The Catalyst Canada Honours Make News

We were delighted with the coverage of The Catalyst Canada Honours last month, especially since much of it focussed on the challenges facing women and their champions in the workplace. And it was great to see The Catalyst Canada Honours champions recognized and celebrated in the media! Here are some of our favourite pieces.

WATCH: “Scotiabank and Catalyst: Supporting Women”, Business News Network, October 18, 2011.

READ: “Félicitations aux Lauréats des Prix Honorifiques de Catalyst Canada”, Premières en Affaires, October 20, 2011.

READ: “Catalysts of Change” by Jacqueline Nelson, Canadian Business, October 20, 2011.

READ: “We Can Do Better Than 18 Per Cent” by Todd Humber, Canadian HR Reporter, October 24, 2011.

Sponsorship Works… But it Needs Work

Ernst & Young’s Fiona MacFarlane is proof that sponsorship is a vital ingredient in corporate success, just as Catalyst research indicates. The challenge now for companies is figuring out how to leverage sponsorship—which has largely occurred informally—to support their efforts to build a diverse pipeline of talent.

READ: “Beyond Mentoring Women at Work: Sponsoring” by Leah Eichler, The Globe and Mail, November 4, 2011.

All Over the World…The Gender Gap is Shifting…

The World Economic Forum has released the 2011 Global Gender Gap Report, noting that, while women are achieving greater equality in health and education, they continue to be underrepresented in economic and political participation. And Canada? We made a small step in the right direction with a move from #20 on the list in 2010 to #18 in 2011. Could we try to leap into the top 10 in 2012?

READ: “Canadian Women Politically Stifled, Report Suggests”, CBC News, November 2, 2011.

READ: “Progress for Women, but a Long Way to Go” by Luisita Lopez Torregrosa, The New York Times, November 1, 2011.

READ: “The Global Gender Gap Report, 2011”, World Economic Forum, November, 2011.

And These Shifts Can Have a Big Impact!

A recent study at Chicago’s DePaul University confirms what our intuition has told us all along—individual sexism correlates with gender inequality in society. Hence Catalyst’s vision: Changing workplaces. Changing lives.

READ: “Sexism and Gender Inequality”, Science Daily, October 30, 2011.

Revisiting Quotas

Senator Céline Herivieux-Payette deserves credit for persistence. She’s reintroducing legislation that would see a requirement for Canadian businesses to have 40% female representation on their boards. Whether you support quotas or some other means of achieving increased numbers of women at senior levels, the public conversation is an important one.

READ: “Senator to Renew Push for More Women on Boards” by Janet McFarland, The Globe and Mail, October 26, 2011.

Some Progress!

With her appointment as CEO of IBM, Ginni Rometty joins Hewlett-Packard’s Meg Whitman at the top of the tech world. Ms. Rometty built her career at IBM—does that help women reach the top? And will these two talented and successful women be able to lead a shift to greater equality at high levels in high tech?

READ: “New IBM CEO Means Two Top Tech Chiefs are Women” by Patricia Sellers, CNN Money, October 25, 2011.

READ: “Ginni Rometty: Benefits of Staying Put” by Rachel Emma Silverman, Wall Street Journal Blogs, November 1, 2011

Women Take the Long View

Women are achieving financial success in greater numbers than ever, and they’re looking for different services from their financial advisors. They want a plan that addresses their long term individual and family goals, and an advisor who is familiar with wills, trusts, and estate planning in addition to other investments. Big investment firms are listening and adapting.

READ: “The Differing Female View of Financial Services” by Noreen Rasbach, The Globe and Mail, November 4, 2011.

Earlier this week, parents across Canada watched their kids go off to school, college and university.  Yesterday, the Canadian Education Statistics Council told us that the bright little girl we’re sending off to school is likely to attain a higher level of education than the boy in the next desk—but she’ll earn 63 cents for every dollar he makes. 

After years of struggle for equal opportunity in the workplace, this is disappointing.  But it’s not a surprise.

It supports—yet again—Catalyst research that female graduates of top M.B.A. schools enter the workforce at lower levels than their male colleagues, and earn $4,600 less.  Their promotions are slower, and less lucrative.  So the initial gap continues and grows, year after weary year. 

Women continue to be underrepresented at senior levels of business, despite their educational achievements and despite the influence of women in the economy.  For the individual woman, that is reflected in less personal income and reduced career satisfaction.

Businesses and the national economy are the biggest losers.  They’re losing the opportunity represented by 50 percent of the talent pool, brain power, and capacity for innovation and productivity.  And they can’t afford to continue losing that contribution.

As young women gained strength in business and professional schools, it seemed that equal access to the workplace would lead to equity in the workplace.  Now, we understand that workplace culture has to change—or those little girls who started school last week will be fighting their grandmothers’ battles, all over again.

Isn’t it time to fix it?

Someone once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Today, Catalyst Canada celebrates three remarkable leaders who have made a difference in the lives and careers of countless women in Canadian business. TD’s Ed Clark, Ontario Power Generation’s Colleen Sidford, and Scotiabank’s Sylvia Chrominska share a common trait (aside from their personal success!). Each has made it their mission to champion women in their organizations, their industries, and their communities.  

And for each of them, the reward comes not in personal recognition, but in seeing others become and achieve more than they ever dreamed possible. 

There are few of us who can’t point to a time when our lives were changed by someone who offered advice, or an opportunity, or shoulders to stand on.  Certainly, if there’s one thing I hear consistently from women who have risen to the top of their fields in Canada, it’s that they didn’t make it on their own.  They benefitted from mentors and champions who stepped in, often at critical moments, and set their careers on a new path. 

And that’s why we’ve created the Catalyst Canada Honours – to recognize champions of women in business and to mark Catalyst Canada’s tenth anniversary. It’s our hope that in recognizing these champions, we will inspire others to step forward and create real change that will benefit both women and organizations.  

The Catalyst Canada Honours began about a year ago, with a conversation I had with a woman who attended Catalyst’s first Canadian event.  She was surprised that the event was hosted by a CEO.  Today, no one would be surprised to hear a business leader in Canada talking about the importance of women to the bottom line.  Over the last ten years, the conversation has shifted.  Diversity—with women at its core— has become a strategic imperative for Canadian businesses.     

And it started with a leader, who stood up and did something unexpected. 

While today is primarily about Ed, Colleen and Sylvia, it’s also about all of the other leaders— today and tomorrow—changing workplaces and changing lives.  Thank you for what you do.  We are truly inspired.

This past Canada Day, I attended a Citizenship Ceremony welcoming new Canadians from more than 20 countries.  I was reminded again of my good fortune to be born in a country that is chosen by thousands of immigrants every year for its promise of opportunity, equality and community.

Of course, behind the smiling and tearful faces lie individual stories of courage, struggle and hard work.  Stories like Catalyst’s own Alicia Sullivan.  After reading about our ground-breaking research  on the career advancement experiences of visible minorities in Canada, Alicia wrote me a thought-provoking letter which said, essentially, “This is my life.”

Her Master’s degree had not earned her a job in this country that was equal to her skills or potential.  Almost four years later, she is an integral part of the Catalyst Canada team and has earned her Canadian citizenship.  She is fulfilling the dreams that she brought with her to Canada and is contributing to our national aspirations for economic strength and social equity. 

As Canadians, we celebrate diversity. Demographic projections suggest that by 2017, more than 20% of Canadians will be visible minorities.  Yet, stories like Alicia’s echo what Catalyst research has found – while our workplaces are increasingly diverse, they are not always inclusive.   Visible minorities face barriers to their advancement: few role models and mentors, stereotyping, and exclusion from informal networks.   

Many of these challenges are more pronounced for visible minority women.  

Diversity is both a strength and an opportunity.  And the good news is that more and more business leaders understand that there are few issues more important to Canada’s competitiveness than closing the gap between the aspirations of Canadian immigrants and their experience.   

The most successful organizations have consciously introduced talent management practices such as mentoring, employee networks and diversity training for managers.  And not because it’s a “nice to do.” 

Establishing a place where skills and opportunity come together for everyone is critical.  When inclusive workplaces ensure that Canada lives up to immigrants’ expectations, we also ensure that their talent, skill and ingenuity enrich Canada for all of us.