other ambitious women that has been meaningful to you?

My mantra is live with contentment and a grateful heart, and have faith in God’s plan. Also, smiling and a positive attitude and energy is contagious.