Spend this Wednesday early evening with us at our last workshop of the year! At YWiB, we strongly believe in the power of being bold and ambitious and rightfully so! Meet amazing women in diverse industries and see the power of the two for yourself. Our final workshop of the year will leave you inspired and excited about building your own story.
Read MoreBy Natasha Jung, SOUL mentor and marketing communications professional Two things people know about me: I love Jay-Z and I love people.
Being a people person, naturally, I get to meet a lot of people. A few times a year, I get invited to meet university students at conferences, speaker series or networking events.
Typical types of questions I get from students:
• What do you do for work? • How did you get to where you are today? • What are some tips you have for finding a dream job after graduating from university?
...you get the idea.
I recently attended a networking roundtable event that brought in professionals across different industries with students from different areas of study. One of the students came up to me and asked me something I had never heard from a student before:
"What are the challenges you face being a young woman trying to work your way up the corporate ladder? What are the limitations or obstacles I should be aware of and prepare myself for?"
While I am certainly aware of challenges women may face in getting to top leadership positions, I didn’t feel qualified to answer her questions, even though she was asking about my own experiences.
Why? There's so much more to the conversation of career advancement for women than what I have personally experienced. Having started off my professional career a few years ago, I had not yet faced any limitations or obstacles because of my gender (at least not that I'm aware of)...and I certainly hope I never do.
We had to switch tables before I could answer, so we couldn't finish the conversation and then the event was over. (Don't worry, I'm going to see if she wants to go for coffee to discuss further).
Where did these questions come from? Had she been doing some reading that had led her to believe these were things she should worry about before even graduating from university? Has she seen or experienced this first-hand? Did someone tell her that she should start thinking about these things as so to 'choose an appropriate career path' or 'set goals accordingly'?
The very next morning, I had a meeting with my Chief Marketing Officer who was visiting from Toronto. She's only 4'11", but by the way she carries herself, she has people convinced that she’s 5'8". This wasn't a meeting about campaign plans or the direction of the marketing group within our firm – it was a discussion of the book "Lean In," written by Sheryl Sandberg,
Facebook's Chief Operating Officer. In this book, Sheryl describes how women unintentionally hold themselves back based on limitations they've created internally, which affect their outward progression in their careers and lives overall. I brought up the questions the student asked the night before and we discussed the issue.
Inspired by the discussion around the table, I ask this of my fellow emerging professionals (females and males alike): If you're ever asked similar questions, I hope you can answer in this manner:
• Many of the limitations we see can often be self-inflicted and a reflection of how we compare ourselves in relation to our male counterparts around us • There will always be obstacles and challenges in our professional lives, but we should embrace and overcome them • We are only limited by what our minds think we can or cannot do • You go, girl! (just kidding...unless it works in that situation)
How's that for a pep talk? As much as I believe in all those messages and strive to live by them everyday, I can't ignore the facts.
Deloitte and Carleton University's Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership conducted a study, Progress in inches, miles to go. The study provides figures, facts and tremendous insight into female leadership across all industries and shows how women are under-represented in those top spots.
I don't have a magic formula to prescribe what emerging professionals (male and female) can do today and tomorrow to help change that. What I can advise to students who are carving their paths though, is this:
• Choose an organization where you have potential to grow • Have thoughtful conversations with people in your network about this topic if you have questions • You can't control external barriers, but you can certainly manage your own internal ones - don't ever limit yourself • Embrace any challenges that may come your way as an opportunity to grow • Ask yourself this question: What would you do if you weren't afraid?
Oh, and where does Jay-Z factor into this? Not only is he married to Beyonce (aka Queen B, who has the entire music industry wrapped around her finger), but he too doesn't believe in limitations. So in the words of Jay-Z, I tell myself this all the time and I hope you do too: "world can't hold me, too much ambition."
Members, we got a social media contest for you! Win advanced movie screening passes for you and a friend to see Divergent, yoga mats and spirit wraps! Simply tell us how YWiB SFU is helping you personally and/or professionally on our Facebook wall by Sunday, March 16 and you could win! We got lots to give away so don't hesitate! Contest Rules: 1. Tag your post with both #ywiblove and #divergent 2. Ends Sunday, March 16 at 11:59 p.m.
Please note, advanced movie screening passes are on Wednesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. at Fifth Avenue Cinema. If you can't make it to the screening, you can choose to opt for other prizes instead.
About the Film
DIVERGENT is a thrilling adventure set in a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities, Tris Prior (Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late.
Set in a futuristic dystopia where society is divided into five factions that each represent a different virtue, teenagers have to decide if they want to stay in their faction or switch to another - for the rest of their lives. Tris Prior makes a choice that surprises everyone. Then Tris and her fellow faction-members have to live through a highly competitive initiation process to live out the choice they have made. They must undergo extreme physical and intense psychological tests, that transform them all. But Tris has a secret that she is Divergent, which means she doesn't fit into any one group. If anyone knew, it would mean a certain death. As she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, this secret might help her save the people she loves... or it might destroy her.
At our International Women's Day (IWD) Conference on March 8 at the Century Plaza Hotel, we will have raffle prizes you can enter to win. One you might be interested in is our Executive for a Day prize where you could win a coffee chat/office tour of your desired organization to learn more about the career that interests you.
Organizations and professionals participating will be:
| Erica Rizzo | Technical Talent Associate | Hootsuite |
| Pam Hernandez | Project Manager | Telus |
| Sam Ko | Manager, Platform Ecosystems & eChannels Marketing | SAP |
| Jennifer Maloney | Co-Founder | Yulu PR |
| Stephanie Shaw | HR Business Partner | Teck Resources |
| Sanj Kooner | Associate | PricewaterhouseCoopers |
| Pam Sirney | HR Manager | Holt Renfrew |
| Caoimhe Bourke | HR Manager | Smythe Ratcliffe |
| Sam Dundee and Andrea Yeung | Mergers and Acquisitions Analyst/Financial Analyst | Deloitte/Telus |
| Ellen Pekeles | Senior Vice President of Operations | Vancity |
Tickets for IWD are now on sale: http://ywibiwd14.eventbrite.caWe will have more organizations and professionals, so stay tuned!
For a list of speakers and panelists, click here.
Missed the Establish Your Presence Workshop with Stephanie Wiriahardja and Jillian Walker? Check out this word cloud summarizing the night.
Both Stephanie and Jillian met in 2010 at Beyond Pink. Three years later, they joined forces at our personal branding workshop and shared their stories. Both inspired everyone in the room, teaching our members how to create their personal brand and set short-term goals.
Following the workshop, members lined up for their LinkedIn head shots.
We hoped everyone enjoyed the workshop! We would like to thank all those that donated gently used handbags and purses to Dress for Success Vancouver.
Next workshop takes place in January and will focus on financial literacy. But before we look ahead to the new year, come out to our potluck fun night to celebrate the end of exams and the start of the Christmas holidays!
More info: http://www.ywib.ca/sfu/our-events/
Every year, YWiB SFU hosts a personal branding workshop to give its members the skills they need to develop their brand. This year's workshop theme is "Establish your Presence".
We've got exceptional keynote speakers that will share about how social media and networking can help you establish your presence and brand. This will be followed by an opportunity for all attendees to have their Linkedin headshot photo taken.
Here's a sneak peek of what's in store for you on Wednesday, November 13:
She believes in the power of happiness and applies this concept to all spectrums of her work. Taking dandelion flowers as her inspiration, Stephanie wants to grow, evolve, and continue sharing her ideas.
She was born and raised in Jakarta, but moved to Vancouver eight years ago to continue her education. Despite her young age (24 years old), Stephanie has a strong experience under her belt as laid out on her LinkedIn.
Stephanie is currently the Community Manager of Higher Education at HootSuite, the top social media management system used by 79 of the Fortune 100 companies and 8+ million people worldwide. She successfully brought 316% of user growth and help hosted 110 events in 43 cities in 2012. Beside working full-time at HootSuite, Stephanie is also the involved in the Marketing team of Le Meridien Bali Jimbaran, ensuring the quality of the collaterals and the story produced.
Just last month, Stephanie gave a talk on personal branding at TEDxKids@BC and was featured as Social Media Guru on Vancouver 24Hours list of Top 24 Under 24. She also received the most votes for her nomination for the Must Follow (on Twitter) 2013 by The Social Media Awards in Vancouver and noted as the Top 1% Most Viewed LinkedIn profile in 2012.
Meet Jillian Walker
She is a passionate, overachieving, girlie girl.
Her days are spent working with leaders to become better leaders and working with employees to become their best selves. Officially, she's a Human Resources Professional. Truth be told though, she likes to do things differently. She challenges past history and pushes people and organizations to grow. Whether presenting to a corporate team, brainstorming with a business student club or tweeting out random thoughts, her goal is to encourage others to think differently.
When she breaks away from her career dreams, she loves to give back to the community. She is proud to be involved with Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship, Junior Chamber International and industry related organizations across Canada.
Young Women in Business is a community for emerging female leaders and young professionals who want to create their own success.
We believe every woman and young professional stepping into the workforce or growing in their career should be well equipped with the proper set of tools and knowledge to reach their fullest personal and professional potential.
We provide young women and professionals with events, programs and an engaged network of ambitious women, to help them become successful in their careers, take on new challenges and develop skills.
