Catalyst events provide our best opportunity to share our research with Canada’s business community, and for us to learn from their experiences in building diverse and inclusive workplaces. In her first year on the job, Catalyst Canada events manager Jessica Dolmer has brought a fresh eye and a new perspective to our organization and our events. We’ve asked her to share some early impressions and insights with CanCon.

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“A year already?” When the Catalyst team asked me to write a guest Cancon about my first year on the job, I couldn’t believe I had already been working for Catalyst for a year.

Events are a large part of the Catalyst culture, and we take pride in our reputation for excellent speakers and provocative topics. Participants in events like Catalyst Connects or last year’s Engaging Men as Champions have an opportunity to mingle with and listen to some of the most successful men and women business leaders.

Catalyst is more than an organization—the network of members, supporters, and advocates stretches across the country, and includes every sector of the Canadian economy. People attend Catalyst events because they know they’ll leave with something tangible to take back to their companies and their lives. They’ve heard what is actually happening and what others have actually done – the how, the why and the results of business initiatives to advance women.

One of the perks of my job is meeting interesting, successful business leaders. After a full year of working on Catalyst events, I am still amazed and impressed by the calibre of people who are willing to step up and lead discussions. Dynamic, genuine business leaders—people who have made a difference— share their experiences and stimulate discussion and debate. It is a testament to the importance of the Catalyst mission that people are not only happy to be part of our events, but often rearrange their schedules to sit on panels.

The highlight (as well as the biggest challenge) of my first year was probably The Catalyst Canada Honours. My colleagues told me it would be a very special evening, but I wasn’t prepared for the energy and passion of the 600 business leaders who gathered to support the advancement of women.

As I reflect over the past year, I can tell you one of the best things about Catalyst: the great people who provide amazing support and who are extremely skilled at their jobs. The level of trust and honesty at Catalyst give me the confidence to ask the “dumb” question, to speak up with suggestions, and to take risks.

As an employer, Catalyst follows its own advice. As an employee and member of the team, I look forward to the challenges to come.

As another year winds down, I’m still finding inspiration and encouragement in the words of The Catalyst Canada Honours champions who have filled this space over the past three weeks.

And then I get a cold splash of reality with the release last week of the Catalyst Census of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. In brief, there has been no progress in the representation of women at senior executive and board positions in the past six years. The Census indicates that:

• Women held 16.1% of board seats in 2011, compared to 15.7% in 2010.

• About one in ten companies had no women serving on their boards.

• Women of colour still held only 3% of corporate board seats.

• Women held 14.1% of Executive Officer positions in 2011, compared to 14.4% in 2010.

• Women held only 7.5% of Executive Officer top-earner positions in 2011, while men accounted for 92.5% of top earners.

• Less than one in five companies had 25% or more women Executive Officers and more than one-quarter had zero.

In February, we’ll learn how Canada’s FP500 companies are performing in the representation of women on their boards, but we have no reason to anticipate that corporate Canada is more dynamically diverse than their counterparts south of the border.

We know that the presence of women in the boardroom has a positive effect on the bottom line. We know that diverse boards are more agile in dealing with a rapidly changing business environment. We know that women will be an important part of the response to an aging population and a shrinking workforce—and we know that other nations are taking steps to promote women and achieve the diversity that will give a competitive edge in the coming years and decades.

Taking my cue from Catalyst Canada Human Resources/Diversity Leader Michael Bach, I’m asking myself how I’m going to move out of my comfort zone to promote the advancement of women in business in 2012. Maybe it will be speaking up at social gatherings, or taking the time to encourage a young woman to expect more from herself and her career. Maybe it will be challenging an individual friend or colleague to change his or her views on diversity, or to act on these principles to sponsor a talented woman.

Change won’t happen until we step out and speak up for diversity and inclusion. Let’s make 2012 the year we change corporate culture, and make our businesses as diverse as our country.

Among the highlights of The Catalyst Canada Honours are the remarks by the champions themselves. And, in the ensuing days and weeks, these words of inspiration, and the glimpses they provide of personal struggle and achievement, are what I remember and ponder.

The Human Resources/Diversity Leader Champion, Michael Bach, shared his personal passion and belief that privilege brings the responsibility to make a difference. His challenge to the audience was to take bold, possibly unpopular actions and positions to impact the status quo. Michael asked us to consider why change is taking so long, and then left each of us with a personal challenge.

Watch Michael Bach at The Catalyst Canada Honours:

If it’s September in Canada, there must be a film festival somewhere! Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax—all have eager film lovers lined up outside theatres at every hour of the day and night. Here in Toronto, we’re atwitter about sightings of the likes of George Clooney, Madonna, Keira Knightley, and Glenn Close, all in town for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

One member of Catalyst’s LinkedIn Group decided to have some fun with the focus on films by posing the question: What are your favourite films about the successes and challenges of women in business?

She suggested the ‘80s classic Working Girl.

Others suggested Nine to Five as the “ultimate revenge fantasy” for every woman who has been harassed or oppressed; The Associate with Whoopi Goldberg as a lawyer who hits the glass ceiling and creates a hammer in the form of an imaginary partner, an older white man; and the little-noticed Morning Glory from two years ago, in which Rachel McAdams plays a business woman who is both smart and successful!

Others reached for the classics: His Girl Friday, with Rosalind Russell in a role that had originally been written for a man; Katherine Hepburn as smart, funny, and a great boss in Desk Set; and the immortal Lucille Ball in Miss Grant Takes Richmond from 1949. What incredibly talented and successful women those three actresses were!

What’s your favourite movie about women in business? Is it a classic that you watched with your mother, or maybe something from this year?

Join the conversation on the Catalyst LinkedIn Group, and let’s have our own celebration of films about women in business. Or follow this great example, and start your own conversation on a topic you care about or just want to have fun with!

We’ve recently celebrated 144 years of a Confederation based on the concepts of “Peace, Order and good Government.” How appropriate for a nation whose dominant characteristic is politeness!

Our adherence to peace, order, and civility has stood us well over the years. For the most part, we’ve managed to create a society that reflects and builds upon our various strengths without focussing on our differences.

But do we achieve that peace and order in the community and in our workplaces by avoiding conversations that might raise sensitive issues? Some research by Catalyst of workplace stereotypes suggests exactly that.

In interviews, both white/Caucasian and visible minority workers expressed frustration about the level of “political correctness” in the workplace, suggesting that it can be used to mask, but not resolve, tensions in multicultural environments. In fact, both groups felt that managers sometimes comply with politically correct policies with only a superficial adherence to the ideals of inclusion and diversity.

While rote compliance with company policies to advance equitable workplaces is better than outright discriminatory practice, it can effectively shut down conversations that are critical to the evolution of the business and the advancement of individual employees.

How? A South Asian woman felt that a fear of “hurt…feelings” made her white/Caucasian manager unable to provide effective honest feedback and performance coaching. A white/Caucasian participant indicated concern that her traditions, such as Christmas, were pushed aside in order to avoid offence to minority groups who do not share those traditions.

And participants in Catalyst’s recent webinar on transgender inclusion asked panellists for advice on how to ask sincere questions of their transgender colleagues. Many people struggle to learn more about transgender issues without inadvertently offending a co-worker and find a temporary resolution by avoiding the conversation altogether.

Pico Iyer, travel writer and fan of Canadian multiculturalism, shared the following thought in the 2001 Hart House lecture: “The process of mingling cultures is a messy one, rough at the edges and not easily soothed into placid euphemisms.”

Isn’t it time to eliminate the placid euphemisms from our workplaces and start the honest (polite, because we’re Canadian, but honest) conversations that will lead to real understanding and inclusion?

Some years ago, when I was knocking on doors in a quest for a seat in the Nova Scotia Legislature, I met a young girl who was stunned when her mother explained that I was the candidate.  “But I thought only boys did that!” she said.

That young girl was probably eligible to vote in the May 2 election—I hope she did so. I hope she thought carefully about the issues that are important to her and voted for the person who best represented those issues.

But I also hope that a woman was among her choices. With 407 women out of 1587 candidates, this election saw the highest proportion ever of women candidates. And with the election of 76 women, this 41st Parliament will comprise a record 25 percent women.

While these women are of all political stripes and perspectives, they share one thing. Each of them is a role model for young women—proving that girls can run, and win, in elections. Each of them has an opportunity to prove that women can make a difference in Parliament.

I wish them all well. And, while I’m happy that the proportion of woman MPs continues to increase, I have to point out that we’re only half way there. When women make up 50 percent of Parliament, as we do the population—that will be the day to celebrate. (Kudos, by the way, to Equal Voice for its creative and practical efforts to help women manage the “testosterone stew” that is Canadian politics!)

Since the election, the media have been preoccupied with the huge political shifts—Conservatives breaking through in Ontario; Bloc Quebecois breaking down in Quebec; NDP up, Liberals down.

Here at Catalyst, we wondered if events in individual ridings, or personal experiences with the campaign or the vote, might reflect those shifts, or predict some future ones. So we asked our resident experts—the Canadian citizens who comprise the Catalyst Canada team—for some observations. Here’s what we heard:

David’s “very ethnic” riding elected its first woman, its first immigrant, its first visible minority, and first NDP Member of Parliament—high marks for diversity!

Christine and Emily were both taken with the role of social media in the campaign. Christine focussed on the online activity by young people—energized, for example, by Rick Mercer’s call to get out and vote and gathering in vote mobs on university campuses across the country. But she worries about the nearly 40 percent of Canadians who still didn’t vote, and wonders what it will take to convince Canadians to take an active role in their own government. Will the kids stay engaged now that the election is over?

Emily noted that women were using social media to make statements and debate issues through communities like Mommy blogs. Will social media keep these people connected and engaged in sharing ideas and opinions?

But it was Alicia who reminded us of the profound importance of the political exercise we’ve just experienced, and I can’t say it any better than she did:

“On the morning of the election I vowed to be one of the first to get to the polling station in my riding—and I was. The process was very easy, and I got out of the polling station in two minutes. This was my very first time voting in a Canadian federal election and I was over-zealous! Casting my vote was an empowering experience—I wonder why all citizens of the age of majority do not engage this democratic right. Apathy is certainly not the answer!

“I am a naturalized citizen of Canada and delight in the privilege of being able to participate in the political process. It is an awesome responsibility to choose the leaders of a country, whose policies will impact our lives in the medium to long term. I’m grateful to live in a democratic society, where my voice—through my vote—is heard. Oh Canada, my chosen home!”

On March 9, in Montreal, Sunniva Sorby, Membership Manager—Quebec and I attended the most recent event in our Catalyst Connects series, sponsored by BMO Financial Group. Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group, spoke to a room of almost 100 high-potential women, offering wisdom she’s gained over her career. Below, Sunniva shares the insights that resonated most with her.

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 Some issues are just too important to let competition for market share get in the way. That the advancement of women is one of these issues was clear earlier this month when our BMO-sponsored Catalyst Connects event was held in Montreal. Two high-powered women in banking shared the spotlight when Lynn Roger, Senior Vice President, Talent Strategies and Executive Resourcing Managing Partner, BMO Financial Group, interviewed Desjardins Group CEO Monique F. Leroux about her long and winding road to the top.

Career advice from Ms. Leroux isn’t available every day, and audience members took advantage of the opportunity to ask her questions.

 One woman wondered how she manages difficult situations. The response may sound cliché, but Ms. Leroux’s passion made it live: Be true to yourself. Develop and articulate your own set of core values, and don’t lose yourself along the way. Be a woman of conviction, and don’t compromise on values. And her experience proves that standing for principle enables other people to understand and trust you and your values.

 What did Ms. Leroux identify as her own values? She loves working hard, connecting with people, and making a contribution. She is always looking for ways to make a contribution which, she notes, makes what we do more meaningful. The passion that we bring to work is also more likely to lead to advancement than “targeting” a senior position.

 Ms. Leroux urged her audience to take risks. Without them, she said, you will never get out of your comfort zone or grow. “Stand up for what you believe in,” she said. “And please remember to have a sense of humour along the way!” Especially when tensions are high, it’s helpful to laugh at ourselves and find the people who will help us keep a balanced perspective.

 I was deeply impressed by how Ms. Leroux is very “centred around her core,” and how she never targeted a particular position but rather sought opportunities that would allow her to contribute in meaningful ways. Ms. Leroux’s story proves that values and principles don’t have to be sacrificed for advancement. In fact, they’re the very stuff of success!

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 Le 9 mars, à Montréal, Sunniva Sorby, gestionnaire d’adhésion  – Québec et moi avons assisté au plus récent  événement de notre série “Catalyst Connects”, parrainée par BMO Groupe financier.  Monique F. Leroux, présidente du Conseil, présidente et directrice générale du Groupe Desjardins, s’est adressée à un auditoire d’environ 100 femmes, toutes  possédant un immense potentiel. Elle a partagé avec nous la sagesse qu’elle a acquise au cours de sa carrière.  Ci-dessous, Sunniva partage les idées qu’elle a échangées avec elle. 

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Il est impensable de laisser la concurrence prendre les parts de marché. Certaines questions sont tout simplement trop importantes. L’avancement de la femme est l’une de ces questions qui ont été clairement soulevées plus tôt ce mois-ci lors de notre dernier événement à Montréal, parrainé par BMO ” Catalyst Connects”.

 Deux femmes influentes dans le secteur bancaire partagent la vedette.

 Lynn Roger, première vice-présidente – Stratégies de gestion des talents et renouvellement haute direction, BMO Groupe financier, interroge Monique F. Leroux, présidente du Conseil, présidente et directrice générale du Groupe Desjardins, sur sa longue et difficile ascension vers le sommet.

Les conseils de Mme Leroux à propos de la carrière ne sont pas offerts tous les jours.  L’auditoire en a profité pour lui poser des questions.   Une femme a demandé :”comment gérez-vous les situations difficiles ?” La réponse peut sembler banale, mais Mme Leroux a affirmé :

 Vivez votre passion !  Soyez fidèle à vous-même !

Définissez et respectez vos propres valeurs fondamentales, et ne vous perdez pas en chemin!

Soyez une femme de conviction et ne faites pas de compromis sur vos valeurs.

Son expérience démontre que de se laisser guider par ses principes et de se baser sur ses valeurs permet aux autres de mieux nous comprendre, et par le fait même, engendre la confiance.

Ce que Mme Leroux identifie comme ses propres valeurs ?

Elle aime travailler dur et elle favorise les liens avec autrui, ce qui lui permet de contribuer de façon considérable à son milieu de travail.

 Elle est toujours à la recherche de moyens pour se démarquer ce qui, à son avis, rend ce que nous faisons beaucoup plus significatif.

C’est la passion avec laquelle nous travaillons qui est susceptible de nous conduire à l’avancement vers un poste supérieur, plutôt que le fait de cibler une place spécifique au sein de l’organisation.

Mme Leroux a encouragé son auditoire à prendre des risques. Sans eux, vous ne sortirez jamais votre zone de confort!

« Défendez ce qu’en quoi vous croyez!», dit-elle.

«… Et n’oubliez pas d’avoir un sens de l’humour, tout au long de votre parcours »

Spécialement lorsque la pression est forte, il est favorable d’être capable de rire de nous-mêmes et de trouver des gens qui nous aideront à garder une perspective équilibrée. 

J’ai été profondément impressionnée par Mme Leroux.

Sa façon d’être, son point de mire et son système de valeurs. 

Sa philosophie concernant l’avancement d’un poste : saisir les occasions tout en contribuant de façon importante.

L’histoire de Mme Leroux démontre que les valeurs et les principes n’ont pas à être sacrifiés pour l’avancement.  En fait, ils sont très certainement la clé du succès !

Maybe it was the proximity to International Women’s Day. Or maybe it’s an issue whose time has come. But last week’s release of the 2010 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Senior Officers and Top Earners has caused waves in the media across the country. In my five years with Catalyst, I don’t remember such strong media response to our work. The recognition of the quality and significance of Catalyst’s work is gratifying.

But neither do I recall being so frustrated by the level of understanding of the barriers that still block career advancement for many Canadian women. In almost every interview I did, I was asked questions like: “Are women not reaching the top because they ‘opt out’ to raise families?”

True, those questions aren’t answered by the Census, which is intended to be a snapshot and a check on the progress in Canada’s leading companies. Other research, such as Pipeline’s Broken Promise, provides some of the answers.

That study demonstrates that smart, educated women start their careers at lower levels and earn about $4,600 less than their male counterparts. And the gap never closes, even for women who remain single and childless. No opting out. No family before career. Just a glass ceiling and a sticky floor.

If anyone doubts that we have to keep gathering the statistics and telling the stories, a quick skim through the comments on any of the media coverage of the Census will quickly convince them. There you’ll find the folks who think that women have it made or that women gain at the expense of men. Some even declared victory, as Margaret Wente did in her Globe and Mail International Women’s Day column, where she stated “The war for women’s rights is over. And we won.”

Pointing to advances women have made is good—it’s the encouragement we all need to keep going. But we can’t ignore the lack of equity at the top. The confusion of the past week shows that we have to keep challenging pat assumptions that women have made it—or risk being lulled by complacency and a clever headline.

Next Tuesday we’ll mark the 100th International Women’s Day.

Although we may have many reasons to celebrate, the numbers revealed in the 2010 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Senior Officers and Top Earners aren’t one of them.

There’s some good news in the Census. The number of FP500 public companies with 25% or more women senior officers has increased by almost eight percentage points since 2008. But more than 30% of all Canadian companies lack even one woman senior officer—with no significant shift in the past two years. That’s the bad news.

Since 2006, the percentage of senior officer positions held by women has increased by 2.6 percentage points. And since 2008, the number has only grown by 0.4 percentage points per year.

Why haven’t we seen greater numbers of smart, well-educated women breaking through the glass ceiling? I posed that very question to a group of business students at the Richard Ivey School of Business earlier this week. One student suggested that we need more time for turnover and change to happen at the top. Others challenged that view, arguing that that the slow pace of change pointed to systemic cultural issues that require action from leaders and their organizations.

And they’re right. Successful organizations would never adopt “wait and see” as a strategy for change. We need less talk and more action if Canada’s corporate leadership is going to reflect the strengths of all Canadians.

So, here’s my challenge to anyone in Canada working for an organization listed on the FP500.

Go to our list of companies with 25% or more women senior officers. Is your organization listed there?

No? Then, check the list of companies with zero executive officers. Is your company listed there? If you didn’t find your company on either list, look on this list to see whether you are closer to zero or 25%.

The answers will tell you something about your organization, the commitment of your leaders to building a truly inclusive workplace, and your own opportunities for advancement. If you like what you see, celebrate and keep up the good work, remembering that equity is still a long way off.

If you’re embarrassed, speak up, and let that sense of disappointment be the fuel that drives you to take action.

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We’ve been a bit overwhelmed by the media interest in the 2010 Catalyst Census: Financial Post 500 Women Senior Officers and Top Earners! Check it out for yourself at:

“Women Still Scarce in Top Ranks at Canada’s Biggest Companies,” by Janet McFarland, The Globe and Mail, March 3, 2011.

“Executive Gender Gap Remains, Catalyst Report Says,” CBC News, March 3, 2011.

“More Women in Top Senior Positions,” QMI Agency, March 3, 2011.

“Women Rising to Executive Levels Still Few in Number,”` by Vanessa Lu, The Toronto Star, March 3, 2011.

“Good News, Bad News for Women’s Advancement Found in Latest Catalyst Census of Corporate Canada,” CNW Group, March 3, 2011.

“Women`s Leadership Slows to Crawl in Corporate Canada: Report,” by Darah Hansen, The Vancouver Sun, March 3, 2011.

“Good News, Bad News for Women`s Advancement,” Canadian HR Reporter, March 3. 2011.

“Good News, Bad News for Women in Canada’s Financial Services Industry: Catalyst,” by Megan Harman, Investment Executive, March 3, 2011.

“Comprehensive Plan Needed to Advance Women,” by Wallace Immen, The Globe and Mail, March 3, 2011.

“Cadres supérieurs et salaries élevés: la representation des femmes progresse lentement,” Branchez-Vous.com, 03 mars, 2011.

“Encore peu de femmes nommées à des postes de haute direction,” par Marie-Eve Shaffer, Métro, 03 mars, 2011.

This month, we’re watching the World Economic Forum at Davos, and we were encouraged to learn that organizers were seeking women for 30% of the participant spots.  Disappointment followed, but, according to one report, women are making a difference, even in their less-than-representative numbers.

Still a Man’s World Economic Forum

Despite efforts by major sponsors of the Davos event to increase participation by women, numbers fell short of the targeted 30%. Some of the women who made it speculate on the reasons.  (If you want to join our Catalyst LinkedIn discussion, check Davos attracts fewer women than the WEF had hoped .)

READ: “Davos Excludes Half The World as Women Miss 30% Level,” by Lisa Kessenaar, Bloomberg, January 24, 2011.

But Women Punch Above Their Weight

No surprise, there.  Some people even suggest that women’s perspective will give the World Economic Forum relevance in the real world of the future.

READ: “Women Make Their Mark at Davos, Though Still a Distinct Minority,” by Katrin Bennhold, The New York Times, January 26, 2011.

And, a couple of new titles to add to our “must-read” list!

Betty Friedan Revisited

The Feminine Mystique may have been dry prose, but it launched a cultural shift that is still taking place.  Stephanie Coontz considers contemporary and present-day reactions in A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and the Dawn of the 1960s (Basic Books).

READ: “Mad Women,” by Rebecca Traister, The New York Times, January 20, 2011.

What Are Our Daughters Learning?

Peggy Orenstein’s new book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, debates the impact of commercial “girlie culture.”

READ: “Is Pink Necessary?” by Annie Murphy Paul, The New York Times, January 21, 2011.