International Women's Day 2015

Transcript

I'm delighted to say that we've now reached critical mass when it comes to women on boards. We launched a report. Status of Women Canada was very involved in a report last year called Good for Business. In June of last year 14.5% of board positions in the country private sector were filled by women. As of January this year already at 20%. Still growing. We've reached the tipping point. And we need to continue to do the same thing in many other areas.

Is there a question on Twitter for the Deputy Ministers?

Received a question here from Colin. He's asking how can male executives encourage women's influence and representation in the public service? What is, what is best role for us to play?

For me the question as to what men can do, I would say helping your female colleagues navigate the system, providing advice from your perspective would be something that I think would be helpful.

I work with a, a deputy minister who had a prime, primarily a male dominated table and increasingly brought women on and just by happenstance I, I don't think it was necessarily intentional, but he did notice after a, a mass threshold of women started to be at the table I think we ended up being about 75% of the, the senior management table, he did remark the difference in the culture and in the organization and in the efficiencies that were brought to decision-making and what have you. And he commented very clearly on it and he said he would never again have a table, one of his management tables with, with less than 50% women. And that was just something he'd came to that conclusion of.

I would say treat everyone equal and go on merit. If you see someone who deserves that mentorship, that, that push up into the leadership ranks then support them in, in finding different ways to do it. I, I really hope we have a discussion about mentorship cause I think that's a, a very important topic.

The work/life balance point is an important one for me and I'm wondering if you have any lessons from your own personal experience about some other things that you did or that others helped you to do that helped you achieve that work/life balance and move up in the, up the chain?

I'm so happy to answer that question. I didn't mention at the beginning that I'm actually, well what you'd call a new mother. I've, I've had my daughter for three years. She's adopted. So I've really had to grapple with this, this is really tough right, like having to, to do the whole work/life balance. And you know, I'd always heard the expression it takes a village and I strongly believe in that now like you wouldn't believe. So you know, my husband has a, a job that requires a, you know, a significant amount of his time. I have a job that requires a significant amount of my time, but my mom lives in Ottawa, she helps. We have daycare, we have friends, you know. It's, it's all about that. And I definitively carve out, I mean I wanted to be a mother so I've carved out that time and I, you know, I, whereas it didn't matter what time I got home in the evening before, I could work till 8:00 or 7:00. Now there's a, there is time that I want to spend with my daughter so I leave reasonably early. I block that time off for her and I really spend time with her until she goes to bed and then I do what I need to do afterwards.

I don't have any huge regrets in my career and, and sure there's been instances and moments but, but then I thought of it and I said you know, the times that I was on my blackberry or taking time away from my husband, husbands… you get the plural here… and from my children and when they, they expressed some, some type of frustration that I wasn't giving them enough time, I really regret that. I regret those moments. I can't get back those moments.

I have three children, zero, two, three and a half at one point. So it was a busy little household. And I took Friday mornings for the co-op nursery school. So think about those kinds of things because the public service offers a, a variety of different flexible arrangements. It's not to say there weren't some nights that I wish I didn't stay late now that I did. But it relates really to this question about how do you choose your job.

I want you all to think right now of a woman under the age of thirty. Because you all have had a role in the public service and I ask you to call her tonight and call her every month to help her with her career path over the course of the next year. And that is, actually will be really good for her and her career. It'll be actually probably very rewarding for you. It will be outstanding for the Canadian economy. And really good for Canada. Thank you very much for having me.