Be authentic 100% of the time: 5 lessons from Catalyst Honours

Conference & Dinner honoured five inspiring Champions for women at work.

2022 Catalyst Honours Conference & Dinner involved numerous moments of inspiration and powerful stories about building inclusion for women at work.

“Never in a million years would I have imagined being here as the real me,” said Katherine (Katie) Dudtschak, formerly of RBC, during her acceptance speech for the 2022 Catalyst Honours Business Leader Champion award.

The event on November 9 brought together hundreds of business leaders in person and online from across the Canadian corporate and public sectors. For many, it was their first time reconnecting in person in three years.

Together, attendees honoured five extraordinary leaders who have made a critical impact in advancing women at work. They also celebrated Catalyst’s sixtieth anniversary in 2022, which we are recognizing as the year of The Great Reimagining: Equity for Women, Equity for All.

Dinner Chair Darryl White, CEO of BMO, co-presented the Catalyst Honours award to each Honouree with four other BMO leaders: Clio Straram, Karen Collins, Gabrielle Scheliga, and Christine Cooper. Darryl White is also Chair of the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board.

Here are five key lessons from the event:  

LeMay offered two points for how Canadians can take a more active role in the Reconciliation process:

1. Be a witness: Listen, learn, and hear the stories of others. Use your influence as a leader to share what you have learned with authenticity and integrity.
2. Act: Ensure that Indigenous firms are represented in your procurement contracts. Ask Indigenous employees what they need to succeed. Build relationships with Indigenous partners in your sector. Hire more Indigenous women.

Lastly, LeMay urged everyone to think about the world they want to live in when Reconciliation is complete—and to work towards that vision by challenging racism every time they see it.

Beginning in 2020, Katie hosted a series of “inclusion dialogues” — conversations with other unique leaders at RBC. “These dialogues were incredibly moving and had a material impact on our culture and inclusion practices,” she said. “I wanted to showcase the dimensions of human uniqueness that each of us carry, and role model uncomfortable conversations so leaders can have their own inclusion dialogues and get to know their own employees.”

Katie added that inclusivity should be simple. “It’s about being kind and curious about the world and people around you.”