Women in Business 2016

2016

WEST COAST WOMEN MAKING THEIR MARK Metro Vancouver’s first magazine dedicated to successful female leaders and entrepreneurs

C E L E B R A T E

Inspiring spots for women to talk shop

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I L L U M I N A T E

The funding reality for female founders

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I N S P I R E

View from the top: 5 questions for local leaders

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When it comes to women in leadership, we mean business.

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CONTENTS

FEATURES What women deserve Wanted: more female funders – and founders Woman to woman Namaste in numbers Dangerous dames Where to talk shop Smart traveller Leadership review Q&A

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Female executives describe their definition of feminism and what they love most about leadership

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WANTED: MORE FEMALE FUNDERS – AND FOUNDERS

COLUMNS

Raising money for a startup is difficult.

It’s even more challenging if you’re a woman

Giardini—19

Davis–29

SPONSORED COLUMNS

MacMillian—41 Adatiya and Muir—42

WOMAN TO WOMAN How mentorship is helping to empower the next generation of female leaders

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Partners: 13 Associate Counsel: 5 Associates: 15 Students: 3

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Editor’s message

WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS

T Brenda Bouw Editor, Women in Business

he magazine is a tribute to the ambitious, diverse and growing number of successful women across Metro Vancouver, who are doing more than their part to help advance the city’s reputation as a productive and innovative business community.

Of course, there are hurdles to overcome. Women still lack proper representation in boardrooms and in key leadership roles across the city, not to mention the country, and worldwide.

This is an issue addressed in our main story, “What Women Deserve.” The article includes feedback from female leaders across various sectors about the dismal number of women in the C-suite – and why that’s still the case, unfortunately. These accomplished women also offer insights on how to fix the problem for the future, starting with how employers recruit, mentor and advance women.

Other topics covered in this inaugural issue include the importance of

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PUBLISHER: Sue Belisle VICE-PRESIDENT, AUDIENCE AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Kirk LaPointe EDITOR: Brenda Bouw DESIGN: Randy Pearsall PRODUCTION: Rob Benac WRITERS: Carolyn Ali,

mentorship for aspiring leaders, how female entrepreneurs are finding financing for their startups, and a handful of guest columns and Q&As from female leaders highlighting their professional journeys to date.

There are also some insightful and fun stories inside, including a look at the business of yoga (it’s not all peace and love on the mat) and the dangerous life of stuntwomen here in Hollywood North.

There’s also some advice for business travellers on what to pack in your carryon to lighten your load (and save a few bucks now that checked luggage isn’t free). We’ve also got a list of the five best places for women to meet and hammer out deals (hint: some require wearing spandex instead of suits).

Overall, this issue features a mix of voices from business leaders across the city. We hope you enjoy reading their stories as much as our team loved telling them.

Jane Armstrong, Romila Barryman, Emma Crawford Hampel, Dene Moore, Claire Newell, Jen St. Denis PROOFREADER: Meg Yamamoto ADMINISTRATOR: Katherine Butler

Women in Business 2016 is published

by BIV Magazines, a division of BIV Media Group, 303 Fifth Avenue West, Vancouver, B.C., V5Y 1J6, 604-688-2398, fax 604-688-1963, www.biv.com.

Copyright 2016 Business in Vancouver Magazines. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or incorporated into any information retrieval system without permission of BIV Magazines. The publishers are not responsible in whole or in part for any errors or omissions in this publication.

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WHAT

WOMEN

DESERVE

Sure, there are more women landing leadership roles today, but it’s not nearly enough for corporations that truly want to reflect society

JANE ARMSTRONG

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isa Vogt had five teenagers at home when she was named managing partner at the Vancouver office of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s leading national law firms. The new job meant more hours and travel, but Vogt says her husband, a doctor, shared the parenting duties and they were able to hire outside help to support their decision to juggle work and family. That her husband’s medical practice was three blocks from their home also worked in their favour.

“So when the high school calls and says your son was playing softball and he took a ball to the throat and he stopped breathing – which did happen once – my husband could call me and say, ‘This has happened.

I’m on it,’” Vogt recalls. Thankfully, their son wasn’t seriously injured.

Female leaders like Vogt are often called upon to share their success stories, including the details of the superhuman logistical efforts required to reach and maintain their positions of power.

Vogt doesn’t mind sharing, but agrees the same questions are rarely, if ever, posed to men in leadership roles.

Yes, the family had a housekeeper for 25 years. Yes, she delegated domestic tasks like cleaning, laundry and cooking to another person. It reveals another important side to the story: “You can have it all, but you cannot do it all,” says Vogt, 61.

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FEMALE LEADERS STILL ALL TOO RARE

Leaders like Vogt remain the exception in British Columbia’s business community. Studies in B.C. and across Canada show there are still few women in senior business leadership positions.

A 2015 report by the Minerva Foundation found that only four of 28 large B.C. corporations it surveyed were led by female CEOs. Two companies had no women on their executive team or the board of directors. There were no aboriginal women in the leadership ranks, among all of the companies surveyed. Nationally, the percentage of female company directors at Canada’s top 500 firms is just under 20 per cent.

“The numbers are abysmal,” says Jill Earthy, a Vancouver entrepreneur who has founded and sold two small businesses so far in her career. “We need to do something, and we need to do something drastic.”

PAUL JOSEPH

SHANNON ROGERS PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, GLOBAL RELAY COMMUNICATIONS INC.

Men, they want to help give women the opportunity to lead, but sometimes they’re just not quite sure how to do it

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

What women deserve

RICHARD LAM

LISA VOGT MANAGING PARTNER, MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT

You can have it all, but you cannot do it all

Earthy, who co-founded the WEB Alliance, a collective of B.C. women’s business networks, says there’s no lack of talent. However, “at the current pace, we will not close the gender gap in this lifetime.”

It’s been more than a generation since large numbers of women entered the workforce and began climbing professional ranks. They encountered sexism, stereotypes and glass ceilings as many juggled work and family obligations.

Today, women comprise nearly 48 per cent of the Canadian labour force, up from 37 per cent in 1976.

But women still struggle to reach senior positions even though record numbers are graduating from law schools and MBA programs.

Vogt describes the bias as a “soft bigotry,” in which employers make wrong assumptions about what women want from their careers.

An employer, for example, may assume that a female professional recently back from a parental leave won’t want to travel or increase her workload. Sometimes, those assumptions are made without consulting the female employee.

“They’re not allowing women to decide,” says Vogt, who first became a partner in 1990 while eight months pregnant with her third child.

“We can’t be second-guessing women,” she says. “We need to provide them with the exact same opportunities and let them choose.”

WHAT’S REALLY HOLDING WOMEN BACK?

MORE WOMEN = MORE PROFIT

Some argue that employers must change the way they recruit, mentor and advance women, as well as rethink what makes a good leader.

Others believe an unconscious bias remains against professionals whose backgrounds, skills and attitudes don’t neatly align with those of senior executives. In 2016, that group is still largely white and male.

There is a business case to increasing the number of women on corporate boards. Research by University of British Columbia finance professor Kai Li found that companies with a higher percentage of female directors perform better financially.

In one study, Li and co-researchers found that corporate boards that include more women are more likely

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

What women deserve

JILL EARTHY ENTREPRENEUR

The numbers are abysmal … We need to do something, and we need to do something drastic

to seek outside financial help during a takeover offer, reducing the risk of litigation from shareholders.

“They just do more background work to make sure that the company is making the right decision, so female directors are associated with stronger, better governance,” Li says.

Some believe Canada should follow the lead of certain European countries and impose gender quotas for the boards of listed companies. Regulators in Ontario have required firms listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange to make public the number of women on their boards and in executive officer positions. The mandatory “comply or explain” regulations were designed to give shareholders more information.

Seven provinces and two territories signed on to the initiative, but not B.C. or Alberta.

BC Securities Commission spokeswoman Pamela McDonald says B.C.’s biggest companies, such as Telus and Teck Resources, are already listed on Ontario’s stock exchange. The B.C. regulator did not want to add more costs to smaller companies by saddling them with extra reporting requirements.

THE CASE FOR QUOTAS

Earthy says she was opposed to quotas for years but has since changed her mind.

“To have more programs, whether it is quotas or comply and explain, it raises awareness and makes it a key priority for those boards to address, and we’re at a point where I think that is necessary,” she says.

Others think it’s better to encourage companies to change their own policies.

“I like the soft persuasion of targets – not quotas,” says Vogt.

However, she believes corporate employers must go beyond mentoring women to actively sponsor top female talent.

That means “someone is not just speaking to you but speaking about you,” Vogt says. “They’re around the boardroom table talking about you and providing opportunities for you.

“If anything now, women are over-mentored but under-sponsored,” she says.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP A DIRECT ROUTE TO THE TOP

Some women, like Earthy, have turned to entrepreneurship, where they have more control of the power levers.

“I think a lot of women are saying, ‘I could be more effective, I could have more of an impact if I create my own business, my own culture and be my own boss in this role,’ versus trying to fit into this [corporate] culture and this structure that isn’t working for me,” Earthy says.

Shannon Rogers left a law career 14 years ago to help found Global Relay Communications Inc., a Vancouver-based email archiving service that has become a global giant serving 22 of the world’s top 25 banks.

As president and general counsel, she feels a duty to promote women and set a different tone. For instance, in early 2015, at the firm’s leadership meeting, Rogers noticed she was the only woman in the room.

“I said, ‘This is ridiculous. I know all of you guys want

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more women, but somehow we’re not bringing in the women.’”

That year, the firm made a concerted effort to recruit more senior women.

“Men, they want to help give women the opportunity to lead, but sometimes they’re just not quite sure how to do it,” says Rogers, who believes part of her role is to help show them how.

BOARD MAKEUP SHOULD REFLECT THE MARKET

Another bright spot for women in the B.C. corporate landscape is Vancouver-based HSBC Bank Canada, Canada’s seventh-largest bank, which has an equal number of men and women on its Canadian board. Sixty per cent of the bank’s executive committee is female, including its CEO and president, Sandra Stuart.

Beginning in 2011, Stuart says, HSBC began looking at the demographic data of the bank’s senior employees and board members. With diverse clients from around the globe, HSBC wanted to ensure its senior management team reflected its market.

It changed its recruiting and mentoring policies to attract and groom more women and people from different ethnic backgrounds.

Stuart, who joined British-based HSBC in 1982 and worked abroad for the bank in Brazil and the U.S., says corporate boards with a diverse makeup address issues more thoroughly.

There’s a “very robust thought and discussion,” she says. “So when you do take a decision, you feel you have analyzed it and you feel you have a lot of comfort that you had a lot of good thinking and expertise on it.”

SPEAK UP, STAND OUT

Stuart also believes women who want top-level corporate careers must make more noise at work, which includes speaking up about their goals and being ready to jump in when a big offer comes along. She sees this happening at HSBC. “What I see is women actively looking at the opportunities in their organization, thinking about their career beyond the current role, preparing for their next role, building networks, events,” she says. “They are much more open about their careers and where they want to go. I love it.”

Men also play a role in ensuring that women excel, says Vogt. She notes some of the most collaborative professionals she’s encountered have been men who have spouses with busy careers.

“Guys whose wives work are tremendously supportive of women,” she says. “They want to succeed in business, but they are more resilient if things don’t work out. They will do something else because they have a safety net.

When your whole ego isn’t in one basket, you tend to be more forgiving of others, more forgiving of yourself, a better listener.” Vogt forecasts the next generation of corporate professionals will be more at ease with sharing power, which should help to increase the number of women in leadership roles.

“Because more of our kids are coming from dual-income families, and that’s my hope for the future.” É

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

WANTED: MORE FEMALE FUNDERS – AND FOUNDERS Raising money for a startup is difficult. It’s even more challenging if you’re a woman.

JEN ST. DENIS

LAUREN ROBINSON GLOBAL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, HIGHLINE

It boggles my mind that the people who are being invested in don’t represent the landscape of a broadly diverse nation

L

ike most first-time entrepreneurs, Vidigami founder Mandy Chan funded her startup using her own bank account, followed by contributions from friends and family, government grants and then, finally, her first outside investor.

That key backer was Andrew Wright, the Seattle-based founder of Smilebox, an online greeting card and photo management company. Chan had some good intelligence, gleaned from a networking event, that Wright would probably be interested in Vidigami, a photo management service for elementary and high schools.

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Entrepreneur Mandy Chan’s first outside investment helped to take her company to the next level | ROB KRUYT

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Wanted: more female funders – and founders

SHUTTERSTOCK

FEMALE FACE TIME

You’ve heard the saying, ‘It’s not what you know, but who you know’ that helps you get ahead. Here’s where to find the who to know.

Vancouver is full of incredibly diverse and supportive networking groups for entrepreneurial women. Many even run mentorship programs, fostering further support and growth. Below is my top-10 list of networking organizations for female entrepreneurs in Vancouver.

Forum for Women Entrepreneurs: Dedicated to providing visionary women with the education, empowerment and energy they need to become wildly successful entrepreneurs. Featuring programs, events and mentorship.

Women’s Enterprise Centre: A leading resource for women who own a business or are thinking of starting one. It offers skills training, mentorship programs, events and access to business loans.

Professional Women’s Network: Offers a comfortable, sophisticated environment for effective networking, education and business development.

Women in Biz Network: Connects, educates and empowers more than 10,000 professional women to grow within their business lives.

Women’s Leadership Circle (Greater Vancouver Board of Trade): Connects, supports and advocates for women in business through events, roundtables and online discussions. Host of the annual Wendy McDonald Awards, which recognize outstanding men and women who are working to increase diversity in Greater Vancouver’s business community.

Women’s Executive Network: Dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women in management, executive, professional and board roles. Offers events,

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mentorship programs and WXN’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards.

Crave Vancouver: All about female business owners. Hosts business chats, symposiums and other fabulous parties to connect you with savvy entrepreneurs. eWomenNetwork: A global networking site, with a Vancouver chapter, that provides access to a dynamic community of female business owners and professionals and a place to promote knowledge, products and services.

Minerva Foundation for BC Women: Non-profit charitable organization that supports women and girls throughout the province to gain the confidence and skills they need to reach their leadership potential. Hosts programs, events, education awards and Face of Leadership Conference annually in June.

WNorth Conference: Annual event in Whistler, B.C., for women in business on the leadership track. It features global speakers, workshops, social gatherings and mentoring.

Jen Schaeffers is the founder and chief connector at NetworkinginVan.com and executive director of the CKNW Orphans’ Fund.

“I found a lead investor who really appreciated what we were doing and had a lot of industry experience,” Chan says.

His $200,000 investment, made in mid-2013, helped transform Vidigami from a great idea into a salable product.

As a female founder, Chan is among a minority in the startup space. The statistics are stark: only 2.7 per cent of venture capital (VC) financing goes to female CEOs, according to a 2014 study by researchers at Babson College.

VC firms that had been founded by women – or had a higher than average percentage of female partners – were more likely to invest in companies founded by women, according to an April 2016 analysis by TechCrunch. Still, only three per cent of deal-making venture capitalists are women.

“Venture capital is a really difficult industry to get into and, typically, great VCs are previous entrepreneurs, which narrows the pool,” says Lauren Robinson, global operations director at Highline, a VC firm with offices in Vancouver and Toronto, which specializes in early-stage investments.

Of the 1,300 pitches Highline receives in a year, one per cent receive funding. Around 25 per cent of Highline’s investments go to female-founded companies.

“I’m definitely more open to receive pitches that reflect the Canadian landscape,” Robinson says. “For me I just believe that Canada has such diversity, and it’s not just women but people of colour, people from different backgrounds.

“To me, sometimes when you look at the tech industry, it boggles my mind that the people who are being invested in don’t represent the landscape of a broadly diverse nation.”

Manica Gautam recently trod the difficult path to become a venture capitalist. Gautam, who had worked in private equity for a decade, moved from Toronto to Vancouver to become a partner of Campfire Capital.

The retail-focused VC firm was founded by former Lululemon executive Brooke Harley.

“For the first six months of Campfire, before we had any capital raised, Brooke and I actually lived together,” Gautam says. “She rented out her home in Kitsilano – I am still renting out my home in Toronto – and we lived together in an apartment in Yaletown.”

Like the entrepreneurs they aim to finance, the Campfire founders made a lot of asks and heard “No” a lot as they initially raised money for the fund.

Campfire recently made its third investment in a female-founded startup called Figs, which makes stylish scrubs for nurses, doctors and other health professionals. Los Angeles-based Figs sells about 60 per cent of its products to female customers and provides a one-for-one donation of scrubs to doctors and nurses in developing countries.

“I’m delighted, first and foremost, but I’m more delighted because of what this company stands for,” Gautam says.

“I can’t argue with the stats [on VC and female-founded companies], but I think there’s a lot of capital for great ideas.” É

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

WOMAN TO WOMAN How mentorship is helping to empower the next generation of female leaders

ROMILA BARRYMAN

Mining executives Catherine McLeod-Seltzer (left) and Eira Thomas (right) are business partners and mentors helping to groom the next generation of female leaders | RICHARD LAM

I

f you were to ask mining duo Catherine McLeod-Seltzer and Eira Thomas to reminisce on their childhood, you would think the two grew up in the same household. Immersed in the industry through their mining families, Thomas vividly recalls trading the playground for geological sites while McLeod-Seltzer remembers talking “rocks and stocks” at the dinner table. Their fathers even crossed paths in the Arctic while working on their respective entrepreneurial endeavours. For anyone who knew the two, working together seemed to be the obvious next step.

McLeod-Seltzer and Thomas say it was not their similarities but their complementary differences that established their initial relationship. While McLeod-Seltzer had a financial background in capital raising on an international level, Thomas had more of a scientific background that was almost exclusively within Canada. Being almost a decade younger, Thomas felt there was a benefit in learning the skills that McLeod-Seltzer championed.

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“I was a generation or so behind,” Thomas says. “So I was looking for a very particular mentorship, and [McLeod-Seltzer] had all the traits I would value in a business partner. So why wouldn’t I have her as a mentor?”

It wasn’t until a mutual friend suggested the two enter a joint venture that their relationship evolved, and they founded Stornoway Diamond Corp., a firm that went on to build Quebec’s first diamond mine.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Woman to woman

CATHERINE MCLEODSELTZER MINING EXECUTIVE

I can’t emphasize the power of getting and giving mentorship enough

The success story of these mining mavens is considered rare in an industry where men still dominate both in the boardroom and in the pit. In 2013, the Mining Industry Human Resources Council reported that women made up only 16 per cent of the industry workforce. Statistics went on to further indicate that the percentage was mainly composed of administrative positions, with only a fraction in trades and production roles.

From the outside looking in, Thomas says this kind of data can fuel misconceptions on why the gender disparity exists. “It’s a tough industry whether you’re male or female,” she says. “There’s no question it’s a male-dominated industry, but I think people have the wrong idea on how it challenges women.”

Thomas argues the lack of women in mining is a result of failing to introduce the industry to girls at a young age.

“Mining is more than a bunch of guys in boots and pickaxes,” she says. “There’s a vast amount of opportunity to consider in an industry that’s been a mainstay since Canada was founded. I wish more women knew that.”

Thomas has made it her mission to expose a new generation of women to mining as a career option. Just as McLeod-Seltzer did for her, Thomas now dedicates time to mentoring highschool students and fresh female faces in the industry. The goal is to tackle misconception, above anything else.

But the lack of women is just the start of a broader conversation around diversity, says entrepreneur Lynda Brown, who sees a similar issue with gender imbalance in the technology field.

As CEO of Curatio, which provides online health tools, Brown says companies will not be able to survive without a diversified team. “If you’re going to build a global business, you need to reflect that in the makeup of your team,” she says.

Brown caught on to the idea that technology could be the key to solving more than just math equations after she won her first calculator in Grade 4. “I started to see patterns and linkages where others didn’t,” she recalls.

In regards to team architecture, one of the patterns Brown challenges CEOs to step outside is the “human desire” to hire within their social groups. “It’s against our cognitive behaviour, and there’s discomfort in that,” she says. “But we need to ask: ‘Am I connecting with this

TTO O BOOK B YOUR 2 0 1 WOMEN IN 2017 BU US AD BUSINESS

2016

WEST COAST WOMEN MAKING THEIR MARK

Call KKatherine at 604-608-5158 604-6 or eemail m kbutler@biv.com

Metro Vancouver’s first magazine dedicated to successful female leaders and entrepreneurs

, / Ê U Ê 1

Inspiring spots for women to talk shop

The funding reality for female founders

/ Ê U Ê

- * ,

View from the top: 5 questions for local leaders

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Space Close: Spac January 9, 2017 Janua

person because we’re alike? Or do they bring a valuable new perspective?’”

Unlike McLeod-Seltzer and Thomas, who created initiatives on their own, Brown is part of an extensive network of CEOs called Acetech. The non-profit organization creates opportunities for its members to connect through roundtable discussions, events and workshops.

Acetech doesn’t have any female-focused initiatives, which Shannon Susko, entrepreneur and lead at the Growth Strategy Program, says is a strategic play to support CEOs in the tech sector regardless of gender.

“When you are leading a team, you have to hire the best person for the role,” Susko says.

Programs and awards that are distinctly for women, while important, may not always be crucial, she says.

“I think it’s great to celebrate because there’s a long history of where we’ve come from to where we are today,” Susko says. “But if we are serious about making sure women move forward, the first thing we need to do is to fix unconscious prejudices.”

Susko recalls her first experience of confronting that barrier when she sought the advice of her father for a business degree internship. His reply: “Why are you concerned about a career when you’re going to get married anyway?”

“I did get married. I did have kids,” Susko says. “But I have a career now as well, and I excel at it because of the foundation of support I have around me – the same support I found in Acetech.”

Brown echoes the same sentiments in joining the organization, saying that while entrepreneurship is heralded as innovative and exciting, most people forget to mention its difficulty. “It’s really lonely being an entrepreneur,” says Brown.

While the numbers showing a lack of women across various industries can cause alarm, McLeod-Seltzer and Thomas, who have navigated through the male-dominated mining industry for years, have some simple advice for other women: Do good work outside of the workplace.

“The industry out there is very much a meritocracy, but frankly, I can’t emphasize the power of getting and giving mentorship enough,” McLeod-Seltzer says.

“It’s a two-way street, and there’s a bond that can last for decades.” É

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WE NEED TO TELL DIFFERENT STORIES ABOUT WOMEN Anne Giardini | Changing how we see and hear is also important to breaking cultural norms

I Studies have shown, for example, that one woman on a corporate board is better than none, but that you may need two or three or more for them to make a difference

n an essay about leadership in a recent issue of The New Yorker, Joshua Rothman wrote: “Because our desire for a coherent vision of the world is bottomless, our hunger for leadership is insatiable too.” Women share that hunger, both for good leaders and to serve as good leaders.

Since at least the time of the Etruscans – and there are doubts about them as well – biology, history and geography all have viewed the male as the standard and thus correct and the female as different and thus intrinsically wrong. We swim in a soup of hidden bias, stereotypes and assumptions. I have them. You have them. Go ahead and Google “Harvard implicit association” and test yourself.

Women entering the workplace face assumptions about their abilities and about how motherhood or other family obligations will affect their work. They encou nter i n for m a l practices that give interesting, demanding work to men. They go

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home to cultural norms that give them a disproportionate share of family and personal responsibilities.

They often lack mentors and champions and access to development opportunities.

We can start to change this by tel l i ng d i fferent stories about women and about other workplace minorities.

Changing how we see and hear is also important. There is the power of one. I recall how odd it was the first time I saw a woman newscaster on television. By the second or third time – quite quickly – my eyes and ears had grown used to it.

That is the power of one. And then there’s the power of many. Studies have shown, for example, that one woman on a corporate board is better than none, but that you may need two or three or more for them to make a difference.

Changing the rules is sometimes necessary as well. A friend used to play on a lawyers’ hockey league here in Vancouver. To encourage more women to play, the rules were changed to require each team to have as many women as men. The result was that faster men treated slower women a bit like pylons, skating around them to score the goals. So there came another rule change – every second goal had to be scored by a woman. Here’s the magic: the men and women began to work together to ensure both could succeed. The game was just as competitive and challenging, but it was meaningfully different. A real-world example of this kind of inclusion could be ensuring a team making a presentation includes women – and that they hold the floor half of the time.

We can change the narrative at a personal level. Mark Zuckerberg’s recent two-month paternity leave set a high-profile example to men around the world. When a judge in

Ontario plucked me ahead of others in a courtroom queue many years ago, noticing that I was very close to nine months pregnant, he not only reduced the risk of having a baby born on the floor of the courtroom, he sent a message that the important work of the court should make room for women. Judges and others in similar roles should be encouraged and empowered to ask, for example, whether any of the counsel appearing in front of them have a hard stop time to pick up kids from daycare, and to adjust a hearing schedule accordingly.

Another example is set by leadership in board and hiring practices.

Have a look at two of the boards on which I serve, Simon Fraser University and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, and you will see women represented in a manner reflective of the world we live in.

Elsewhere, we are seeing movement toward a “ comply or explain” approach to support board gender balance, requiring companies to indicate annually whether they have increased the representation of women on their boards, and if not, to provide a rationale. We need to ask companies to have in place formal policies for how they will include women, and we need to ask them about their progress toward making these policies a reality.

Female leaders bring a new set of skills and perspectives. In a world of challenges and tough problems, having female leaders at the table makes good sense. É Anne Giardini is a Vancouver-based lawyer, author, board member and chancellor of Simon Fraser University.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

NAMASTE IN NUMBERS

Running a yoga business is hard work and takes dedication, not unlike the practice itself

CAROLYN ALI

SUNNY TRIM VANCOUVER CORPORATE YOGA

You’ve got to get the flowers out of your hair

S

unny Trim remembers a time when yoga studios weren’t as common as coffee shops in Vancouver. In 2003, Trim was finishing her yoga teacher training when a student, who was a lawyer, asked if she would come to teach the employees at his firm.

“I thought, ‘If he wants yoga classes at his office, I’m sure there are other people who want yoga classes at their offices.’ Really, the business just took off,” she says.

Vancouver Corporate Yoga, which Trim started solo, now has 23 teachers who travel to workplaces around the city, filling the need for flexibility and wellness among the office worker crowd. She also runs a studio in the Royal Centre downtown, which draws everyone from administrative assistants to executives in need of some hatha healing.

While classes overflowed in her first five years and the need for yoga teachers grew, supply eventually caught up with demand, and Vancouver’s yoga landscape changed.

“Within the last five years, there’s just a saturation of teachers,” Trim says.

Now, in addition to the growth of what Trim calls “big-box” yoga studios, more teachers are opening their own studios hoping to turn their passion for physical and spiritual bliss into a full-time career. It has made the business of running a yoga studio even more competitive.

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City of Vancouver records show 65 business licences with the word “yoga” in their trade name in 2015, compared with 21 in 2003. Classes also proliferate at gyms, community fitness centres, parks and pop-up spaces.

Yoga teachers are not required to be licensed so there is no official count. Trim says that her biggest challenge is retaining students in the face of all of the variety, as well as initiatives like Groupon that encourage yogis to hop around.

While the practice of yoga may be about peace and relaxation, owning a yoga studio in Vancouver is a tough and sometimes frustrating business. Yoga studio owners like Trim say that they can’t always just go with the flow.

Sometimes they must create hard and fast boundaries for the sake of the business.

“I was doing this thing that people in the yoga community sometimes do, which is you just say ‘Yes’ to every opportunity,” says Julie Peters, describing her early years running the Ocean and Crow studio in the Commercial Drive area.

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After buying part of the studio in 2010 (her mother, Jane Peters, bought in two years later), Peters quickly learned that running a small business meant she had to start saying “No” if she wanted it to be financially viable. This meant turning away late students in order to preserve the “safe space” of the class, letting go of teachers or dropping classes that weren’t the right fit, and raising prices.

“It can be challenging, in part because there is that stereotype that … people do this for a labour of love, and because there is so much yoga that is available for cheap or for free, people don’t necessarily have a sense that it’s a high-value product,” Peters says.

Ocean and Crow aims to set itself apart by offering diverse classes such as “slow yoga” and yoga for anxiety and depression. It’s both a business strategy and a passion for Peters. She is gratified when students say they feel comfortable at her studio in a way they don’t elsewhere, and proud that her business is not just breaking even, but growing.

“I think it’s a huge success to be financially sustainable at all in a yoga studio context in Vancouver,” Peters says.

Monique Harris, owner of Moksha Yoga East Vancouver, a branch of the hot-yoga franchise, is also trying to differentiate her studio by building a community not just

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Vancouver Corporate Yoga founder Sunny Trim has watched the number of yoga studios expand across Metro Vancouver | ROB KRUYT

through yoga, but also through events and workshops that raise money for local charities. In May, for example, the studio held a “capitalism and climate change” talk, will all proceeds going to the David Suzuki Foundation.

The yoga business is rewarding for Harris, but also hard work. When she tells people she owns a yoga studio, the common misconception is that she spends her days teaching yoga and drinking tea. The tea part is true, but Harris spends most of her day managing the business and very little of it in downward dog.

“A lot of what I do is things like getting stuff ready for my bookkeeper, setting up marketing online, doing social media and balancing all my teachers,” Harris says.

Training through the Moksha franchise has helped Harris to keep her business plan on track and to hit her financial goals.

At Vancouver Corporate Yoga, Trim says she retains a loyal clientele by focusing on the basics they’re looking for: traditional hatha yoga at competitive rates, taught by professional teachers. The teachers also need to recognize it’s a business, at least if they want it to be a long-term career.

“You can’t walk into the office and be too hippy-dippy,” Trim says with a laugh. “You’ve got to get the flowers out of your hair.” É

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

DANGEROUS DAMES There’s work-life balance, then there’s trying not to kill yourself at work.

A peek into life as a Hollywood North stuntwoman DENE MOORE

MAJA ARO STUNTWOMAN

We get scratches and bruises but those are to be expected for a stunt performer; those are just part of the job

M

aja Aro has been shot, blown up, beaten and hung out of a helicopter. She’s been thrown off buildings, stabbed and dragged behind a horse. She’d like to crash a speeding car off a ramp. That’s high on her to-do list.

Aro, 32, is one of a growing number of Vancouver-based women who are, literally, kicking ass in the world of stunt performing.

“I luckily have not been injured that much. I’ve had a few small ones – we all do because we’re dodging stuff constantly,” Aro says after a day on set.

“We get scratches and bruises but those are to be expected for a stunt performer; those are just part of the job.”

A self-described “tomboy,” Aro grew up in Williams Lake, B.C. She was an avid athlete who competed on the national and international stage as a downhill skier and mountain biker.

When she moved to Vancouver, it was to pursue a career in fashion design. That was the plan.

Then she met some women working as stunt performers in the city’s film industry. The plan changed.

“I was like,‘That’s a job?’” she says.

That was 13 years ago.

She began training in martial arts, stunt driving, scuba diving – anything and everything that could come in handy when you fight, get blown up and crash cars for a living.

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Her first job was on a TV movie called The Concession, but her first “real” stunt was on the series Smallville, about the teenaged Superman.

It was not so long ago that men in wigs stood in for female actresses when the punches started to fly on film.

Fortunately, that’s no longer the case.

Aro has racked up an impressive list of credits, including The Cabin in the Woods, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and five seasons of the television series Once Upon a Time.

In April, she was awarded the inaugural Stunt Warrior Award at the Artemis Women in Action Film Festival in Los Angeles for her work.

She co-directed two short films last year with directing partner Sara Irvine-Erickson and just won a Motion Picture Production Industry Association of British Columbia short film grant.

“I absolutely love my job,” says Aro, who is married to stunt performer Jeffery Aro. Business is booming in the Vancouver film industry, and women like Aro are cashing in.

“These are good times,” says Alvin Sanders, president of the Union of BC Performers.

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Maja Aro thought she would become a fashion designer, until she met some women working as stunt performers.

Her career plan suddenly changed | RICHARD LAM

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Dangerous dames

(top left) Two redheads: stuntwoman Maja Aro on the set of Once Upon a Time (top right) Maja Aro doing a bike stunt (middle left) Fire jumper: stuntwoman Sabine Varnes in action on a movie set (bottom centre) Sabine Varnes headshot PHOTOS PROVIDED BY MAJA ARO AND SABINE VARNES

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Last year was a record year. The city of Vancouver alone had 353 productions that spent $2 billion. That included 26 feature films such as the blockbuster Deadpool and the upcoming Star Trek Beyond.

Beyond the array of beautiful backdrops, Metro Vancouver has one-of-a-kind studios for special effects and a highly skilled workforce, Sanders says, including stuntwomen like Aro and Sabine Varnes.

A Richmond-raised former gymnast, Varnes was a “ski bum” in Whistler when her former coach suggested she go into stunt work. He had.

She was 25 when she decided to give it a try.

By 2001, she landed a job working for Universal Studios in Japan, playing Sarah Connor in the live stunt show Terminator 2 3-D. After a little more than a year, hooked on the business, she was back in Los Angeles, hustling work.

“I’d get in my car, get my Thomas Guide – this is before I had maps on my phone – and you cruise downtown L.A. and look for the signs where movies are happening,” she says.

Headshots and resumé in hand, she was hunting jobs.

“You kind of either gracefully get on set, sneak on set … just get in, find the co-ordinator, handshake and out. Wrap it up in a minute. That’s the art of the hustle right there.”

Her first big break was the Ben Stiller movie The Heartbreak Kid, in which she doubled both lead actresses, Michelle Monaghan and Malin Akerman.

“That was my foot in the door,” she says in an interview before heading out to work on the ABC miniseries When We Rise, a follow-up to the Oscar-winning film Milk.

Her long list of credits includes the latest instalment of the Jason Bourne films, Underworld: Awakening and the Superman revival Man of Steel.

One of her favourites, though, remains the HBO series True Blood.

“Such a hard day. I had to work with a shirtless Alex Skarsgard. Poor me,” she says, laughing.

A single mother, Varnes works a little less than she used to so that she can be home with her toddler son.

“The job is intense,” she says. “When I come home I

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have this little quirky, silly goofball who’s saying hilarious things to me. And that just brings me back down to playtime. My whole life is my son.”

Most stunt performers don’t have managers or agents.

They book their own jobs, juggle appointments, keep the books and pay the bills themselves.

For Varnes, the support of her family has been vital.

“My mom is my rock. She is someone I can count on 100 per cent,” she says.

“It makes going to work easier and without stress … The baby is fine. I have no worries and I can go focus on work and enjoy my work, because it’s supposed to be fun, too.”

As far as women have come in the stunt industry, it can still be “Boys Town,” Varnes says. On one recent project, there were eight women among the 40 or so stunt performers on set.

Diversity overall remains a challenge in the industry, Sanders says.

“Ju st l i ke a nu mb er of ot her i ndu st r ies, it’s a male-dominated world. Particularly on the stunt side, so much of that is, if not men actually doing the work, men making the decisions about who does the work,” Sanders says.

Things are a “little more PC these days,” Aro says, but women face some gender-specific challenges.

A female body moves differently and has a different centre of gravity. Then there are the outfits. They don’t leave much room for padding.

“We’re often in high heels, a tight skirt,” she says.

“I’ve had a few of them [stunt co-ordinators] be nervous for me, saying, ‘You’re going to jump out of the car and you’re in a skirt and you have no pads on?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, that’s what I’m doing. That’s my job.’” É

Off set: Sabine Varnes and her son, Rhyatt Edward James

117 years until Ydd [gehYfa]k hjgÕl from more women in leadership?

Put gender on your agenda. ey.com/womenfastforward #WomenFastForward

© 2016 Ernst & Young LLP. All Rights Reserved. ED0617.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

WHERE TO

TALK SHOP

Forget the boardroom or the bar; women are finding more interesting places to meet and talk business

EMMA CRAWFORD HAMPEL

SHANNON WILSON CO-FOUNDER, KIT AND ACE

Business relationships are less about formal networking; the focus has shifted to authentic connections and experience

T

here is no such thing as a traditional business meeting anymore, and women are partly to thank. How, when and where women conduct business has evolved, due to flexible working hours and a need to mix business with pleasure. Women are developing fresh ways of making contacts, exchanging ideas and building relationships. Where do women in Vancouver go to network, talk deals and promote their companies? The answer is – pretty much anywhere.

Here are some traditional, and some not-so-traditional, venues where female executives are taking care of business (and themselves).

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HIVE

210 – 128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, 778-800-1250 www.hivevancouver.com HiVE, which describes itself as an event, programming and co-working space, allows individuals and groups to rent desks, either on a drop-in basis or for a more permanent stretch. It also rents out space for meetings and allows clients to use office equipment. The space provides members with an opportunity to collaborate and share ideas in an open environment. In addition, HiVE puts on small networking events for social ventures or meet-up groups. For example, every third Monday of the month, it hosts a learning and support group for individuals wishing to discuss ways to foster positive social change. These meet-ups also set aside time for individuals to talk about maintaining work-life balance.

FIVE SAILS RESTAURANT AT THE PAN PACIFIC VANCOUVER

410 – 999 Canada Place, Vancouver, 604-844-2855 www.fivesails.ca Where the elite meet to eat – and strike business deals.

The Pan Pacific’s Five Sails Restaurant, located on Vancouver’s waterfront, is cited by some of the city’s movers and shakers as one of the best places to do

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business over dinner. The restaurant is known for its West Coast-inspired cuisine, and some of the restaurant’s signature dishes include roasted halibut and lavender honey-glazed duck. Its views of Stanley Park and the inner harbour make it one of the best locations to impress out-of-town guests. The restaurant has a private dining room available for 10 to 20 guests. It also has water views, and the tables can be arranged to suit different meeting types.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Where to talk shop

SCANDINAVE SPA

8010 Mons Road, Whistler, 604-935-2424 www.scandinave.com It is hard to beat the experience at Scandinave Spa. The setting’s natural beauty and the relaxing Scandinavian baths and world-class spa facilities have made it a go-to destination for tourists from around the world. It can also be a great place for team-building. While there is no talking allowed in the baths themselves – the spa wants to maintain an air of serenity for visitors – the on-site bistro can be a perfect place to wind down and share ideas after a day of pampering. Scandinave provides special rates for groups of 10 or more.

GROUSE GRIND

Grouse Mountain, 6400 Nancy Greene Way, North Vancouver, 604-980-9311 www.grousemountain.com/ grousegrind Every year, more than 150,000 people head to the Grouse Gri nd to test their endurance and strength on a 2.9-kilometre hike that takes them up 2,800 steps to more than 1,000 metres above sea level. Some executives find the Grind is the perfect place to hold team meetings, allowing them to exercise while working out business deals.

It is open only during daylight hours, so it’s best to check the website before starting the climb. The Grind is closed during the winter and when weather conditions are bad.

Heading to the Grind is not the only way to combine physical fitness with team-building. For example, Shannon Wilson, co-founder of Kit and Ace, says her go-to activity is heading to SHUTTERSTOCK a spin class. “Staying active is an important part of my life, and because Vancouver is such an active city, it’s a great way to connect with other women in business here,” she says. “Like all working moms, my schedule is packed, so the ability to kill two birds with one stone is appealing. Plus, it keeps the meeting fun.”

Wilson says men and women are starting to move away from traditional forms of networking, especially in an active city like Vancouver. “Business relationships are less about formal networking; the focus has shifted to authentic connections and experience,” Wilson says.

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THE VANCOUVER CLUB

915 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, 604-685-9321 www.vancouverclub.ca The Vancouver Club first opened its doors in 1889 and was long considered the hub of the city’s Old Boys network. This is no longer the case. Women have been able to become full members since the 1990s. In 2000, the Vancouver Club merged its membership with the Georgian Club, which was an association of Vancouver women whose home was in the former Royal Bank building at Homer Street. The club has a boardroom, a grand ballroom and several meeting rooms in which members can rub elbows with some of the city’s high-powered executives. The building also has bars, a tasting room and a rooftop patio, and its private gym includes yoga and Pilates. Entrepreneur Cybele Negris finds herself at the Vancouver Club often, either attending or speaking at events. “I like that they make a concerted effort to host women-in-business events,” says Negris, co-founder and CEO of Webnames.ca Inc. “We need to encourage women to network with each other and with men because, I find, a big part of success is still and always has been who you know.” É

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FINDING LIFE’S PURPOSE Chastity Davis | Never underestimate the power of having someone support you and your goals

E My work is rooted in the notion of reconciliation.

That includes helping to build bridges and mutually respectful and beneficial relationships

SHUTTERSTOCK

ver since I was a little girl, growing up on the Sunshine Coa s t a nd on Va nc ouver Island as a proud member of the Tla’amin Nation, I wanted to be an educated, successful businesswoman. I wanted to create positive change in the world.

I was raised by a single dad for most of my childhood. My father instilled pride and confidence in me. I believe this, combined with a natural curiosity and hunger for knowledge, inspired me to want to be a leader someday.

To pursue my dream, I moved to Vancouver as a young woman. The transition from a small town to the big city was challenging at first.

There was so much to learn about the culture of city people, navigating public transit and, perhaps most importantly looking back, how to build a strong network of like-minded individuals.

Shortly after receiving my marketing management and professional sales diploma at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, I began working at the Refinery Leadership Partners, a leadership development company. The owner, Barbara Ross-Denroche, was my first business mentor. She helped me see my potential.

Until then, I think I underestimated the power of having someone support you and your goals. Barbara

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took an interest in my personal and professional development and encouraged me to apply for the Minerva Foundation’s Follow a Leader program, which pairs young women with mentors. It changed my life.

It was through that program that I met my second business mentor, Bev Van Ruyven, executive vice-president and deputy CEO of BC Hydro. Bev asked me a question that you hear a lot in life, but perhaps not in the way she meant it.

Bev asked, “What do you want to do with your life?” By that she meant: how am I going to make it happen?

And how could she help?

T he question made me think, harder than I had before, about the response and what it would take to make it happen.

My answer was to connect aboriginal people not just in B.C., but all around the world. I had a strong calling to do this work. I had recently learned about my mother’s residential-school experience and was beginning to do a lot more research into my indigenous roots.

T he history of colonialism and genocide in Canada had a deep and intergenerational effect on my identity as a young mixed-heritage woman. In my research, I learned that the detrimental effect of colonialism was a global issue. I knew there had to be power in connecting indigenous peoples to share their experiences, common problems and solutions, and to provide hope for future generations. This vision was big and not entirely clear at the time, but being forced to express my goals out loud – and to someone I looked up to – compelled me to take action sooner, rather than later.

I wound up working at BC Hydro, taking a role helping First Nation communities across the province build sustainable communities that are prosperous not only economically but also culturally and socially. That included protecting their culture, governance, rights

and title and the land and environment around them.

I learned so much about indigenous peoples by travelling to more than 100 communities across B.C. through my work with BC Hydro.

I had largely grown up off-reserve with my non-aboriginal father. It was BC Hydro that helped return me to my indigenous roots. I met and worked with hundreds of people during that time. Each one of them touched me in a unique way. Many shared their way of life, culture, residential-school stories, meals, land, water, stories and so much more.

This experience inspired me to create change beyond my role at BC Hydro, which is why I left to start my own consulting company in 2011.

I saw a large gap in how companies and communities worked together, which didn’t need to be there.

This is where I focused my energy in my new company: connecting non-aboriginal people with aboriginal people.

My work is rooted in the notion of reconciliation. That includes helping to build bridges and mutually respectful and beneficial relationships.

We have a long way to go for the full vision of reconciliation to be realized in our country and in other countries around the world. However, I am inspired by the effort of individuals in First Nation communities, companies and governments that are taking steps towards fostering reconciliation in their spheres of influence.

I see my career and my life thus far as a journey. I know that I am living my life’s purpose. É Chastity Davis is principal at Chastity Davis Consulting.

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SMART TRAVELLER

Want to avoid airport baggage fees and the long wait for your luggage on the other end?

Here are some tips to pack light, without sacrificing your need for comfort in-flight

CLAIRE NEWELL

I

travel a lot. That’s my job.

When you travel as much as I do, the right gear and necessary modern contraptions make life so much easier. So I pack very carefully; in fact, there are a few things that never leave my trusty carryon. Here are a few favourites.

Claire Newell is a travel expert and president and founder of Vancouver-based Travel Best Bets | ROB KRUYT ROB KRUYT

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CASHMERE SHAWL OR SCARF

You can use it as a blanket on a flight and to keep warm while away. I don’t travel without one.

BRANDS: You can find a good selection from brands like Kate Spade, Diane von Furstenberg and Echo at the Bay. PRICE: $60 to $198

IN-EAR NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES

I find the over-ear headphones too bulky to travel with.

The in-ear ones are really comfortable, are a fraction of the size and perform just as well.

BRAND: Bose PRICE: $329 or BRAND: Sony PRICE: $249.99

MYCHARGE TRANSIT PLUS

This is a portable battery pack, which also comes with its own swing-out plugs for both wall and car charging.

You can plug it into a wall or car, then plug a device into its USB port to charge. Plus, it’s about the size of a deck of cards so it can easily slip into a bag or purse.

BRAND: MyCharge PRICE: $59.99

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Smart traveller

PACKING CUBES

I swear by packing cubes for keeping me organized. Once you use them you will never want to pack without them.

You can purchase them at the Travel Bug at 2865 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. BRAND: Eagle Creek PRICE: $32

HANGING TOILETRIES BAG

Often I stay in cities like New York or London where the hotels are small and the bathrooms have no counter space. A hanging toiletries bag gives you easy access to everything without taking up any valuable counter space.

BRAND: Wodison PRICE: $24

COMPACT UMBRELLA

I keep this in my purse so I never get caught in the rain. It’s small, light and good quality.

BRAND: You can get these anywhere. Vancouver Umbrella has a nice selection or go to any drug or department store, like the Bay. PRICE: $25-plus

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BAG TO CARRY IT ALL

My favourite carry-on is the Samsonite Winfield 2 Fashion HS Spinner 20. It’s functional and fashionable. It is very light and has a metallic brushed finish that hides scratches and knocks really well. It comes in colours such as red, purple and charcoal. You can purchase it at Samsonite directly or at the Travel Bug. BRAND: Samsonite PRICE: $139

HAND AND LIP MOISTURIZER

I keep Rosebud Salve – both hand and lip moisturizer in one – in my bag at all times. The dry air in planes and hotel rooms makes my lips and hands dry out so quickly. Tubes get messy while flying because of the cabin pressure. You can get it in stores like BeautyMark and Beauty Bar or at Sephora.

BRAND: Sephora PRICE: $7.50

Leadership is about people. #emotionalintelligence Know. Engage. Lead. www.eitrainingcompany.com

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

LEADERSHIP REVIEW

W

e asked a few female leaders across Metro Vancouver about their definition of feminism, what women inspire them and the most surprising comments they’ve received in the top job. Their answers will inspire, delight and maybe even shock you.

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ROB KRUYT

KATHLEEN BARTELS DIRECTOR, VANCOUVER ART GALLERY WHAT DOES FEMINISM MEAN TO YOU? Q It means equal rights, equal pay and equal opportunities for all, irrespective of gender, class and ethnicity. I believe that we are now creating our own version of feminism, one that is more inclusive and intersectional. We still have much work to do to create opportunities and raise the profile of women leaders.

I n the a r ts community and professionally, internationally renowned artist Cindy Sherman has had a great influence on me.

She has produced many important works on women’s identity and aging. She was able to break the glass ceiling by challenging the status quo and establish herself as one of the great artists of our time. Another mentor, someone I knew personally, was the late Zaha Hadid.

She was the first woman and the first Muslim architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize and the Stirling Prize. I have always admired her tenaciousness and her groundbreaking ideas. On a personal level, my two sisters – one is an artist and the other a cultural anthropologist – have played and continue to play an influential role in my life, and I often go to them for advice.

WHO ARE YOUR FEMALE MENTORS? Q

WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A LEADER? Q The

best part about being a leader is being able to envision

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the possibilities, to define the best path toward reaching goals, to possess the tenacity and courage to pursue their fulfilment and to have the passion necessary to inspire and lead others. My team is really important to me as I enjoy collaborating with people and empowering others. I do believe that female leaders are more collaborative, sensitive and focused around shaping genuine partnerships.

WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING THING SOMEONE HAS SAID T O YO U A S A FE MALE LE AD E R? H OW DID YO U

The best advice I could give is to be patient, because not everything comes quickly

RESPOND? Q I’m always surprised when I’m confronted by gender role stereotypes, but I’ve certainly been exposed to more biases recently as we work towards our vision for a new purpose-built art gallery. These gender biases often come from outside the art world and from both men and women. The most important thing for me in these situations is to stay confident, determined and resilient, and to continue to stay focused on my work and achieve the best results for the Vancouver Art Gallery.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUNG WOMEN ENTERING THE WORKFORCE TODAY? Q The best advice I could give

is to be patient, because not everything comes quickly.

Be persistent and confident, and persevere. Seize every opportunity that comes your way. Also, be supportive of other women and empower other women. Seek out organizations with women in strong leadership roles.

Be the change you want to see!

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Leadership review Q&A

ROB KRUYT

KARINA BRIÑO PRESIDENT AND CEO, MINING ASSOCIATION OF BC

The most rewarding experience is seeing people grow, both men and women

For me, it’s about sharing a common goal of equal opportunities for women. We need to create these opportunities not just in business, but also in academia, sciences and across all sectors. To me, this is society’s responsibility. This isn’t a women’s problem.

WHAT DOES FEMINISM MEAN TO YOU? Q

T here a re definitely public figures that have influenced me in one way or another throughout my career. That said, my most influential mentors have been my mother and grandmothers. I grew up in Chile, in a family where women went to school, worked, voted and contributed to society. They inspired me to do whatever I wanted in life – to be the best I can be.

W H O A R E YO U R F E M A L E M E N T O R S? Q

WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A LEADER? Q The

most rewarding experience is seeing people grow, both men and women. To me, leadership isn’t about being

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popular. It’s about providing support and empowering others to strive to be the best they can be and providing them with the tools to thrive, to be engaged and encouraged.

WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING THING SOMEONE HAS SAID T O YO U A S A F E MALE LE AD E R? H OW D ID YO U RESPOND? Q I

was working in a senior policy role in government and attended my first industry meeting at a mining conference. When I arrived, I was asked to sit at the back of the room. They thought I was an assistant.

I wasn’t personally offended, but it was an incredibly important eye-opener. The best part was the reaction from my boss – a man. He said, “She’s at the table, I’m at the back.” I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better outcome.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUNG WOMEN ENTERING THE WORKFORCE TODAY? Q Sometimes being a woman

in a leadership role is associated with competitiveness. I think it’s completely the opposite. As women we need to support each other; together, we can strive to be better.

We need to work together to get through the issues we’re constantly facing.

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AMIEE CHAN PRESIDENT AND CEO, NORSAT INTERNATIONAL INC. WHAT DOES FEMINISM MEAN TO YOU? Q It’s about fighting for women’s rights, whether they’re political, economic or social. It’s something I believe strongly in, whether it’s in education, the workforce or anywhere women pursue their careers.

WHO IS YOUR FEMALE MENTOR? Q My mother. She’s the

person I look up to. She’s always instilled in me a sense of responsibility and given me the confidence to know that I can do whatever I set my mind to.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A LEADER? Q For

me, it’s about venturing into the unknown and taking our team to places where maybe we haven’t been before.

It’s about trail-blazing. When I first started in my role, the company was in financial dire straits because the previous strategy was focused on large military orders, which weren’t realized. We had to find alternative sources of revenue. Today, I’m happy to say, we’re doing quite well.

WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING THING SOMEONE HAS SAID T O YO U A S A F E MALE LE AD E R? H OW D ID YO U RESPOND? Q Someone did ask me once if my father owned the company. They couldn’t figure out how a young female ended up in the position I’m in today.

I think they were just trying to make conversation. I explained to him that Norsat is a public company and that I worked my way up to the top. I started as a co-op student.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUNG WOMEN ENTERING THE WORKFORCE TODAY? Q Don’t shy away from being

different. Follow your heart. Follow your passion. It sounds cliché but it’s true. Also, when it comes to worklife balance, draw a line between your personal life and your career. You may have to cross that line from time to time, and don’t beat yourself up when you do. Try your best.

RICHARD LAM

Don’t shy away from being different. Follow your heart. Follow your passion

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Leadership review

RICHARD LAM

BRENDA IRELAND

WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING THING SOMEONE HAS SAID T O YOU A S A FE MALE LE AD E R? H OW DID YOU

PRINCIPAL, FIRST LIGHT INITIATIVES

Act like you know what you’re doing even though you may be finding your way as you go along. Setting the bar high expands your skills

WHAT DOES FEMINISM MEAN TO YOU? Q Equality in the social, economic, political and legal spheres so women can claim their power – their rightful place – in realizing the gifts the Creator has given them.

W H O A R E YO U R F E M A L E M E N T O R S? Q M i n q u on Minquon (Shirley Bear) from Nequotkuk (Tobique), New Brunswick, an artist, poet, feminist and activist, who took a fledgling human being and helped me find my way to my identity as an indigenous woman. Also my mother, the late Phyllis Ireland, who, with quiet grace and dignity, taught that even in difficult circumstances one can find a way to express one’s right to be who one is.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A LEADER? Q One of my philosophies for leadership is an anonymous quote: “I must catch up with the others for I am their leader.”

It captures my approach, which is to be a catalyst that brings people together, establishes a team that creates a vision, goals and strategies and then guides/mentors, believing that the team has the imagination, skills and fortitude to accomplish exciting and incredible things.

I am amazed by how having the courage to believe in people can inspire others to achieve and effect change.

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RESPOND? Q I was asked by a dean of a post-secondary institute about what was different for me that led to my graduating with a master’s degree, when my siblings had not graduated high school. I couldn’t answer the question then and am not sure I can today. Perhaps it has to do with being the eldest, with knowing my father had incredibly high aspirations for me. Perhaps it was because I heard “dirty squaw and half-breed will never amount to anything” just one too many times growing up and I wanted to prove them wrong.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUNG WOMEN ENTERING THE WORKFORCE TODAY? Q Look for opportunities to

step outside your comfort zone – if necessary, fake it ‘til you make it. Act like you know what you’re doing even though you may be finding your way as you go along. Setting the bar high expands your skills, pushes you to be creative and asks you to be courageous. There are times when I question my ability, my place in the world. Harsh words and lessons of racism and the legacy of a challenging childhood are sometimes not far from the surface. That’s when I draw on my experience, strengths, self-confidence, dignity and assertiveness, remembering the gifts of faith and encouragement I’ve received from many friends – men and women, youth and elder.

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ROB KRUYT

LISA NIEMETSCHECK GENERAL MANAGER, FORUM FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS (FWE)

business and community leaders to turn the dial ahead for women in B.C. and across the country.

W H AT I S T H E M O S T S U R P RI S I N G T H I N G S O M E O N E HA S SAID T O YOU A S A FE MALE LE AD E R? H OW DID

WHAT DOES FEMINISM MEAN TO YOU? Q For me, it means

ensuring that opportunities are available to all women to shape their future, personally and professionally, and that we as a society embrace this.

WHO ARE YOUR FEMALE MENTORS? Q My female mentors are Judy Brooks (an FWE board member) and Christina Anthony (FWE’s founder and chair). When I’m meeting others and providing feedback and advice on their business situations, I hear myself telling the big learning stories and recalling the lessons that I have learned from them. They have taught me so much about leadership, service, professional relationships, strategy and so much more. Because of their perspectives, the lens that I use to look at challenges and opportunities has been a gamechanger and has shaped who I am today.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A LEADER? Q Having an impact – whether it’s in women’s businesses and careers, at the table or on the future of FWE. None of us operates alone, so through my work at FWE and now as an incoming co-chair of the WEB Alliance, I am fortunate to work with an incredible board, mentors and other

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I’m lucky to be part of a business community that embraces diversity and champions women in business. I experienced nothing but respect and support. That’s my story, though, and others aren’t so lucky. When I was just starting out my career, almost every conversation with one particular colleague involved a lewd comment followed by laughter (his, not mine). There’s still a lot of work to do to change attitudes towards women in trades, female students, interns and leaders.

YOU RESPOND? Q

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUNG WOMEN ENTERING

Reach out to one or two senior-level leaders – women or men – who might mentor you. Many larger workplaces already have peer mentorship programs, and where a workplace does not, it means you need to take the future in your own hands and be proactive. Reach out and have conversations. Being able to talk about career goals and skills development can provide encouragement and open the doors that are needed to move ahead. Business leaders want to see the next generation succeed and are so often happy to give back with their time, experience and feedback.

THE WORKFORCE TODAY? Q

Being able to talk about career goals and skills development can provide encouragement and open the doors that are needed to move ahead

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

Leadership review

RATANA STEPHENS CO-CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, NATURE’S PATH FOODS

Feminism does not mean superior to or better than men. It means equality. It means freedom to choose whatever a woman wants, whether profession, education, religion or tradition. It’s the freedom to contribute to society singly or with an understanding spouse or partner.

WHAT DOES FEMINISM MEAN TO YOU? Q

WHO ARE YOUR FEMALE MENTORS? Q My grandmother

was my first real mentor. She was a widow at age 17 and brought up her three sons single-handedly in rural India. She was brave, strong-willed, loving and wise.

She encouraged me to get a top education and stand on my own two feet. Another great mentor for me was the late prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi. Although a controversial leader, she was a dutiful daughter, who, I feel, put the interests of the country first. There are also so many others, like Golda Meir, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt and Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring and is the mother of the environmental movement. She has been and still is an inspiration. We stand on the shoulders of these and many other great women.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A LEADER? Q Having the freedom to serve, motivate and help shape the future.

WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING THING SOMEONE HAS SAID TO YOU AS A FEMALE LEADER? HOW DID YOU RESPOND? Q

RICHARD LAM

Seek the best advice of others, and then decide for yourself the best path. Don’t let your fear hold you back

00_Women in Business 2016_005_44pages.indd 40

One day about 22 years ago, after our company started to stabilize, I was grocery shopping in Vancouver, picking up food for my family, when a woman I didn’t know tapped on my shoulder and said she was very impressed by my business leadership. I was taken aback. Me, a leader? Impressed with me? I was just this humble woman from partition-era India creating a livelihood for my young family, hanging on by the skin of my teeth. I had no MBA, no background in business or manufacturing, no training in finances or human resources. I didn’t feel like a leader at all. But then the scenario repeated itself. I responded by upgrading my education – taking courses and reading about marketing, manufacturing, finance and leadership – to propel myself into the leader I was meant to be.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUNG WOMEN ENTERING

Choose a goal, a path, and charge ahead with single-minded focus. Seek the best advice of others, and then decide for yourself the best path. Don’t let your fear hold you back. You will encounter successes and failures, ups and downs. These are all part of the journey. A success is a failure that never gave up. É

THE WORKFORCE TODAY? Q

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SPONSORED COLUMN

HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS PROGRAM Karen MacMillan | Advice for organizations across industries

T You need to articulate not only why diversity is the right thing to do, but also that it can create a competitive advantage

he lega l profession, l i ke many, doesn’t have a strong h istory of d iversity, pa rticularly in leadership positions.

A recent Law Society of British Colu mbia (LSBC) study shows that, while more women graduate from law school each year, they typically represent less than 35 per cent of lawyers in private practice and fewer than 20 per cent of partners at law firms. And that is just gender diversity. The picture is no better when it comes to overall diversity and inclusiveness in the legal profession, alongside other sectors in the business world. The gap highlights the need for organizations to design and implement initiatives aimed specifically at improving diversity and, perhaps more importantly, inclusiveness performance. Lawson Lundell LLP has devoted considerable time and effort to developing a strategic plan to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, with some success to date. While more needs to be done, our work to date has provided valuable insight and lessons, including the need to focus on a few basics:

results are often increased profits, while at the same time allowing your organization to gain more traction when looking to implement diversity and inclusiveness policies and processes.

first 10 years. The organization creates best practices policies and guidance, which have been adopted by the LSBC. Examples include flexible working arrangements and advancement to partnership.

R E V I E W A N D C O N S I D E R YO U R

B E OPE N TO THE PE RSPEC TIVE S

U N D E R S TA N D H O W C H A N G E

Start by form i ng a d iversity a nd i nclusiveness com m ittee to conduct a n ongoi ng rev iew of your organization’s diversity and inclusiveness performance. Part of the committee’s role should be to compare your organization’s hiring practices and educational program graduate ratios against others.

Understanding how you stack up will provide a benchmark against which you can measure progress. It can also lead to greater awareness of the need for the promotion of diversity and inclusiveness within your organization. It may also i n f luence certa i n recr u itment de ci sion s. A n i mp or ta nt pa r t of th is process is to recog n ize and understand the power and prevalence of unconscious bias, which often leads people making hiring and promotion decisions to recruit and advance people like themselves.

BENEFITS THE BOTTOM LINE Q In order to get buy-in from leaders and senior management, you need to articulate not only why diversity is the right thing to do, but also that it can create a competitive advantage.

Diversity and inclusiveness will help your organization not only attract and retain top talent, but also benefit from a broader range of ideas and varying points of view.

This, in turn, will help to drive ideas, innovation, efficiency and productivity, which are key drivers for organizational success. The

Another way to bu i ld su sta i n able d iversity pol icies a nd prog ra ms is to leverage the fi nd i ngs a nd best practices developed by industry organizations. In the legal industry, an example is the Law Society of BC’s Justicia Project, a precedent-sett i ng i n it iat ive created in response to evidence that female lawyers leave private pract ice at a h ig her rate t h a n their male counterparts in their

It’s important to consider, understand and make certain changes based on the needs and wants of younger memb ers of t he orga n i zat ion.

Figuring out what issues affect them, and engaging them in finding and implementing solutions, can lead to improved retention and advancement of a more diverse workforce. It helps to foster a more inclusive culture. An example of this might be the review and perhaps revision of parental leave policies to reflect and support the idea of shared parenting, a concept that is i ncreasi ng ly embraced by younger professionals.

Understa nd i ng the va lues a nd perspectives of the more junior members of your organization is essential if you hope to retain a diverse group of future leaders.

In the long term, the success of any diversity and inclusiveness program will require the cultivation of an inclusive culture. This is no simple task and is a continuous process, but focusing on the basics has proven to be a helpful place to start. É

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HIRING PRAC TICES Q

BENEFIT FROM OTHER INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS Q

OF YOUNGER EMPLOYEES Q

Karen MacMillan is chief inclusiveness officer and a partner at Lawson Lundell LLP.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2016 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER

SPONSORED COLUMN

HOW TO AVOID CREATING YOUR OWN GLASS CEILING Farzana Adatiya and Leza Muir | Women need to understand that there’s more to leadership than mastering the functions of a job

I Women executives cannot do it all themselves and need support to meet work and family obligations

n the insurance industry, the executive ranks are viewed as predominantly male. One exception is Pacific Blue Cross, where women represent 70 per cent of s e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t , i n c l u ding executive roles such as chief operating officer, chief marketing officer, senior vice-president of sales and vice-president of human resources.

Two senior executives, Leza Muir, senior vice-president of claims services, and Farzana Adatiya, senior vice-president of strategy and implementation, discuss their experiences and advice for women seeking to become leaders in their industries: IS WORK-LIFE BALANCE A REALISTIC GOAL? Q Both

Muir and Adatiya agree that work-life balance is possible, but ex pectations a re constantly shifting.

As a mother of a young daughter, Adatiya says the toughest part of leadership is giving up control.

“Women executives cannot do it all themselves and need support to meet work and family obligations.”

She encourages women to surround themselves with a good support system to avoid being spread too thin.

Muir says she has made some sacrifices during her career. “At times I had to choose to miss family events, but at the same time the kids grew to understand that I can’t give them 100 per cent of my time all of the time.”

HOW IMPORTANT ARE MENTORS? Q

“Very important,” says Adatiya.

“My mentors have a ll been successful businesswomen that have shown me how to persevere in the face of adversity. They have shared with me tips and tricks to be successful juggling multiple

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priorities and proving to me that women can excel in the business world.”

Muir says her very first mentor in management was a woman. “She was tough, a nd when she gave me my first list of goals and objectives I was a little intimidated.

She taught me there was more to leadership than just mastering the functions of a job. You need to become good at recognizing and harnessing people’s individual talents.”

Muir insists that women shouldn’t look only to other women as mentors. “In busi ness, men don’t always approach things in the same way women do. When I first became an executive back in the 1990s, I remember sitting in the office of a male mentor and telling him all about the great work my managers were doing. We’d saved the company money and I thought they were deserving of some extra recognition. His response was ‘Recognition for what? That’s what we expect from you.’ It taught me that reward and recognition are not entitlements.”

HAVE YOU EVER FELT OR OBSERVED

W hen Mu ir started at the predecessor of Pacific Blue Cross back in the mid-’70s, there were a significant number of women already in leadership positions. “It just seemed natural to me that women became leaders,” she says. “When I went outside to meetings I remember being the only woman in the room, and I always felt strangely uncomfortable. It was so foreign to me.”

Ad at iya says she’s for tu nate enough to have not been impacted by gender bias in her career, but she has seen others encounter it through informal and formal communication. “There is sometimes G E N D E R B IA S? Q

a different tone that women are communicated with that is a part of an overall gender bias.”

Muir warns companies about going too far the other way. “I don’t think an all-female team is necessarily the best way to go either. It’s healthy to have a mix of different genders and cultural perspectives on any team.”

WHAT ADVICE WO U LD YO U G IVE TO WOMEN WANTING TO BECOME EXECUTIVES? Q Adatiya encourages women to find mentors early to help them navigate their path to the executive level. Her advice to young career women: “One: think strategically and be selective in what you choose to take on. Two: do what you set out to accomplish.

Three: avoid creating your own glass ceiling.”

Muir’s advice: “One: believe in what you’re doing. Two: network, network, network. You’ll create opportunities for yourself. Three: have fun at work. If it means reorganizing to reinvigorate your team, it might be hard, but you need to do it.”

Muir’s final piece of advice for women looking to lead: “If you’ve proven you can do it and there still isn’t room for a promotion, try acquiring skills in other ways such as volunteering or considering work elsewhere.” É

Farzana Adatiya, senior vice-president of strategy and implementation, and Leza Muir, senior vice-president of claims services, Pacific Blue Cross

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Celebrating leading women in business, including our own.

Below is a selection of the distinctions our female partners have achieved.

BC Business magazine t .PTU *OnVFOUJBM 8PNFO JO #VTJOFTT Benchmark Canada Best Lawyers in Canada Board and Committee Chairs Canadian Board Diversity Council (CBDC) Diversity 50 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory CBABC and VBA Past Executives Chambers Global and Chambers Canada Commissioner to Canadian Human Rights Commission &EJUPSJBM #PBSE .FNCFST Federation of Law Societies Vice President Greater Vancouver Board of Trade t 8FOEZ .D%POBME "XBSE 0VUTUBOEJOH .FOUPS 4QPOTPS

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Law Society of BC Life President and Life Bencher Legal 500 Lexpert Rising Stars Award Lexpert Zenith Awards .BSUJOEBMF )VCCFMM *OUFSOBUJPOBM -BX %JSFDUPSZ 1BTU .BOBHJOH 1BSUOFST 2VFFO &MJ[BCFUI ** %JBNPOE +VCJMFF .FEBM Queen’s Counsels 8FTUFSO $BOBEB 4PDJFUZ GPS "DDFTT UP +VTUJDF 8IP T 8IP -FHBM JO $BOBEB 8PNFO JO -BX -FBEFSTIJQ 8*-- "XBSE t -FBEFSTIJQ JO UIF 1SPGFTTJPO JO 1SJWBUF 1SBDUJDF 8PNFO T &YFDVUJWF /FUXPSL $BOBEB t $BOBEB T .PTU 1PXFSGVM 8PNFO 5PQ ™

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