Category: Legal Events

How Do We Get More Women on Boards?

10/14/2015

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the program “Pathways to Power: Women in the Boardroom” hosted by the OBA Women Lawyers Forum, CCCA Diversity Committee, and the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association , Ontario Chapter. This was the second of the OBA’s Pathways to Power series, the first was on “Women in Politics” and I wrote a blog post on it here.

The program was co-chaired by Marlene Costa of the Ontario Securities Commission and Amee Sandhu of SNC-Lavalin. The speakers were Professor Anita Anand of the University of Toronto; Glenna Carr, a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, Ontario Chapter Executive; Carol Hansell of Hansell LLP; and Jane Pepino from Aird & Berlis LLP. All were interesting, engaging, and encouraging speakers who shared their insights on how to get on a board and the pros and cons that come with such a position.

Some takeaways from last night:

You must be proactive when seeking out a board position. As Jane Pepino put it: “Don’t sit and wait for the phone to ring. This is not like the way dating used to be. It’s the way dating is now”. A board position isn’t going to just land in your lap.
Make a list of the boards you want to be on. Strategize and make a plan to get there.
Jane Pepino also recommended to first look to smaller companies or not-for-profit organizations, but also look for something that interests you: “Start small, but start where your heart takes you.”
Professor Anand advised to “be prepared to take the plunge and do work you might not be getting paid for”. These positions can lead to a paid position.
Get out there and volunteer and network. Networking is extremely important. You never know where a position might come from. Think about joining school councils if you have children or your alumni associations. Sign up for mentoring programs and let your mentor know that you have a goal of being on a board.
When questioned about the difficulties of being the only woman (or one of two women) on a board, or facing a difficult board culture, Carol Hansell recommended reaching out to the other board members individually. The other people in the room might not know how to relate to you. Engage with them one on one.
Once you are on a board, Professor Anand also advised: “Be skeptical. Think critically about the documents put in front of you.”
When asked whether a mandatory requirement or quota system should be enforced in Canada for women on boards, Professor Anand noted that there are plenty of European countries that have quotas in place, so we wouldn’t be the first. However, she thought it would be a good idea to wait at least a year to see how the “comply or explain” rules may change things and that “comply or explain” has worked in other areas of governance.

This program was very well attended and I was fortunate to meet some great women at the networking event as well. The next Pathways to Power program will be held in April 2016 and is focused on “Women on the Bench”.

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Getting Our 52% at the Table: OBA Women Lawyers Forum, Pathways to Power - Women in Politics

4/17/2015

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Last night I attended the OBA Women Lawyers Forum event "Pathways to Power: Women in Politics". While I have never really thought about entering politics myself, I am interested in the subject, and have often wondered why there are not more women in Canadian politics and how we can change that.

The impressive panel consisted of: former MP (now Chief Legal Officer at EnStream), Martha Hall Findlay; Senior Advisor to the House Leader in the Government of Ontario, Amy Archer; former Toronto Mayor, Barbara Hall; and lawyer and former policy advisor, Gina Saccoccio Brannan. The panel was moderated by Jane Hilderman, Acting Director and Research Director of Samara Canada, a charity dedicated to reconnecting citizens to politics.

Ms. Hilderman started the evening with some sobering facts. While women make up 52% of Canada's population we represent far less than 50% of the elected members at any level of Canadian government. In Ontario, women represent 35.5% of the legislature and after the 2011 federal election women represented 25% of those elected to Parliament. In a recent survey 10% of men answered "Yes" when asked if they would consider running for office compared to only 3% of women. However, when asked if they "might" consider running, 12% of women positively responded, compared to 18% of men.

Some of the questions asked of the panel last night included: Why should more women enter politics? Why don't they? How do women get involved? Some take-away points:

We don't need more women in politics because women are more "co-operative" or "consensus driven" (Ha!), we need more women in politics because we make up 52% of the population and we should be at the table when legislation is being made that affects us.
Some women are held back by a "weird lack of confidence". Women who are already accomplished (CEOs of high profile companies, have three children, volunteer on numerous committees, etc.) wrongly think they don't have what it takes to run in an election. We need more women to run, so we need to stop telling them how hard it is.
We need to encourage other women and support other women to run. This does not necessarily mean we should vote for other women just because they are women. But if we can get more women to run, more women will be elected.
Politics should not be a career (for either men or women). It is helpful to have a career first in another field, and maybe wait until your children are older (for both men and women) before jumping in with both feet. You can always be involved behind the scene at your local riding association, by helping on a campaign for a candidate you want to support, donating your time or money, etc.
Although it was busy and hectic, these women really enjoyed their time in office.

At the networking event after the presentation I met many accomplished women interested in entering politics, either as candidates or behind the scene as political aides or advisers. I am confident that we can, and will, make progress in this area. Political decisions have an impact on women's lives, on our health, education, childcare etc. and we need our voices to be heard. We need to get our 52% at the table when legislative decisions are being made.

Besides checking out Samara, if you are a woman and interested in getting involved in politics, visit Equal Voices' website, an organization dedicated to electing more women to all levels of public office in Canada.

Also, if you missed this event, the OBA's Women Lawyers Forum will be hosting additional Pathways to Power events in the fall and spring addressing women in the boardroom and on the bench.

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How Do We Get More Women on Boards?

Getting Our 52% at the Table: OBA Women Lawyers Forum, Pathways to Power - Women in Politics

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