“To double your salary, you need to triple your ambitions”! This was the message from La Moisson, a community created for women. It was Lina Belmadani, graduate of the GBBA programme at NEOMA, who started the movement in 2020. Her objective is to drastically reduce wage inequality and re-establish professional equity.

La Moisson is now a network of 1,500 members, some of whom have increased their salary by 20,000 euros. Lina Belmadani talks to us about her career.

You created La Moisson in 2020, a movement dedicated to female empowerment. What is it about?

We want to take on the glass ceiling by supporting women in their careers and we want to reinforce and fully valorise the potential of women. We deal with issues of salary negotiation, skills development and self-empowerment.

Where did this desire to assist women with their careers come from?

La Moisson finds its origins in personal experience. I became aware of my inability to negotiate my salary, assess my own value in a company, recognise my skills and know how to promote myself. By exploring these issues, I realised that they were widespread among women, whose approach to work and their relationship with it completely differed from that of men. I then wanted to take on this fight against the glass ceiling to develop an effective solution for the short-, medium- and long-term.

I started out in entrepreneurship to have the freedom to create my own work ecosystem, choose my own battles, and work with inspiring people without having to face the many obstacles that a person, who is also a woman, can encounter in a company.

You also created the company Bel Art du Monde in 2018, a marketplace that democratises access to art. As a women entrepreneur, have you encountered any obstacles?

When I got started in entrepreneurship, I found that there were very few women entrepreneurs, very few female business figures and thus very little representation. It’s true that it’s harder to move forward when all the role models are male. I also had the impression that a women entrepreneur was taken a lot less seriously than a man, that we weren’t on the same playing field and that the balance of power was completely different. In my experience, I was surrounded by people who could offer me all the support and resources possible (shareholders, advisory board, teams, etc.).

What advice would you give to all the women who what to start their own business?

The first piece of advice is to develop a support network where you are surrounded by people who believe in you and your idea. That includes mentors, peers and professionals who can provide advice, support and constructive feedback.

The second piece of advice is to create your own vision. As a woman in the business world, you have a unique perspective and vision. Use it.

The third piece of advice, and the most important, is to always stay informed! The more you are informed on a range of subjects, the better you will be able to make the right decisions.

And the last piece of advice is to always believe in yourself and your project. You need to keep in mind that it’s not a sprint but a marathon. It’s totally normal to fail. It has been said that the only thing the biggest entrepreneurs on the planet have in common is their resilience.