THE VANCOUVER BOARD OF TRADE’S WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP CIRCLE®
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Is the sisterhood dead?
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Apr.8, 2008
IN THIS ISSUE:
So what’s happening in our own backyard? This year, Canada’s theme is: Strong Women, Strong World — when we empower women, we secure a brighter future for everyone. To celebrate IWD, The Vancouver Board of Trade has launched its own Women’s Leadership Circle® website to build our community of women Board members getting involved in this great, new Board program. In Vancouver, we have some terrific champions of IWD and we’ve interviewed two of them for this newsletter. You will learn how Accenture celebrates IWD on a global level and what TELUS has planned nationally. Hopefully, both of their stories will inspire you to organize your own IWD activities next year. |
As a little history, IWD began in 1977 when the United Nations General Assembly asked member states to proclaim a day for women’s rights and international peace (who knew that?). Every March 8, women get together at hundreds of events around the world (from Australia to Zimbabwe), to reflect on how far we’ve come, to network and develop ideas for meaningful change.
REFLECTING ON HOW FAR WE HAVE COME
Here’s a question: who remembers, "You’ve come a long way, baby"? It was that ‘60s campaign promoting cigarette smoking for women, tying it to their successful liberation in work and life.
Today these ads seem quite strange, but there is an unfortunate irony that, 40-plus years later, we have come a long way in reducing cigarette smoking, but have we really come a long way when it comes to women in leadership roles?
One jarring example is that in 2008, we are seeing the first woman to be a serious contender for the most powerful position in the world, and her hair and hips are issues? In a recent book, Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary: Reflections by Women Writers (editor Susan Morrison), one writer whines that she doesn’t look huggable. So, there is still work to be done.
The good news it there are also champions in large and small corporations, organizations such as Catalyst, and now the Women’s Leadership Circle® here in Vancouver.
CORPORATIONS AS CHANGE AGENTS
Many companies have put a key focus on empowering women within their organizations and we want to celebrate their stories and share their best practices. Companies such as Scotiabank, McCarthy Tetrault, Ernst & Young, GE, EDS Canada, Enbridge, Accenture and TELUS have formed internal women’s networks to engage and support women, create a sense of community, and build leadership skills. If your company has a women’s network, please tell us about it. Email: judy@workthepond.com
TELUS launched Connections, the TELUS Women’s Network in 2006, and through that program they will be celebrating IWD on a national level. TELUS events in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa include a panel discussion on best practices for mentoring and developing the next generation of leaders by bringing a daughter or niece to a speaker event. In Vancouver, TELUS is the event sponsor for the March 4 Minerva Foundation — All About Girlfriends — Green Goddess event. Not only does this event provide TELUS women with great networking opportunities, it also helps raise funds for BC women and girls’ programs.
At Accenture, IWD celebrations take on a global focus with 45 Accenture locations around the world tackling some of the most pressing issues affecting women in the workplace and beyond. In Canada, events will be hosted in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Approximately 100 Vancouver participants (women and men) will take part in the March 7 day-long working session.
The theme for this year, Discover Your Opportunities in the Multi-Polar World, will open a conversation about how each individual can best achieve his or her goals in a world characterized by multiple centres of economic power and activity. In addition to opening video remarks from Bill Green [Accenture CEO] there will be:
- Two skill-building workshops: Your Future, Your Network and A Journey Line: Impact Your Career.
- A panel discussion, Leading in a Global Economy, that will address success strategies relevant to women at all levels.
- Interactive dialogue between Accenture leaders and guest speakers
- And, an opportunity to network with peers as well as other leaders from the community
WHAT CAN WE DO ON A DAILY BASIS?
Raise our awareness
Who are our global women leaders? Angela Merkel, Wu Yi, Ho Ching, Condoleezza Rice, Indra K. Nooyi, Sonia Gandhi, Cynthia Carroll are arguably some of the most powerful women in the world. But, do we talk to our daughters, or the women we mentor, about them?
Support women
Let’s support women leaders. Recently The Board hosted Elyse Allan, CEO of G.E. Canada. While well attended, there were not many women in the audience and the room should have been full of them to hear this very interesting and accomplished woman speak. It wasn’t. Make an extra effort to attend award ceremonies and events where women are featured. It is the sisterhood and we’re not napping!
Educate women
It’s sad to say, but "Poverty has a woman’s face." Education is the key — the education of women is one of the most powerful forces of economic growth. It’s the UN’s theme for IWD 2008 — Investing in Women and Girls. And, it’s goal #2 and #3 of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals to be completed by the year 2015. But going back to that Sixties saying, "Think Globally, but Act Locally," while these global initiatives are important, the YWCA in Vancouver is just one shining example of an organization supporting women right here in our city.
Find your path
Is it really a glass ceiling, or is it something else? A thought-provoking article to read — Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, suggests that it’s a series of obstacles that women must maneuver to make it to the leadership roles. Purchase this article online from Harvard Business Review.
Find your voice; empower others
In our very first newsletter we shared with you Sue Paish’s comments on ambition. Ambition is goal-oriented word. Strong. Clear. But Sue is not just ambitious for herself, she is also ambitious for other women: to mentor, to share knowledge, to help us all succeed. As leadership expert, and The Board’s 120th Annual General Meeting speaker, Stephen Covey says, "Find your voice and empower others to find theirs." WLC is a place to find your voice.
YOUR FEEDBACK
We would love to hear from you. Send your comments, ideas for this newsletter, for speakers, for content to: info@wlcircle.com
For more information, please e-mail design@boardoftrade.com.
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