I presented this four minute intervention at the PPWE session at the APEC Women and the Economy Summit, in San Francisco, Sept. 13th. I was a private sector participant in the Canadian delegation.
Before I get into the notes, this entire experience was amazing for me, and I’d like to give special thanks to the DFAIT team who put this event together, as well as the gracious hospitality of the Consulate General of Canada, led by Consul General Cassie J. Doyle. Please see other sections of this blog for content highlights and commentary
PPWE Intervention on Women and Leadership
• We’re not there yet!
• Quoting Anne Golden, President and CEO of the Conference Board of Canada spoke of a recent research paper entitled “Women in Senior Management- Where are they?”
At present rates, it will take about 150 years before women and men are equally likely to reach middle management. And a century and a half is an eyeblink compared with the eternity it would take to achieve this benchmark in senior management.
At the top levels of business and government, women are not making up any ground.
The numbers speak for themselves. Of 82,000 senior management positions in Canada in 2009, men held 56,000 and women only 26,000; yet, women comprise almost half of Canada’s workforce.
The Conference Board of Canada’s analysis of Statistics Canada data shows the proportion of women in senior management has flatlined.
Nor do the numbers support the commonly held view that women are more likely to move ahead in the public sector. The Conference Board’s analysis shows that the pattern is consistent across sectors.
• It is an imperative for the private and public sectors in countries such as Canada, to continue and expand their support of women who wish to actively pursue leadership opportunities and roles in multiple areas: govt, business, entrepreneurship, academia, the arts and education, across multiple industries and sectors
• The private and public sector need to actively support initiatives that support women in pursuing these leadership positions at EVERY life stage, starting from girlhood, through education and child bearing years and beyond, to take roles in the senior level leadership positions in our countries and economies.
• Programs like these can at one end of the spectrum range from globally oriented initiatives such as the Canadian government’s support of the International Day of the Girl, supporting the consideration of the rights of girls in a global context- to the other end of the spectrum, programs such as the Initiative for Women in Business at the Rotman School of Management, at University of Toronto- where a variety of programs support the skill and leadership development of all segments of women in the business community, from entrepreneurs through to the executive suite.
• Having women actively engaged in these roles, with a seat at the table in senior leadership goals ensures a diversity of thought, increase in profitability and boost in productivity
• A recent Catalyst study showed that companies with three or more women on their board of directors outperform those with fewer women by 53% on return on equity, 42% on return on sales, and 66% of return on invested capital (Joy et al., 2007). Moreover, the study found that the link between women board directors and corporate performance holds across industries.
• A 20% increase in total revenues among majority owned female-enterprises will contribute an additional $2 billion per annum to the Canadian economy
• Successfully addressing the barriers that keep women from fully contributing to generating economic returns similar to men’s, will result in significant new economic activity and growth and prosperity on a global level.
• A private sector/public commitment is fully necessary and required to properly address the legal, regulatory social and cultural restrictions which impede women’s ability to be fully economically active- whether this is access to satisfactory childcare, training and skills development or access to capital and the powerful business and social networks that still operate in many of our industries
• It is key for us to remember, that when women succeed in economic and political activities, their families, communities, regional and national economies all potentially benefit from boosts in productivity and economic prosperity
• The Government of Canada is committed to gender equality, and through a number of initiatives, federal investments in human capital development seek to present Canadians with a range of choices that will support their economic self-sufficiency and active participation in the labour market.
• It is worth the work- and as a voice from the women’s business community, my message is that for my daughter’s generation, it is necessary to keep the issues around women in leadership squarely on the international table, as a theme that is relevant and necessary for the continuing development of innovation and economic development both in our regional and global economies. We are an untapped resource, and the potential source of wealth and prosperity.
