“Audacity has genius, power, magic” – J. W. von Goethe

She said : Mom, you’re not an example to women. That sentence that changed my life

It is December 1992. Comfortably installed in the legendary “train bleu” café at the Gare de Lyon, with Rachel, my daughter, I enjoy the last moments we spend together. We’re silent. Suddenly Rachel says:
– Mom, I have to tell you, “You’re not an example to women.”
– Oh, good! I almost swallow my coffee wrong. She continues:
– Since I was a child, you have encouraged me to dare, to fulfill my dream, to “be a dancer at the Paris Opera” and now I am, thanks to your help.
Rachel looks at me with tears in her eyes, without saying anything, hesitant.
I’m distraught: what do you want to tell me, darling?
All of a sudden, she jumps in and says:
– You’ve always done everything for me, look, you come to Paris as soon as I have a little problem.
– I feel guilty about you because you too have a dream and because of me and my brother you wait. What are you waiting for? You’re going to be 46, if you don’t realize it now, when will you do it?
– I also feel guilty because you make me feel like I have to sacrifice myself for Peter. In the Opera and in life, I see that in couples it is always the woman who sacrifices her dreams, her career, her plans to support her family. Look at my friend Julie, she’s in her second year of medical school. Her husband has found a job in the south and she will not be able to continue her studies. I don’t want to sacrifice myself. Since I was 7 years old, I have done everything to achieve my dream and I will realize it, it is certain!
– Mom, please go to the end of your dream and you will allow me to go to the end of mine too, without feeling guilty.
It is time! We run to the TGV, I jump on the train, the door closes: I can still hear
– Mom, I love you… so do I, sweetheart
On the high-speed train, I admire the lovely France and I think about my life on hold.
The eldest of five children, at the age of 15, I leave school to help my mother in her business.
At 18 I have a CFC of commerce.
At 22 years old, I get married and I prepare and pass the federal scientific maturity, while having two children. I’m following up on artistic studies. I find my way.
I am 32 years old when Rachel, 7, decides to become a dancer. I pledge to accompany her in her dream. As my art does not bring me much, at 36 i’m going back to school.
In 1986, at the age of 40, I am the first woman engineer in computer science, at the Biel engineering school. I am directly involved in watchmaking, where I launch the Flik Flak watches, it is a success. Three years later, I’m hired by a prestigious brand, responsible for new products. All this while actively participating in women’s struggles.
I think it’s not so bad. Don’t you think so? Why Rachel says I’m not an example for women!
the train is speeding away, lost in my thoughts, looking away, I end up acknowledging that Rachel is a bit right. Everything I do is subordinate to the demands of the family, nothing disturbs their projects, I accompany them, I support them, I am always there for them. sometimes I think of myself and then I forget. Yet! I too have a dream.
If my mission is to encourage others, my passion is creation. For a long time, I am wanting to create something very beautiful to the glory of women. A unique and wonderful object that supports and accompanies them in the realization of their own dreams. I searched for a very long time.
A few years ago, when I entered the world of watchmaking, my destiny became apparent when I found what I to create: a watch that symbolizes women’s time. A watch that makes sense to the woman wearing it. I developed a unique concept and a watch with a symbolic design. A miniature sculpture, which tells the creative power of women. I am ready but I am waiting…
She’s right, Rachel, what am I waiting for? I hear her say to me: Mom, audacity, audacity and more audacity again! But… where can I get this audacity?
Until an unexpected event made me react.
On 3 March 1993, an election to the Federal Council was held in Bern, Switzerland, in my country. Christiane Brunner, a famous feminist and activist in Switzerland, was not elected. I’m furious. How, why, can such a committed, brilliant woman stay on the hook? It is tragic for all women and ridiculous for the men who did not elect her. What are you afraid of, gentlemen. What about democracy in there?
On my balcony, in Macolin, I walk up and down, very angry. I gaze at the Alps, eternal, from Säntis to Mont Blanc. I can’t stand still after such an affront. I have to move. What can be done to change things?
I remember someone saying, if you want to change the world, start with yourself. That is obvious. I have to start by realizing myself to realize my dream.
In the spring of 1993, with a mission, I am starting. I count my assets. I am energetic, bold, creative, joyful, enterprising and persistent. I’m Audacious without being reckless. I have all the qualities of an entrepreneur…a woman entrepreneur. In addition, I have acquired the necessary knowledge to fulfill my dream.
Three years later, in 1996, with 50, I started my business and, feminine logic, I gave it my father’s name: DELANCE.
Today, DELANCE is 27 years old. It wasn’t a long, quiet river. I risked drowning, being swallowed up, disappearing several times. Each time, as a good swimmer, I went up the current and DELANCE is still there, and me with it.
With DELANCE, I traveled on all continents, always attentive to the condition of women. I have seen everywhere how women are on the move and slowly reclaiming their rights. There is no doubt that a silent revolution is underway. Now, when it comes to democracy, it is time to move up a gear.
What did I gain from this challenge? I knew I was strong but I could never have imagined everything that happened to me, everything I learned and overcome. I discovered myself. I became a role model for women and also for some men. The icing on the cake is that I enjoy myself, not every day, but often.
Ladies and gentlemen, audacity, audacity and more audacity, and you will finally know who you are and what you are capable of. Then you will experience the joy of courage, the joy of achieving yourself. Also have the audacity and generosity to support those who are trying to achieve their dreams and … you will be part of it.
Giselle Rufer, Macolin July, 2023