Building a career in the field you graduated in requires strategy, vision, and resilience. Eneida Guria seems to possess all of these qualities. After studying in the United States, she found value in her work in Albania. As a leader of public institutions like AIDA and international companies in the country, she shared with us her journey, vision, and future challenges.
How did your career start, and what marked the beginning of your work?
My career began like many others, I believe, more than two decades ago as a freshly graduated student in Finance and Business Administration in the United States, where most of my job applications were unsuccessful. However, after many job interviews, which taught me much more than school about the application and interview process, I started working as an economist. It was very different from how I had imagined or dreamed of starting my career, but one of the most valuable lessons for work culture and the labor market. The first lesson was the determination to take steps forward.
What are the most impactful challenges in your career, and how have you approached them?
For me, one of the biggest challenges is how you deal with unpredictability. While no one can avoid it, everyone learns from how they face it. I have had to change professions and sectors several times in my career so far. I accepted the changes and faced them with the same persistence, desire to learn, and problem-solving mindset. I can’t say it was as easy as it sounds, but I saw every challenge as an opportunity to learn, grow, and meet different people and environments. The ability to adapt and give my best in every situation is one of the aspects I value most in myself, something I didn’t appreciate at the beginning of my career.
Can you share a challenging or rewarding moment that has marked your career path or made you reflect?
I’ve had several of these, and I think I will have more, but one I would highlight, which marked a turning point, was accepting my first job after returning to Albania. In 2003, as a young woman who had been away from Albania for a long time, I decided to take a job in the northern part of the country. At a time when job movements in the country were typically the opposite, with people moving to Tirana, I chose to move to work and live in Lezha. I had many friends who didn’t support me and thought I was making a mistake. But now, looking back, it was an excellent opportunity for me. I learned more about myself, my leadership skills, and had the chance to work in both an international and local environment, which was a necessary bridge for me at that point in my life. I met people from whom I learned a lot and who are still my friends today.
Have you felt the pressure of being a woman in the workplace?
Oh, more often than I’d like to admit. In every position I’ve had so far, the challenge or the need to prove that anyone, woman or man, with the right skills and mindset, can do a job, remains a greater challenge for women. This isn’t just in Albania, but perhaps a bit more here. There are sectors dominated by men where the challenges of climbing the career ladder are more significant for women.
In management and leadership, who inspires you? Do you have a role model you look up to in your career or life?
In the past, I had several models that inspired me and still do. Women like Margaret Thatcher or others like her, who often seem cliché. Over the years, I’ve been inspired by women I know as friends, colleagues who I see challenging themselves and their environment every day. My mother has always inspired me for how she has faced life’s challenges.
What are your plans for the future, and what are they related to?
My short- and medium-term plans are related to balancing work and life. I want to continue learning and keep my skills up to date.
What is the most important advice you would give today to a female student and a woman already in her career?
To a female student, I would say not to let anyone tell her that things are impossible – difficult, yes, but not impossible.
To a woman in her career, I would have less to say since any woman who has advanced in her career has achieved part of her personal plan. Nevertheless, I would like to tell her that even though the path may seem difficult, every road is being walked every day by women who are worthy and striving. The best thing any woman can do is create her own support circle.
You are a Board Member of Women On Boards Albania. What is your cause in this regard? What brought you together with WOB-AL, and what do you aim to achieve?
I joined the invitation of Albana Vrioni and the WOB-AL board because I see in this group people with values and passions similar to mine. The Albanian labor market not only needs organizations that create collaboration conditions among women but also to continue their growth and empowerment, whether by sharing experiences or through active learning and continuous training. I would like to see as many Albanian enterprises as possible with active governing or advisory boards, where women’s participation is seen as added value.
In your field, with years of experience in various directions, companies, and international organizations, how do you see career development opportunities for women? How has this area evolved in Albania, and what still needs to be done?
In Albania, there are many women in key positions and many others who are leading and building businesses without much noise and with great success. While the labor market is still growing and formalizing, women are adapting and growing even faster. However, there is always room for more to be done, to strengthen networks and organizations that support women entrepreneurs and those in leadership positions. There is also a need for greater attention from institutions to further support the role of women in the private sector.
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