women in the workplace Archives

Women of the Week May 25, 2018

Woman of the Week: Jennifer Dobbelsteyn

What always astounds me about women I’ve chatted with who have become CEO’s and presidents of notable companies or of ones they founded, is that they all have a sincerity and generosity towards others while also being driven, focused and intelligent. Dr. Jennifer Dobbelsteyn, President of Dobbelsteyn Consulting Group International Inc. is no exception to this.

Jennifer has worked in the healthcare industry as both a nurse and in management but saw there was a gap in the system. Staff, who assist and care for ill patients that are often in devastating condition, often lack support themselves. She decided to begin her consulting company as a way to improve “healthcare work environments for staff, thereby, improving the caring environment for patients,” after completing her PhD and MBA.

Jennifer shared with me about the importance of the work done by her consulting company:

“This work is timely and extremely important currently because of the changing demographics. The population is aging in Canada at an unprecedented rate, making long-term care the healthcare environment of the today and tomorrow… I work collaboratively with organizations to resolve the problem, involving front-line staff which allows organizational leadership to target their resources strategically.”

Through her firm, Jennifer aims to effect a positive change within organizations by providing necessary education sessions, valuing all staff and encouraging team work. Healthcare workers take on a lot of stress and a safe and supportive environment is key to motivating workers to be at their best for patients.

Despite achieving great success with her business, there are still changes that Jennifer feels are necessary to be made in Canada’s healthcare system. She sees a need for improvement and for a focus of provincial governments to be on working environments in healthcare, including “preventing violence, insuring occupational health and safety, promoting professionalism, managing workload, and stabilizing staffing.”

“I guess I thought that someone needs to do more about these problems facing the healthcare system. My next thought was that the someone can be me and my company,” she added.

Jennifer also sees a need to be a support to women in her workplace by inspiring them to speak up and fostering confidence in the environment. She motivates women in her field to strive for success, persevere and accomplish goals that make a difference.

One woman in history that certainly made a difference is Mother Teresa. Jennifer shares that if she could go back and meet one woman, it would be her, because of the inspirational and amazing work she devoted her life to.

As to what superpower Jennifer wishes she had, the realist shares how everyone has a superpower innately within them.

“We all have a superpower. We just need to discover what that is and use it to make a difference in our own small way,” she said, then added that she would love to have the power to make a workplace that is safe and perfect for all, despite this likely putting her out of work!

She is not a dreamer, but a doer and Jennifer is about getting things done that have positive and long term effects on society, while motivating others to do the same.

For more about Jennifer and her consultation firm, visit www.dobbelsteyngroup.ca

Business April 13, 2018

Tanya Ramond, aerospace engineer and BridgeSat leader, talks focus, balance and equality

I had the chance to speak to a truly remarkable woman. Her name is Tanya Ramond and she is an aerospace engineer. Currently she works at BridgeSat as the Director of Product Development and prior to this she had worked with big companies like NASA and York Space.

Initially I thought she would be an intimidating figure to talk with but that wasn’t the case at all. She is actually extremely friendly, and thoughtful. She spoke with purpose, thinking carefully about the answers she was giving to my questions in our discussion.

Tanya’s main focus is on engineering and science but she has a great interest in business and marketing, which is why she chose to step out and join BridgeSat. She is in a leadership role and is a member of the company which focuses on connecting satellites from space to the ground while meeting the demand for big data collection from low Earth orbit.

She spent 10 years in aerospace engineering at large companies, but knew that she wanted to expand into development and marketing.

“I think that I was ready to just go for something different. I’ve worked at a fairly large established aerospace company…but I think at that point my interest in not just engineering but also the business, was coming to life.”

Tanya completed her MBA, and now uses these relative skills in her role at BridgeSat. Ramond has her sights set on taking control by making an impact and pioneering development and new technologies with her team. She shares that this is what BridgeSat and herself will focus on from this point.

Tanya has achieved great success over the years , but the roles she has held, have also come with great challenges.

She is often the lone woman in a room filled with men. Tanya is open and explained that while her team came up with groundbreaking technologies and products, as the only woman often in the group, she sometimes feels like an outsider and is treated differently.

“There’s this layer of blatant sexism. Past that is a deeper layer that is a lot harder to articulate,” she said

When other women are present, Ramond encourages them to voice their opinions and mentors female co-workers to “chime in and to not be made to feel intimidated.”

Tanya spoke with me about how most of the challenges she has had come down to being a woman in a workplace filled with men. She knows there is a need for change and that it takes each one of us to step forward and explain what is and isn’t acceptable- as many are doing now that the #MeToo movement is sweeping the globe. Gender disparity must be driven out of the workplace and like many women, she wonders if she has the power to change the current environment.

Tanya agrees that “awareness is of most importance” and that “just the common acceptance that [these actions are] not OK” is a step in the right direction toward change.

It would be wonderful to have the power to make that change instantly happen, but many more hurdles need to be cleared. I asked Tanya what super power she would most want to have and her response is what you might think an aerospace engineer would select-the power to fly. “If I were flying the plane, I’d do better,” she said.

As I think back to my interview with her I realize that Tanya is a strong, brilliant woman, she is a leader in her field and in her own way she soared beyond the limited structure of a male-dominated industry.

For more about the remarkable work that Tanya Ramond and BridgeSat do, go to http://www.bridgesatinc.com/

Women of the Week April 4, 2018

Woman of the Week: Ashlee Froese

I had a meeting with a woman who I would call a true trailblazer, founding partner of Froese Law, Ashlee Froese. She is confident, and tenacious, after having worked for the past 3 years to have the fashion industry recognized as a cultural industry. Ashlee is also a published author on branding and fashion laws and a frequent guest speaker at law schools, universities and cultural institutions. She speaks publicly on current leading brands and matters within fashion law, and recently had a chat with CBC about the push for fashion industry funding.

Ashlee told me that she wanted to be a lawyer from a very young age. She focused on it during high school and her undergraduate years.

The word ‘trailblazer’ first came to me when she told me about her focus on fashion law:

“There was no concept of ‘fashion law’ as a practice area in Canada. Given that I already had many years’ practical experience at the boutique law firm, coupled with years of official legal training, I felt that I was in a position to educate the fashion industry on legal issues that impact it.”

Ashlee admitted that, despite her determination and drive, she has met ongoing challenges while practicing law. The industry is very male-dominated with countless “Legally Blond” jokes directed her way. She views these as less of a challenge, but rather “irrelevant background noise.”

When Froese was first starting out, an older woman partner told her to cut her hair, dye it brown and avoid wearing heels – to make herself as male as possible. She told me this perplexed her, because, as she put it “being the most authentic form of yourself, is what frees you to succeed.”

Now that Ashlee owns her own firm, she is keen to “flip the script” and insists that “You can be feminine. You can wear what you want. You can be your own authentic self- not a role-playing version of yourself.” She now mentors young lawyers at her firm every Friday afternoon and frequently speaks at law school association panels.

I asked Ashlee if there was a woman leader she admired. and she named Margaret Thatcher saying, “I grew up knowing that an iron fist and a velvet glove is necessary to get the job done… and it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female…it just matters that you are a leader.”

Ashlee Froese, like many other women around the globe, understands that change is happening in the workplace, and when it comes to gender discrimination. The #MeToo campaign is a movement and a revolution that has unified women worldwide.

Speaking openly on the matter, she said ”I would be shocked if a woman doesn’t have a #MeToo story to share. The severity of the instances may not all be devastating or shocking…but I can’t imagine that a woman has led a life where they haven’t at least once been intimidated, discounted, underestimated or sexualized because they are a woman.”

I asked Ashlee to share her #Metoo moment, and here is what she said:

“I was working at a Bay Street firm,” Ashlee begins, then explaining that it was a casual Friday in the office and she was wearing skinny jeans and a blazer. “The managing partner entered into my office and pushed all my papers off my desk onto the floor. He then proceeded to say that he bet I wouldn’t be able to pick the paper off the floor because my jeans were too tight.”

He was obviously trying to establish his dominance and diminish her while doing it. Ashlee felt bothered because she knew that he wouldn’t have done it to a male employee. While it demeaned her to pick the papers up off the floor, she also realized that it made her strong. Pride wouldn’t limit her.

Ashlee even mentioned that a super power she wants most is to be sure that everyone makes “reasonable well thought out decisions that weigh both sides of the argument,” showing that her values rest most on truth, fairness and equality.

Not afraid to tell it like it is, to be herself, work hard and stick to her vision, Ashlee both encourages and inspires others to do the same through mentoring and guest speaking at various events and continuing to work hard as a founder of her own firm.

The one line that stayed most with me after my conversation with Ashlee was ” …if you do fail, fail fast, learn from it and recover.” She is the type of woman who isn’t afraid to fail and learn from that failure. A True Trailblazer.

To connect with Ashlee Froese and her firm, visit www.froeselaw.com

Feminism April 3, 2018

‘Woman-led’ businesses are now identified by Google Business

It’s certainly an exciting time to be a woman, seeing as movements for equality have been sparked around the globe, in addition to those encouraging women to speak up. One bit of news that was recently announced that has my attention, is how Google has introduced a new feature that allows business owners to identify their business as “woman-led” on Google My Business, per Google. Businesses that use Google My Business can enable the attribute from their dashboard, where it will appear in their listing until they choose to disable it.

I see this as one more way that females can support and empower other females, and it also presents the opportunity for women to publicly showcase their efforts and abilities in their given industry.

The My Business verification process gives the opportunity for women to manage information on their Google platforms, such as the maps and searches. Now, the “woman-led” descriptor, which will have a female gender symbol associated, is set to appear next to the details in the listing of the business, which will highlight any special offerings as well.

Female business owners and businesses that are women-led, can easily add this icon by clicking on the info tab on the left-hand side and scrolling down to the “Add Attributes” option. Simply click on the pencil icon, and a new window will then pop up, that will allow you to click on the “Women-led” button and apply this option to your page.

A Google spokesperson spoke about the new feature, early last month, in celebration and as a means to recognize International Women’s Day.

“We strive to organize the world’s information in a way that is inclusive of all people. Last year, we added an LGBTQ-friendly attribute in time for Pride. This year we’ve added the women-led attribute to empower women-led businesses to succeed online and enable people to find businesses to visit using Google Maps and Search.”

Google highlighted three women-led business at the time of its latest announcement, to demonstrate how the new option works for female Google Business users. These three businesses are Progetto Quid, out of Verona, Italy, which is a textile company that offers employment opportunities to women who are struggling to find employment. The second highlighted business is Reaching Out Teahouse, in Hoi An, Vietnam, which provides jobs and a support network to people with physical disabilities. The final business highlighted and used in Google’s example is Yogolandia Yogurt & Botana Bar, out of Chicago.

What are your thoughts about this new feature from Google?

What's Hot April 20, 2016

Nothing comes of Ontario’s Equal Pay Day

Ontario’s Equal Pay Day came and went without much fuss.

Women working full-time in the province only earn about 73.5 cents to every dollar a man makes. And this is in 2016.

April 19 marked Equal Pay Day in Ontario — the day in which a woman’s yearly earnings will catch up to the average salary of a man. In essence, it takes four extra months of work for a woman to make the same as a man.

Despite the fact that half of Canada’s cabinet are women and that our Prime Minister self-identifies as a feminist, there hasn’t been much done to ensure equality in the workplace. Ontario’s gender gap continues to grow. It’s gotten to the point where women in the United States are making on average five cents more than women in Ontario.

What’s even more surprising was that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne did not make a speech or even release a statement about Equal Pay Day. Instead, a press release was sent out early Tuesday morning regarding the results of consultations conducted by Ontario’s Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee. The report was the product of 18 weeks of surveys and in-person conversation.

The women who participated in the consultation said they often felt as if they have to prove themselves in the workplace and that some fields, especially early childhood education, should be presented as a gender-equal profession. At the same time, schools should be encouraging women to get involved in STEM fields or skilled trades at a young age.

The press release also provided an overview of everything the Ontario government has done over the last year to help reduce this gender gap. Some of these initiatives include the following:

A regulation that requires company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange to report on their approach to increase the number of women in management positions.
Increase wages by $2 an hour (including benefits) for early childhood educators and child care professionals.
Increase hourly wages of personal support workers
Invest $120 million over three years for new licensed child care spaces in schools
Implementing a number of training programs for skilled trades, information technology, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.

These are all beneficial programs and regulations that will no doubt encourage more women to aim for managerial positions, but it isn’t nearly enough. Many of these regulations involve increasing wages of typically female jobs like child care worker or a personal support worker, instead of putting the onus on businesses to hire women in positions of power.

Regulations and programs are great, but a change in mentality is necessary to actually reduce the gender gap. How does this start? It begins by rewarding companies that hire using equal opportunity, encouraging more women to apply for managerial or board positions, and addressing the stigmas that are so obviously engrained in the hiring process.

Three years ago Ontario announced Equal Pay Day. It remains the only province to have done so. In a country that prides itself on equality, its shocking that more governments aren’t following suit and bringing awareness to the startling inequality that exists within the workplace.

What's Hot March 11, 2016

Review: The People vs. OJ Simpson

I was only a few months old when the ‘Trial of the Century’ was taking place. Despite this fact, I grew up knowing the name OJ Simpson. I first heard it when my dad tried to hide the fact that he shrunk my mom’s wool sweater in the wash, who then playfully reminded him that he’s not OJ Simpson. He cannot get away with things. I didn’t know exactly what Simpson did or didn’t do at this point, but I did know that it was a name I should be aware of. I knew ‘The Juice’ for what everyone perceived him as; a joke.

However, with the airing of the new American Crime Story mini series, The People vs. OJ Simpson, it’s becoming more apparent that although the OJ Simpson trial was, in fact, a joke– it wasn’t a very funny one. The words that do come to mind are more along the lines of, ‘what the actual… you know’.

I’m currently watching the series from the perspective of a millennial. Lost, confused, and downright mad. The experience is a first for me, which makes me feel rather apologetic for the audience that has to live through the proceedings of this bizarre trial once again. Although most people know what happens next, for me to realize that spoilers are available on the internet involving the real people — YouTube videos included, is reassuring. (Because I can’t sleep for a week not knowing if the gloves fit or not!)

My friends, who were also too young to have followed the case back in 1994, look at me in disbelief when I summarize what’s currently happening on the show they have yet to tune into. (Come on, ladies!) I myself catch myself pausing during pivotal scenes during the hour to refer to Google in order to confirm whether or not there really was a car chase and why no one said anything when ‘the Dream Team’ redecorated Simpson’s home. WHY? And yes youngsters, those things really did happen.

What makes this series so appealing, besides the plot, is largely based on the actors and actresses that are depicting each of the persons involved in the trial. Although Cuba Gooding Jr doesn’t really fit the build of Simpson himself, his performance is doing justice to his lack of ‘juice.’ Also, can we talk about David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian? His portrayal of OJ’s bestie and the father of the four obnoxious children in America is rather likeable.

And yes, actual person Marcia Clark probably does not enjoy watching award-winning actress, Sarah Paulson, replay her worst ever hair day — but it’s insightful to see this series make a case for her as the real hero in this tragedy. The fact that they dedicated an entire episode of a 10-part series to the trials and tribulations of a female prosecutor and her personal life demonstrates the challenges that we as women have to face– even in the midst of a case involving two brutal homicides. Because priorities.

Race is also an important element of the show. With the #BlackLivesMatter movement gaining more recognition in lieu of recent police brutality cases, The People vs. OJ Simpson has only fueled the fire behind the controversy of the trial and the overall treatment of black people in society. The show is doing a phenomenal job in bringing forth the different perspectives of the people involved in the trial while still making Simpson look guilty. (Because he is.) Questions have also been raised as to why this series is tackling the trial after so long in the first place, but the discussions on race and gender equality along with the emergence of new evidence have made Simpson’s case more relevant than ever.

It doesn’t take effort to make the OJ Simpson more ‘TV friendly.’ With car chases, conspiracy theories, and plot twists, the trial not only divided the nation between #Guilty and #NotGuilty, it probably had producers and directors running for their phones to get started on their next crime story project. Despite the distractions that come with Paulson’s hair and John Travolta’s face (yikes!), American Crime Story: The People Vs. OJ Simpson is the only series involving a Kardashian that you’ll want to keep up with.

Are you watching The People Vs. OJ Simpson? Let us know what you think about it in the comments below!

Featured August 5, 2015

Brrr! 3 Tips For Staying Warm In Your Chilly Office

It’s hard enough getting dressed in the morning. Choosing the perfect outfit can be tough, but the added worry of getting frostbite in your air conditioned office can make the process even more difficult. Opting for a sundress under the scorching heat may seem like the liable option, but when your sitting in your office, suddenly all you can think about are the thermals packed away at the back of your closet. That silk blouse that feels so soft and light against your skin? Yeah, probably not a good idea in the drafty confinements of your cubicle.

Worry not, ladies. We have got you.. err, will get you covered in no time! Try these tips on how to stay warm and stylish in the office and still keep cool during those sweaty trips home.

1. Daze in a Blaze

A blazer, that is. There’s nothing like the woolen goodness of a blazer to keep you warm. Throw it on over a sleeveless dress to prevent you from getting goosebumps down your arm. Wear a light colour, such as the white one (pictured above), to keep you cool when you step outside. Now you can concentrate more on getting that report done and focus less on how nice it would be to sit under a palm tree on a warm, sunny beach in Aruba. Mmm….coconut water would be a nice addition to the office.

2. Opt for pants

Sometimes, you just need some fabric around your legs. The extra layer can be all you need to keep you from shivering during your meetings. Wearing a dress may look cute, but is definitely not ideal when the air conditioner is positioned right across from you. Opt for a printed pair like these to look trendy. The material is light, the fit is lose – – it’s the closest you’ll get to wearing pj’s to work! Besides, it also allows you to skip your shaving session for an extra day… we won’t tell if you won’t.

3. Accessorize with a scarf

They come in all shapes and sizes, materials and patterns, and look good with any outfit! A scarf is a great way to add a bit of flare to your outfit and also acts as a barrier against the cold artic wind of the air conditioner. Whether you choose to wrap it around your neck or use it as shawl when you’re extra chilly, a scarf is an excellent option to keep you warm. Who says you have to wait until fall to rock them?

There you have it ladies. Have any tips on how to stay warm in the office? Let us know in the comments!

Stay warm!

Featured