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Women I said, besides talent, bring a different set of competencies to business that complements those of men. A keener aptitude for interpersonal communication, cooperation, horizontal thinking and listening are some. Higher average levels of empathy and a sharper sense of prioritizing tasks others. Back in 2008, research already showed that in groups with a healthy mix of men and women there is better communication, an openness to new ideas and higher mutual trust between the members of the group. From this comes greater efficiency and higher performance. We all win.

Some of this higher representation of women – especially in leadership positions– will have to be achieved by women «leaning in». But if we value the listening and cooperating ability of some employees the answer is not always to teach them to find their inner megaphones and have sharper elbows. The answer is also to make sure those that both those (whether male or female) that are better at speaking up and those that are good at truly listening are able to contribute, so these skills are maximized within our organizations.

«This program is not a threat to men»

We need more institutionally-sanctioned flexible working arrangements so more men can take responsibility at home with their families, I said. It is difficult for women to negotiate these arrangements individually. The drive for equality is also a drive for a healthier work-life balance in the workplace for both genders.

Results, I said, trump intentions: To achieve work-life balance, we must measure employees’ achievements based on what we deliver, and not on how many hours they have spent in the office. Managers have to have the ability to prioritize, organize, delegate and abandon bad habits like long work lunches and last minute meetings organized for late in the day. Employees should be able to work from home. All of these work habits are part of a culture that does not favor women. They are better addressed systemically than individually.

Today I stand by my belief in the policy changes we affected. I am proud of the progress we made ten years ago at Banesto to make things better. I am proud of the progress and programs underway at Santander Group. This program is not a threat to men, rather it is an opportunity to leverage talent and skills to achieve business success and social progress.

Ana Botín is the chairman of Banco Santander, one of Europe’s largest banks by market capitalization. She has helmed the company since 2014, when she was appointed after the sudden death of her father Emilio Botín.  She joined the bank after working for J.P. Morgan from 1980 to 1988. She was appointed executive vice president of Banco Santander in 1992, after having served as executive chairman of Banesto from 2002 to 2010 and chief executive officer of Santander's U.K. arm from 2010 to 2014. This column first appeared on Botín's LinkedIn page and is reproduced here with the kind permission of the author.

Previous contributions: Rudi Bogni, Peter Kurer, Oliver Berger, Rolf Banz, Dieter Ruloff, Werner Vogt, Walter Wittmann, Alfred Mettler, Peter Hody, Robert Holzach, Craig Murray, David Zollinger, Arthur Bolliger, Beat Kappeler, Chris Rowe, Stefan Gerlach, Marc Lussy, Nuno Fernandes, Richard Egger, Maurice Pedergnana, Marco Bargel, Steve Hanke, Andreas Britt, Urs Schoettli, Ursula Finsterwald, Stefan Kreuzkamp, Oliver Bussmann, Michael Benz, Peter Hody, Albert Steck, Andreas Britt, Martin Dahinden, Thomas Fedier, Alfred Mettler, Brigitte Strebel, Peter Hody, Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Nicolas Roth, Thorsten Polleit, Kim Iskyan, Stephen Dover, Denise Kenyon-Rouvinez, Christian Dreyer, Kinan Khadam-Al-Jame, Robert Hemmi, Anton Affentranger, Yves Mirabaud, Katharina Bart, Frédéric Papp, Hans-Martin Kraus, Gerard Guerdat, Didier Saint-Georges, Mario Bassi, Stephen Thariyan, Dan Steinbock, Rino Borini, Bert Flossbach, Michael Hasenstab, Guido Schilling, Werner E. Rutsch, Dorte Bech Vizard, Adriano B. Lucatelli, Katharina Bart, Maya Bhandari, Jean Tirole, Hans Jakob Roth, Marco Martinelli, Beat Wittmann, Thomas Sutter, Tom King, Werner Peyer, Thomas Kupfer, Peter Kurer, Arturo Bris, Frederic Papp, Claudia Kraaz, James Syme, Peter Hody, Claude Baumann, Dennis Larsen, Bernd Kramer, Ralph Ebert, Marionna Wegenstein, Armin Jans, Nicolas Roth, Hans Ulrich Jost, Patrick Hunger, Fabrizio Quirighetti, Claire Shaw, Peter Fanconi, Alex Wolf, Dan Steinbock, Patrick Scheurle, Claude Baumann, Sandro Occhilupo, Claudia Kraaz, Will Ballard, Michael Bornhäusser, Nicholas Yeo, Claude-Alain Margelisch, Jean-François Hirschel, Jens Pongratz. and Samuel Gerber and Philipp Weckherlin, Michel Longhini, Anne Richards, Michael Welti, Antoni Trenchev, Benoit Barbereau, Pascal R. Bersier, Shaul Lifshitz and Klaus Breiner.