Catalyst Blog

The gender gap receives attention as a serious business issue as more corporate leaders adopt programs and policies to remove barriers to advancement of women.  Women are being recognized as a source of talent and future leadership, and progressive business leaders are working toward a truly level playing field.  Some recent stories point to research by Catalyst and others to support these actions.

Women in Power Is a Leadership Issue

In a opinion piece in The Globe and Mail’s Time to Lead: Women in Power series, North American Vice President Deborah Gillis uses facts and research to counter the misconceptions that women have made it and that promoting women disadvantages their male colleagues.  The fact is that women continue to be underrepresented at senior levels of business and in Parliament.  And corporations with women at senior levels are growing their bottom line—and opportunities for all their employees.

READ: “More Women in the Workplace is Good for Business”, by Deborah Gillis, The Globe and Mail, 10/13/10

Women on Boards Correlate to Stronger Financial Performance

Corporate recruiter Janice Ellig, CEO of Chadick Ellig, cites research by McKinsey & Company and Catalyst to demonstrate effect of senior women on financial performance.  “It’s not just in the boardroom, it’s at the C-Suite too.  Those are the people making the decisions.”

READ:  “Surveys Show a Strong Link Between Gender Diversity and Financial Performance” by Gennine Kelly, CNBC, 9/28/10

Gender Diversity:  Not Just a Woman’s Issue

Gender equality is still an issue at work, but it is not a women’s issue. Gender initiatives have traditionally focused on improving women’s participation in the workplace, but recently (in sociological terms, anyway) there has been a shift towards making “gender-“’ a gender-neutral problem.

READ: “5 Ways to Engage Men in Gender Diversity Initiatives” by Elizabeth Harrin, The Glass Hammer, 9/29/10

 Powerful Women Make Mistakes—and Make the Most of Them

Moira Forbes blogs about the similarities between an effervescent seven-year- old’s “awesome” pink cast and the lessons some powerful women have learned from apparent setbacks.

READ: “What Do Highly Successful Women and 7-Year-Olds Have in Common? by Moira Forbes, Forbes, 10/12/10

Drum roll, please!

I’m happy to share with you that business leaders at TD Bank, Ontario Power Generation, and Scotiabank have been named the inaugural champions of The Catalyst Canada Honours for their commitment to advancing women in the workplace. Below is a CanCon cross-post by Deborah Gillis, Catalyst’s Vice President, North America, on this worthy achievement. Congratulations to this year’s recipients!

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Honouring Leaders

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.

A new blog is born! Last week, Catalyst’s second blog was launched. Dubbed Catalyst CanCon (short for Canadian content), this blog is penned by Toronto-based Deborah Gillis, Catalyst’s Vice President, North America.

In her introductory post, Deborah wrote that Catalyst CanCon is “an opportunity to extend the conversation in Canada and to share some of my thoughts, experiences, and reactions to change (or lack of change) in our workplaces and our society.” Deborah hopes to get a conversation going with CanCon—for readers “to agree, to argue, or to propose new ideas.”

Below is a cross-posting of Deborah’s most recent dispatch about the G(irls)20 Summit held in Toronto just prior to the G20 Summit.  She felt it demonstrated an enviable focus and spirit—3.4 billion girls cannot be ignored!

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Can 21 Girls Make a Difference?

Traditionally, the world’s 3.4 billion women have been neither seen nor heard when the predominantly male leaders of the wealthiest and most powerful nations meet.  But some new voices were raised in the lead-up to this year’s G20 Summit in Toronto, when 21 young women representing the G20 nations and the African Union gathered to chart a global strategy to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

I was privileged to review some of the applications for the 21 seats at the table.  After a long flight from Toronto for a business meeting in California, I got up at 4 a.m. to read amazing stories from accomplished and thoughtful young women.  Four hours later, when I left for work, I was refreshed, energized and inspired by their commitment to change the world.

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