This will be the first of YWiB’s Dinner Series events that will take place at Azia beginning at 6pm. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in conversation with some of Vancouver’s top entrepreneurs. basic member: eligible for your free event member price: $17 non-member price: $27
When you bring together some of Vancouver’s most opinionated CEOs you expect an energetic discussion, and the group delivered on just that. Moderator Judy Brooks started with one of the most controversial quotes that came out of the All-Male Panel Session at Beyond Pink: “Women are already equal in the workplace, so let’s move on and have fun.” – Cameron Herald
Not entirely surprising, the men and women shared a similar point-of-view, flipping typical steroptypes upside down. Tamara Vrooman observed that “men aren’t typically given enough opportunities to participate in the home, which would give women more of an opportunity to participate at work.” Ken Sim supported her point by sharing his story – he left a lucrative investment banking position to start his own business because he wanted to spend time with his children and at home. “The barriers for starting a family aren’t necessarily just for women,” Sim
Outside of the barriers to starting a family, Chris Flett had a different perspective, “Being a woman is never and excuse in business. The business world is not fair – but everyone has a fair chance.” Flett encouraged women to be assertive, take control of their careers, and not wait for someone to notice their hard work – men are more vocal about their accomplishments. Bob Elton shared a statistic, “A man will apply for a job if he has five of the ten required qualifications; a woman will apply if she has nine.”
Brooks changed things up again when she asked (specifically to Flett) what their thoughts are on crying in the workplace. Flett’s opinion? “Don’t do it. Never in the workplace – it shows a lack of control. Crying is not wrong, but know that crying in the workplace sends a message.” His advice? “Remove yourself from the situation and control how you interact. Go to the bathroom – the stall is a great place for you to gain control.” Anne Giardini added, “crying affects everyone around you and spills over onto others – people may start thinking that ‘someone must have done something’ and rumors start.”
Elton and Sim defined a different type of crying in the workplace and noted that employers need to uphold a level of understanding and acceptance that crying may take place in certain situations. Sim’s belief is that “the future reality will be that it is okay to cry because you’re being authentic – you have to ask yourself if you work in an environment where it’s not okay to cry.”
Then came the question we knew would come up…maternity leave.
Flett provided advice for women planning a maternity leave. “Make it easy on your boss – don’t become their problem. If you’re going on maternity leave, come to me with a solution – how is it going to work? Are you giving me enough advance notice for me to plan for it? Manage your maternity leave – women don’t do this well.” Then Flett dropped the “B-word”. Breeder. “If you mis-manage your maternity leave, you’ll leave your employer thinking ‘oh god, another breeder’.”
Vrooman added that employers also need to consider how they can support their employees – it’s tough to find good ones, so how can you encourage them to come back and stick around. The discussion then turned to the positives of maternity leave – namely that after having children, a woman becomes a stellar employee able to take on more and get more done. “During the nesting stage, a woman can get an entire years’ worth of work done in three months,” said Cybele Negris. Sim agreed saying that he finds he’s better off hiring a woman, “more loyal and higher productivity.”
Brooks then specifically asked the men what they’ve learned from working with women. Elton: “The more women I work with, the better feedback I get. Women give it to you whether you ask for it or not.” Flett: “I used to think that if I wanted something done right I had to do it myself. Now I know better.” Sim: “Our company is much more strict about living up to our core values. We got rid of a client that was 80% of our profit because they treated our people like s*** - once we did that, other problems went away.”
Beyond Pink 2009 Co-Chair Maya Kolaczynski asked the panelists to share their advice for what young people can do to be taken more seriously in the workplace. Vrooman summed it up saying, “take time to listen to the experience and wisdom of the people around you – recognize that you have a lot to gain from those who have had different experiences. Young people fresh from university are always so keen to tell you what they know – work on being more humble and recognizing that you have the opportunity to learn more.”
And then came the question of the glass ceiling. Why don’t women make as much as men?
Simple. “Because they don’t ask for it, “says Flett. Negris added, “A study was released a few days ago that there are women who have broken the glass ceiling.” Check it out here. Negris encourages women to ask for what they think they deserve. “And back it up,” adds Flett.
Why YWiB? Why this event? Basically, Brooks was asking why they were all here on a Friday afternoon.
Flett: “This isn’t a women only conversation – it’s a leveling conversation. Men and women have to ask themselves if they are going to be a part of the solution or if they’re going to stick with the problem.”
Giardini: “We have a moral imperative to show our voices and shake the world, and that’s what you’ve brought us here to do.”
Sim joked, “I heard there would be a bunch of women here!” And his ‘real’ response, “I too have a lot to learn from being here.”
Vrooman: “Specifically because we invited men to share in the debate. We are preaching to the choir here and not reaching out to enough men.”
Negris: “I would have benefited from an organization like this when I was starting. I work so much with men – I want the mix of interacting with women.”
Elton: “You get a group of men together and you get a very compartmentalized discussion. You get a group of women together and you’re making connections to other things and other topics. You get men and women together and you get a much richer conversation.”
There were definitely men in the audience who found the conversation engaging and beneficial – one of them being my cousin, who called me the next day to tell me how much he learned from it, and how happy he was to have skipped class to be there. The lesson: invite more men to YWiB events!
While this provides merely a snippet of the insightful conversation that took place – the conversation will continue. We’d love to hear what you thought and what you learned from the conversation! And if you have a favorite quote that I haven’t included here – send it in to info@ywib.ca.
For updates and information join the CampusCEO Vancouver Facebook group! YWiB is proud to announce that the second session of the CampusCEO Coaching Program, facilitated by GhostCEO founder Chris Flett, will be re-launched in January 2011. Registration will be in Dec and the location is TBD. CampusCEO is open to all Basic YWiB Members.
Instead, YWiB will be having an exciting new unique program for the fall. Details to come! Stay tuned!
For Immediate Release: EXPLORING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
VANCOUVER – (May 27, 2010) On May 14, 2010, Vancouver’s professionals gathered at UBC Robson Square to participate in a conversation about gender differences in the workplace. The Young Women in Business network (YWiB) gathered seven of Vancouver’s top male and female CEO’s to provide their insights and share their experiences.
The esteemed panel included retired CEO of BC Hydro Bob Elton, Founder and CEO of GhostCEO Chris Flett, Founder and CEO of Nurse Next Door Ken Sim, CEO of VanCity Tamara Vrooman, President of Weyerhaeuser Anne Giardini, and Co-Founder and CEO of Webnames.ca Cybele Negris.
Moderated by Founder and CEO of Blo Blow Dry Bar, Judy Brooks, the panel was put on the spot when asked to give their opinions on some tough topics. When asked if they felt women were at a disadvantage in the workplace, Flett explained, “Being a woman is never an excuse in business – the business world is not fair, but everyone has the same opportunity to decide what actions they will take.” The women in the audience were encouraged to be assertive in the workplace and take charge of their careers. Elton brought to light an interesting statistic, “A man will apply for a job if he has five of the ten required qualifications, a woman may not even apply if she has nine.”
Both men and women in the audience were enlightened by Sim when he explained that he quit his lucrative job in investment banking because he wanted to start a family – and have the time to spend with them. Vrooman supported his point with the observation; “We don’t give men enough opportunities to participate at home, which would give women the opportunity to participate more at work.” The challenges women face in building a home and supporting a family are experienced by men – they just aren’t talked about as much.
Sim further encouraged young professionals to do what they love and what they are passionate about. To define a commonly used term, Negris explained that what is important is being passionate about what you do on a day to day basis, not necessarily the product you are selling. Brooks further explained ‘doing what you’re passionate about’ using an analogy. “If you’re passionate about drinking tea, it doesn’t mean you should open a tea shop. You may not like running a tea shop, or serving tea.” The Panelists agreed that passion and dedication go hand-in-hand and emphasized the value of networking and mentorships that organizations such as YWiB provide. Vrooman used an analogy- “going through life without a mentor or network is like setting out on a trip and having to not only go through the journey alone, but also build the road in front of you without a map and without knowing the terrain.”
The panel finished with a call for more young men to participate in the discussion. While there were a few young men in the audience, YWiB will be working to further encourage the attendance of young men at future events. Elton says, “When you get a group of men and women together, you get a much richer conversation.”
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YWiB President Paulina Lipska, and Marketing Director Marica Rizzo are available for comment and questions.
Paulina Lipska Marica Rizzo Email: paulina@ywib.ca Email: marica@ywib.ca
About YWiB:
The Young Women in Business Network is a non-profit society for emerging female leaders in Western Canada. The network acts as the central forum to connect ambitious young women from a variety of careers, industries, and backgrounds. YWiB hosts a variety of events that provide members with opportunities to develop relevant skills and knowledge, so that they have the insight, support, and capability to reach their fullest personal and professional potential.
Speakers:
Bob Elton – Retired CEO of BC Hydro
Chris Flett – Founder and CEO of Ghost CEO
Ken Sim – Founder and CEO of Nurse Next Door
Anne Giardini - President of Weyerhaeuser
Tamara Vrooman – CEO of VanCity
Cybele Negris - Co-Founder and CEO of Webnames.ca
Judy Brooks - Founder and CEO of Blo Blow Dry Bar
Wow, I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to participate in Campus CEO. Chris Flett truly is a business genius and the fact that he has been willing to personally train us has been an incredible experience. Chris is a gutsy, bold, intelligent and riveting speaker who keeps you at the edge during endless 'aha' moments. I like to refer to him as the Simon Cowell of business - the guy who everyone respects because he says what no one is willing to say. For this reason, the class has been hugely motivating, scary, life changing, and pattern breaking. The class has challenged my 'nice girl' mentality by showing how we ladies need to be assertive in business-- and how it is actually appreciated in the business community. I cannot say enough about the Campus CEO program and I would recommend that any young woman attend. It is an absolute steal to attend this course for only the cost of a YWiB membership and will change the way one views being in business forever. Thanks for everything Tara and Chris!
Bringing together some of the greatest minds in Vancouver to discuss women in business, this afternoon promises to be thought provoking. Read the main article for more details, or check this out:
In celebration of the year end for YWiB UBC, YWiB SFU and the first CampusCEO program, YWiB will be hosting a party at the Giovane Cafe at the Fairmont Pacific Rim on May 14 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Admission is complimentary for members and $10 for non-members.
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.
