Real Women.
Real stories.
Every woman has a story worth hearing. Through thoughtful conversations with leaders, innovators, artists, athletes, and everyday changemakers, this section offers an intimate look into the experiences, challenges, and achievements that have shaped their journeys.
women shaping tomorrow
women shaping tomorrow
Sandra Benavides
Entrepreneur, artisan, and mother, Sandra Benavides has never followed a straight line. In this interview with The Thread, she reflects on embracing uncertainty, challenging stereotypes, and how imperfections lead to life's greatest opportunities.
“A successful company means nothing if it doesn't create value for society.”
There are people who spend their lives searching for the "right" path. Sandra never believed it existed.
Her career has taken many unexpected turns. From studying business administration and working in the corporate world to living in New York, collaborating with artisans in Guatemala, and eventually founding Sofistia, a business that highlights handcrafted work and the beauty of imperfection.
Throughout our conversation, a recurring theme emerged: growth doesn't come from following a perfect plan. It comes from being curious enough to keep searching.
Finding her own path
You mentioned that you never imagined the career you have today. Looking back, what did that journey teach you?
“I was never set on what I wanted to study," Sandra says. “I wasn't one of those people who always knew what they wanted to become."
Although she studied Business Administration at Universidad del Pacífico, she never felt completely fulfilled. She explored cooking, theater, and fashion marketing, and eventually moved to New York before discovering her true passion: working alongside artisans.
“My path has been like a snake," she admits. “The only constant was that I never stopped searching for what I loved."
As a member of the Board of Directors of ‘El Comercio’, do you believe journalism has a responsibility to help build a fairer society?
“Absolutely," she replies. For Sandra, journalism is much more than publishing and writing stories. It carries the responsibility of serving society.
“Journalism is a form of power. You shouldn't do journalism without ethics, values, and a desire to contribute to society.”
Journalism
Motherhood
Sandra also talked about her journey of balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship. There was a moment when Sofistia was prepared to expand internationally. Then came the birth of her third child and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead of pursuing rapid growth, she chose to prioritize her family. Today, however, she sees those choices differently.
"I've realized it's important for my children to see that their mother has dreams and challenges," she says. “Maybe I can't spend many hours with them every day, but the time we share together is meaningful for all of us."
About her
Member of the Board of Directors of El Comercio
Founder of Sofistia
Entrepreneur
Former soccer player
Labels
Throughout her life, she has challenged expectations placed on her, both as a woman and because of the stereotypes others attached to her background.
She remembers playing soccer when it was still seen as a sport only for boys, and she constantly felt labeled because of where she came from.
“I realized that there was a difference between the woman I wanted to become and the woman society expected me to be," Sandra declares. “Once I started making my own decisions, I stopped letting those labels define me."
Advice to her younger self
When asked what she would tell her eighteen-year-old self, she doesn't hesitate.
“I would tell her to believe in herself." She remembers constantly feeling like others were more capable than she was. Looking back, she wishes she had trusted herself sooner. In addition, her second piece of advice is one she still follows every day:
“Keep producing. Even if you don't know where it's going. Write, create, paint, build something: keep moving. Something good will come from that energy."
the thread
At the end of our conversation, I asked Sandra whether there was a thread connecting every stage or phase of her life. For her, that thread was perseverance. Whether overcoming setbacks or challenging stereotypes, Sandra believes resilience has been the foundation of everything she has built so far.
“The path will rarely look the way you imagined," she says. “But if you keep moving forward, keep learning, and keep believing in what you're creating, you'll eventually arrive somewhere better." Sandra Benavides' story reminds us that the journey to success is not about following every step of a perfect plan. It is about being courageous enough to embrace change and being resilient to continue weaving your story, one thread at a time.
Carmen Datson
From studying art in Peru to becoming a nurse in Australia, her journey is a story of independence, resilience, and learning to choose her own path.
At a young age, my aunt was curious about the world beyond Peru. While studying English at the American Institute in Trujillo, she met people from different countries and became fascinated by the possibility of living somewhere new. Eventually, she met her future husband, who was from Australia. What began as a friendship eventually led to marriage and a move across the world.
She arrived in Australia without knowing exactly what her future would look like. She had an art school certificate, limited English, and little experience with the technology and systems of the new country. Yet, instead of allowing those challenges to define her, she found opportunities to learn and build a life of her own.
A new beginning
Arriving in Australia meant entering a world that was completely unfamiliar. Her art certificate was the only professional qualification she had, and her English was limited to what she had learned in school. Even the technology was unfamiliar. Australia was using sophisticated software and systems that she had never encountered in Peru. At the time she was studying there, she remembers, they didn't even have calculators.
Finding work was very intimidating. Many positions required qualifications or certificates that she didn't have. Then she found an opportunity to become a nurse assistant. Helping people had always come naturally to her, so she decided to apply. But during the interview, she encountered another obstacle. The woman interviewing her spoke on the phone about whether she would be suitable for the position, commenting on her appearance and questioning whether she would be a good fit for nursing.
My aunt heard her and responded loudly: "But I can learn, and I am very eager to help." That sentence captures something that would become a recurring theme throughout her life. She didn't have every qualification or title. She didn't know everything she needed to know. But she was willing to learn.
Wound debridement practice on pig skin
Finding her path
Her professional journey was not at all straightforward. Growing up, her father strongly believed that having a profession was crucial. He had experienced financial struggles as a child and had built his own success through hard work, so he wanted his children to have careers that would allow them to be independent just like him.
Wanting to make her parents proud, my aunt initially followed the path her father recommended. She studied ingeniería pesquera, or fisheries engineering. But it didn't take long for her to realize that the career wasn't right for her. At the time, she repeatedly told herself, "I can't do this." Yet, when she received her exam results, she discovered that she had actually performed quite well.
That experience made her realize something: she wasn't incapable of succeeding. She simply didn't want to pursue that path. Her mother eventually encouraged her to study something she genuinely enjoyed: art. Her father worried about whether she could make a living through it, but eventually told her, "Just do what you want and what you like."
So she did. She attended Fine Arts School and studied ceramics, sculpture, painting, and oil painting. She loved the experience and completed her studies. She never describes herself as exceptionally talented. Instead, she emphasizes something much more important: “I love it." Then she moved to Australia, and everything changed again.
Pressure to fit in
Society's expectations followed her throughout different stages of her life. They influenced decisions about her education when she was young, but they also affected her as an adult. One of the clearest examples came after her divorce. When she returned to Peru to visit, her mother asked her not to tell her mother's friends that she was divorced. At the time, divorce carried a strong social stigma, and her mother worried that people would judge her.
The expectation was that she should hide what had happened and present the image of a happily married woman. But my aunt refused. She told her mother, “If you want me to lie and tell them that I am happily married, I'm not going to be with them." For her, the issue was bigger than simply telling people about a divorce. It was about refusing to change her reality to make other people comfortable.
Eventually, her mother understood. My aunt wasn't willing to hide her truth just to satisfy society's expectations.
the thread
Running through every stage of her life is a thread of resilience, perseverance, and the ongoing process of overcoming her own insecurities. During various phases of her life, she constantly faced moments of doubt and insecurity. However, each challenge pushed her to keep learning and proving to herself that she was capable of doing everything she set her mind to. Whether she was changing careers, starting over in a new country, or standing up against society's expectations, she learned not to let fear make her decisions for her. Her story shows that resilience is not the absence of doubt, but the decision to keep moving forward despite it.