YWiB Helps PWN Celebrate 15 Years!

September 29th marked the 15th Anniversary Celebration of the Professional Women’s Network (PWN). Founded and chaired by YWiB Advisor, Michelle Pockey (whom we love!), YWiB was extremely excited to volunteer at the event and support these amazing women who have supported us!

The celebration honoured both women and men who have made, and continue to make, a significant contribution to the advancement of women in the professional workplace. The list included many familiar faces such as YWiB Advisors Frieda Granot and Bob Elton, Beyond Pink speakers Judy Thomson and Gayle Hallgren-Rezac, and the most familiar faces of all, YWiB President Paulina Lipska and Vice-President Jennifer Sung. (full list)

The theme of the evening was to recall the past and celebrate the future of professional women. The keynote address (and the highlight of our evening!) was given by Anne Lippert (President, Consulting and Advisory Services) and our very own Paulina and Jen!

Anne shared stories of her experiences in starting out in the working world. The proverbial glass ceiling was very much a reality in her time. After being told countless times that ‘women were not management material’, Anne fought to be recognized as an equal and was one of the first women in BC to participate in a trial program at RBC to train women managers. She provided incredible perspective on how much change has occurred.

Paulina and Jen followed with exciting stories of young women who are following their passions and pioneering new paths. The stories were of friends seeking opportunities for exploration, for making and impact, and for starting something new. Using a metaphor of ‘crayons’, Paulina and Jen explained that the options for professional women have grown from a ‘small pack of 12 colors’ to over 120 in the box. Their ‘call to action’ for all women present was to ask and invite young women to sit at the table. Exposing young women to all the crayons will help them find their favourite color, and to continue to add more crayon colors to the box.

A big hug and heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS to Michelle and PWN! And an even bigger THANK YOU to all the women and men who were honoured for their contributions to helping us all to keep on growing, exploring and excelling.

marica

click for feature article in BC Business

announcing another opportunity to join our team!

YWiB would like to invite you to join our Board of Directors! We're looking for a great fit for our team to take on the role of Director of Finance. Click here to view the job description.

*terms are one year from start date, all positions are voluntary

a complete application includes:

• your resume.
• a cover letter.  please clearly states the position you are interested in.  this should also outline your motivation to join the YWiB team, relevant experience to the position you are applying for and the contributions you plan to make to young women in Vancouver.
• filling out this my story template for us to learn more about you.

due date applications are due by October 23rd at 11:59pm - and should be emailed to info@ywib.ca with the subject field “YWiB Position Application – Position Name Here”.

The following positions are open until October 11th:

• marketing manager
• administrative assistant
• corporate relations manager
• legal affairs manager

join our team

We need someone like you! YWiB is currently on the hunt for a few spunky individuals to add to our team! Be a part of a fun-loving, hardworking, wine-indugling team and add your creativity, insight and expertise to the conversation. If you love white-boarding ideas, developing projects and cultivating relationships, one of the following positions just might be right for you:

• marketing manager
• administrative assistant
• corporate relations manager
• legal affairs manager

*terms are one year from start date, all positions are voluntary

a complete application includes:

• your resume.
• a cover letter.  please clearly states the position you are interested in.  this should also outline your motivation to join the YWiB team, relevant experience to the position you are applying for and the contributions you plan to make to young women in Vancouver.
• filling out this my story template for us to learn more about you.

due date applications are due by October 10th at 11:59pm - and should be emailed to info@ywib.ca with the subject field “YWiB Position Application – Position Name Here”.

congratulations to YWiB prez & vice-prez

We are so excited, over-the-moon, ecstatic and thrilled at the announcement of the recipients of The International Alliance for Women 2011 World of Difference 100 Awards. The 2011 awards recognize 100 achievers from 27 countries for their efforts in advancing the economic empowerment of women locally, regionally, or worldwide.The 22 Canadians honored in this year's awards include (drumroll please!) YWiB President Paulina Lipska and Vice-President Jennifer Sung in the Young Women Leaders category! We are so proud of Paulina and Jennifer! For the past three years they have been the inspiration and motivation for YWiB's initiatives as well as so many others. Where would YWiB be without Paulina and Jennfer...that remains to be unknown, but it definitely wouldn’t be what it is today – the go-to organization for young women in Vancouver, and internationally recognized as a model for brining women together in an environment that encourages women to push their boundaries and to build their stories to share with the world. The YWiB story is full of bumps, jumps and trying ‘til we succeed moments. But the moments that stand out are the ones where Paulina and Jennifer said ‘we’re going for it’, regardless of what anyone else was telling us. Their energy and passion has motivated the team through some of the biggest challenges we’ve faced as students, and as young professionals. Paulina and Jennifer lead the team with all their hearts. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt

for the full press release on The International Alliance of Women 2011 Awards, click here.

it's been awhile

You must be wondering where we've been lately. No noise from YWiB in the last few months almost at all. Silence. We're stll here, just on an extended pow-wow session if you will. You see, we're constantly in a state of "how can we make this better"? And that's where we're at right now, working on making this (the network) better for the young women in Vancouver looking for a place to connect and get inspired.

We promise you'll hear from us soon with an exciting roll-out of new ways for you to get involved, either as a participant or coordinator. But that's all the hints we're going to leave you with for now.

Talk to you soon! We promise!

- the YWiB team

YWiB UBC - love, from Kiran

With the end of another great year comes the opportunity to look back on successes, milestones and memories. 2010/11 was nothing short of action packed for YWiB UBC! We continued to strive to be the central forum at UBC to connect women of all faculties with unique professional and personal development opportunities. This year marked our 3^rd year at UBC where we saw an increase in membership and most importantly and increase in member engagement. Kicking off the year in style with our biggest event to date- our Launch Party and Fashion Show brought together members, supporters and the UBC community to watch a complete Fashion Show featuring looks from local Vancouver boutiques. The year continued with great events including our Professional Development Workshop Series, Entrepreneurship Panel and 3^rd Annual Sweet Speed Networking event. Of course, no year is complete with our annual dose of inspiration from Beyond Pink 2010!

Over the course of Reading Week 2011, our first annual Career Tours Program was launched- the only program of its kind offered to UBC students. Small groups of YWiB UBC members had the opportunity to participate in exclusive informational interviews and tours of Fasken Martineau LLP, The Vancouver Sun and Weyerhaeuser.  Members gained first hand insights into career opportunities, working environment and company culture.

The summer of 2010 marked the launch of our new Internship Program, providing members with unique internship opportunities with local Vancouver companies matched to their needs and career goals. Participants were able to prepare for their internships through a specifically tailored workshop series.

This year marked our first time ever having a membership base of young women from each of the faculties at UBC. We are proud to have successfully launched two great new programs, and continued to fulfill the needs of young women in all faculties. We anticipate bigger events and programs in the coming year and invite all UBC students to get involved. Congratulations to the new executive team and congratulations to YWiB SFU and UVic on their accomplishments this past year.  On behalf of the 2010/11 executive team, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our members, supporters, and mentors for another great year!

Kiran Mahal

President YWiB UBC 2010/11

YWiB SFU looks back on an amazing year...

YWiB SFU is wrapping up its second year with many reasons to celebrate. Not only did YWiB SFU double its membership, it also inspired social change with the launch of a new social entrepreneurship program, all while earning the reputation of the “classiest club on campus”. Here are a few of our favourite highlights from the year!

Wine Social – With the expertise of wine connoisseur Richard Goodine, our members were treated to a wine tasting at Glowbal Group’s Society Restaurant and Lounge. This was the perfect way for members to get to know one another and learn about proper wine etiquette in a professional setting… a skill any busy savvy girl should know.

Project GIVE – Project GIVE (Generating Innovative Visions of Social Entrepreneurship) was launched as a platform to inspire our members to use business skills for social good. What we didn’t anticipate was how blown away we would be by the participants’ enthusiasm and support from the local social entrepreneurship community. The program definitely succeeded in producing an impressive group of future leaders and changemakers.

International Women’s Day mini-conference – When International Women’s Day rolled around we wanted to join in and celebrate how far women have come in the professional world. However, we also wanted to acknowledge the fact that women still have many opportunities to grow. It was great to hear from a dynamic panel of industry professionals who debated and challenged gender differences, communication in the workplace, challenges unique to women, the idea of work/life balance, and the role of women in tomorrow’s workplace

Beyond P!nk 2010 – YWiB SFU members represented big time at YWiB’s annual conference and it was clear that everyone left feeling inspired after hearing from the wonderful Bob Elton, Jillian Walker, Ken Sim and many other notable speakers. Beyond P!nk also provided the perfect opportunity for some quality member bonding time and hotel room dance parties!

On behalf of the YWiB SFU I’d like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of our mentors and supporters. Each and every one of you has helped make YWiB SFU’s second year a great success!

Katie Hensrud