Catalyst Honours 2021 Agenda

*Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)*

Presenting Sponsor: Manulife

Day 1 Sponsored by BMO: Breaking Barriers: Equity, Inclusion, and Intersectionality

Addressing inequities across intersections of identity can transform how organizations cultivate equity and inclusion in the global workplace and create a future where women thrive.

 

10:05 – 10:10 am | Indigenous Acknowledgement of the Land, Leanne Bellegarde, CEO, AKAWE Technologies

10:10 – 10:20 am | Opening Emcee Remarks, Featuring Emily Mills, Founder, How She Hustles

10:20 – 10:30 am | Welcome, Featuring Vandana Juneja, Executive Director, Catalyst Canada

10:30 – 10:40 am | Opening Remarks, Featuring Roy Gori, President & CEO, Manulife

10:40 – 11:05 am | Champion 1 – Deland Kamanga, BMO: The Power of Allyship and Intellectual Curiosity

Join Deland Kamanga, 2021 Catalyst Honours Champion, for a discussion on his vision and commitment to build an environment centered on allyship, diversity, equity and inclusion. During the session, Deland will challenge our views of diversity in the workplace and society as he talks about perspectives on where we want to be, why we want to be there and how to change what is the current status quo. Through intellectual curiosity, mentorship and sponsorship programs, including initiatives focused on the advancement of colleagues and members of the community, his continual work has created change and defines him as a leader and ally.

11:05 – 11:35 am | Day 1 Sponsor Spotlight – BMO | Zero Barriers to Inclusion: Intersectionality and Breaking Down Systemic Barriers

This session will focus on the power of listening, tackling tough conversations, leadership accountability, and strategies that BMO uses to break down barriers both internally and externally.

Featuring:
Darryl White, Chief Executive Officer, BMO Financial Group
Deland Kamanga, Head of Global Markets, BMO Capital Markets
Karen Collins, Chief Talent Officer, BMO Financial Group
Kimberley Goode, Chief Communications & Social Impact Officer, BMO Financial Group

11:35 am – 12:00 pm | Content Session 1 – ERGs and Transformation: Building an Inclusive Culture, Turbocharging Talent
Sponsored by Shaw Communications

How can employee resource groups (ERGs) provide insights and visibility toward talent development? This conversation will explore how ERGs have sustained community and accelerated progress during the disruption of Covid-19, especially around employee engagement, inclusion, and advancement and retention more broadly.

Moderator: Sarah Dinolfo, Senior Director, Advisory Services, Catalyst
Chima Nkemdirim, Vice President of Government Relations, Shaw
Camille Stewart, Global Head of Retirement Marketing and Member Retention, Manulife Investment Management
Gwenna Kadima, Talent and Organization Consultant, Accenture
Gabrielle Scheliga, VP, Strategic Change Management, BMO Capital Markets

12:00 – 1:00 pm | Interactive Design Thinking: Introduction to Human-Centred Design: Using Prototyping to Move from Ideas to Action
(spaces limited) in partnership with Bridgeable, sponsored by KPMG

Opening Remarks by Stephanie Braid, Director, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity at KPMG Canada

This session will introduce the test and learn phase of Human-Centred Design and how its methods can push small steps forward when tackling complex systemic challenges such as “With the ability to stay connected 24-7, and with new at-home responsibilities added on, employers need to provide more “structured flexibility” to employees in how and when they work.” This is a hands-on session where you’ll be working in a virtual team environment…so come ready to participate!

Featuring:
Andrea Guertin – Vice President, Design Strategy, Bridgeable
Yordanos Woldemariam – Senior Design Researcher, Bridgeable

1:00 – 1:25 pm | Champion 2 – Lorraine Gray, Hydro One: Embracing Discomfort to Drive Change at Work

Conversations centred on diversity, equity and inclusion can be uncomfortable, but it is when we lean in and have honest dialogue that meaningful change can happen. In this session, 2021 Catalyst Honours Champion Lorraine Gray will talk about the importance and impact of embracing your discomfort and having difficult conversations to create a more inclusive and innovative team.

1:25 – 1:30 pm | Experiential Mini Session , Presented by BMO: Celebrating Barrier-Breaking Businesses – The Villij

1:30 – 1:55 pm |  Gender Partnerships at Work
Sponsored by MLSE

This session will bring together senior leaders to discuss how to develop actionable approaches to advance equity through gender partnership, including spotlighting Catalyst’s MARC (Men Advocating Real Change) initiative. Participants will discover challenges and opportunities related to inspiring men to leverage their unique opportunity and responsibility to be advocates for gender equity in the workplace.

Featuring:
Vandana Juneja, Executive Director, Catalyst Canada
Ludo Gabriele, Senior Director, MARC Branding, Catalyst
John Wiggins, VP Organizational Culture & Inclusion, Toronto Raptors

1:55 – 3:00 pm | Interactive Networking Breakouts A Path to Inclusion: Building Inclusion for Indigenous Peoples in Canadian Workplaces
Day 1 Sponsor – BMO

Featuring:
Joy Ohm, Vice President, Science Writer and Advisor, Catalyst
Kona Goulet, Head, Indigenous Equity & Inclusion, BMO Financial Group

Catalyst recently conducted a survey that shows Indigenous Peoples pay an emotional tax at work and experience low levels of psychological safety. In these breakouts discuss live with others the actions managers and team members can take to build the understanding, relationships, and work environments that will help Indigenous Peoples belong, contribute, and thrive in the workplace.

3:00 – 3:25 pm | Champion 3 – Alice Wong, Cameco: Challenging the Status Quo for Equality at Work

Ask tough questions, hold leaders accountable, explore uncomfortable truths, listen to your workforce and encourage allyship to make progress toward a more equitable workplace. In this session Catalyst Honours 2021 Champion, Alice Wong, talks about her own journey, and Cameco’s, and how leaders can take action by challenging the status quo to ensure fair and equal treatment for employees.

3:25 – 3:30 pm | Experiential Mini Session, Presented by Manulife: Guided Meditation Facilitated by Mandy Dolley, Group Fitness Divisional Program Manager, GoodLife Fitness

3:30 – 4:15 pm | Day 1 Closing Keynote, Intro/Closing – Kathryn Kitchen, Head of Human Resources, Manulife

Keynote – Sarain Fox, Anishinaabe activist, artist, and filmmaker from Batchawana First Nation

Community First: Rebuilding Trust & Reconnecting to Purpose
Without question, our communities have been facing significant challenge, trauma, and divisiveness throughout this pandemic. At work, school, and with our families & friends, how do we begin to reconnect with each other and with our purpose?

In this presentation, Sarain will share how she’s found hope for communities despite challenges of inequity and the toll of the pandemic. She highlights the power of the Indigenous response to the pandemic in calling us to return to the land, prioritize our time with children and elders, and learn about our histories and traditions. The path forward relies on strengthening our communities with innovative approaches and best practices for building trust, disrupting the status quo, and taking care of our of each other.

*Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)*

Presenting Sponsor: Manulife

Day 2 Sponsored by Accenture: Women and the Future of Work

Workplaces are being transformed by disruptive events, social movements, shifting paradigms, and technological advancements. While the pandemic has had a devastating effect on women —particularly women of color— in the workplace, we are at a watershed moment to make impactful change and build a better and more equitable future of work.

 

9:45 – 9:50 am | Indigenous Acknowledgement of the Land, Leanne Bellegarde, CEO, AKAWE Technologies

9:50 – 10:00 am | Opening Emcee Remarks, Featuring Emily Mills, How She Hustles

10:00 – 10:30 am | Day 2 Sponsor Spotlight – Manulife | Olympic Lessons for the “Corporate Athlete”

This session will bring together black women executives from various perspectives to discuss the professional pressures to perform as “super athletes,” in the age of Covid and beyond.

Moderator: Michelle Taylor-Jones- VP, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Manulife
Meesha Rosa, Vice President, Corporate Board Services, Catalyst
Marie-Ange Noué, PhD, Head, US Scientific Communications, North America Medical Affairs, EMD Serono

10:30 – 10:35 am | Day 2 Remarks Featuring Gaby Polanco-Sorto, AVP – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Manulife

10:35 – 11:05 am | Day 2 Sponsor Spotlight – Accenture| The Race to Skill: Repercussions for Gender Equity

Opening remarks by Jeffrey Russell, President and CEO, Accenture Canada

Featuring:
Janet Krstevski, Canada Senior Managing Director, Talent & Organization/Human Potential, Accenture; and
Lisa Butler, Head, Talent Acquisition & Chief Diversity Officer, Manulife

We are at a pivotal moment in our organizations. The pandemic has exacerbated gender inequality. Without gender parity, organizations risk unwinding years of progress toward creating a rich and diverse workplace. How do we attract women back to our workplaces? What is the opportunity in front of us to offer women re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities to bring more power, diversity and equality back to work?

 

11:05 – 11:10 am | Experiential Mini Session, Presented by Manulife: Yoga Facilitated by Mandy Dolley, Group Fitness Divisional Program Manager, GoodLife Fitness

11:10 – 11:35 am | Building Equitable Technology with a Focus on Women
Sponsored by BCG and Dell

Women are underrepresented in tech leadership. As technology augments how we work, how do we ensure equity and opportunities in creating and using emerging technologies? What must we address now to safeguard the creation of equitable tech for the future and make certain we are not inadvertently perpetuating systemic bias? How do we ensure the next generation of women tech leaders are ready to tackle these challenges?

11:35 am – 12:00 pm | Champion 4 – Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo, CIBC: Building a Sense of Belonging at Work

For employees to thrive it is important that they experience a sense of belonging at work. As a Black woman in STEM, Catalyst Honours Champion Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo, is keenly aware of the power of representation. Join this session for a fireside chat with Eguono as she shares the importance of taking intentional steps to create diverse and inclusive teams, where all individuals feel they belong and can bring their whole selves to work every day.

12:00 – 12:15pm | Experiential Mini Session, Presented by Accenture: “All In” – Inclusive Job Post Screening Tool

Accenture collaborated with The Career Foundation to build a job post screening tool that provides a novel inclusivity score along with tactical recommendations to help employers improve the accessibility and inclusivity of their postings.

Featuring:

Carol Huynh, Management Consultant, Accenture
Rae Abunahla, Technology Analyst, Accenture

12:15 – 1:00 pm | Interactive Design Thinking: Introduction to Human-Centred Design: Using Prototyping to Move from Ideas to Action
in partnership with Bridgeable, sponsored by KPMG

Opening Remarks by Stephanie Braid, Director, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity at KPMG Canada

This session will introduce the test and learn phase of Human-Centred Design and how its methods can push small steps forward when tackling complex systemic challenges such as “With the ability to stay connected 24-7, and with new at-home responsibilities added on, employers need to provide more “structured flexibility” to employees in how and when they work.” This is a hands-on session where you’ll be working in a virtual team environment…so come ready to participate!

Featuring:
Andrea Guertin – Vice President, Design Strategy, Bridgeable
Yordanos Woldemariam – Senior Design Researcher, Bridgeable

1:00 – 1:25 pm | Champion 5 – Bhushan Ivaturi, Enbridge: Working to Overcome Unconscious Bias

Inclusive leaders create space for their teams to learn, grow and make mistakes. Join Catalyst Honors 2021 Champion Bhushan Ivaturi, as he shares the importance of addressing unconscious biases in order to create innovative teams.

1:30 – 1:55 pm | The Power of Empathy

Is empathy a “feel-good” element—something that is “nice to have”—or is it a strategic imperative? In this session learn how empathy is a force for productivity, life-work integration, and positive work experiences.

Featuring:
Gian Power, Founder & CEO, TLC Lions
Tara Van Bommel, Director, Statistician, Catalyst

2:00 – 2:50 pm | Interactive Networking Breakouts A Path to Inclusion: The Future of Remote and Hybrid Work
Day 2 Sponsor – Accenture

The recent worldwide experiment with flexible and remote work proves that it is time to retire the model of working in the same place during the same hours of the day for many industries and positions. Today, forward-looking organizations understand that workplaces that are flexible in when and where work occurs—hybrid workplaces—are good business practice. In this session, hear myths about remote work and how inclusive leaders can challenge them and best practices in hybrid workplaces and then discuss these findings and share your own learnings with other attendees live.

Featuring:

Lauren Pasquarella Daley, PhD, Vice President, Women and the Future of Work
Janet Krstevski, Canada Senior Managing Director, Talent & Organization/Human Potential, Accenture

2:50 – 3:15 pm | Champion 6 – Evan Siddall, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Expanding the Table

Leadership is a team sport. When organizations make space for new voices, promote psychologically safe workplaces and focus support on people who find themselves most excluded from society, equity and inclusion become core strategic imperatives. Join Evan Siddall, Catalyst Honours 2021 Champion, as he discusses how promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism is the essential work of leadership.

3:15 – 3:45 pm | Presenting Sponsor Spotlight – Manulife: The Path Forward for Gender Equity

Women have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and have been pushed out of the workforce in alarming numbers. As the job market begins to rebound and we move toward a recovery, this crisis offers an opportunity for organizations, governments, and society at large to reimagine a future where all employees can thrive and set Canada up for long term growth. Hear from leaders on the topic of how workplaces can work for all women.

Moderator: Frances Donald, Global Chief Economist & Global Head of Macroeconomic Strategy, Multi-Asset Solutions Team, Manulife Investment Management
Alex Johnston, Author, Inconceivable and CEO at 360 ConcussionCare
Maya Roy, CEO, YWCA Canada
Honourable Katrina Chen – Minister of State for Child Care of British Columbia & Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

3:45 – 4:15 pm | Live Champion Presentation: Awards
Presented by Lisa Butler, Head, Talent Acquisition and Chief Diversity Officer, Manulife

4:15 – 5:30 pm | C-Suite Gathering (Exclusive)
Supporting Sponsor: CIBC