International Women's Day 2021

ARTIST CREDIT: MEL WEBB

Did you know that women make up only 43 of the 538 executive officers among Canada’s 100 largest companies? At the same time, study after study is coming out that shows that businesses with women representated at the leadership level outperform their competition.

Today is International Women’s Day, and this month is Women’s History Month, so we want to use this opportunity to talk about gender representation in business, and what each of us can be doing.

Organizations across the world are celebrating the progress that women’s rights leaders have achieved this month, and they have a lot to be proud of. For example the UN is running “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world” and the International Women’s Day organization is calling on people to #ChooseToChallenge biases and stereotypes.

The fight is far from over, however, and the bias in the business community is still very real. As of this year, 70% of graduating valedictorians are women, yet less than 10% of VC investment money goes to women-run companies. And 2020 was hard on everyone, but did you know that women were 1.8 times more likely to lose their jobs as a result of pandemic-related cuts?

Now that the economy is starting to bounce back, it would be optimistic to think that the business community would recognize the obvious advantages of hiring and promoting women into leadership roles; however, many of the trends leading up to 2020 were actually negative.

SO, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

I consulted with a series of smart, creative women and women-created resources. This is just a few of their suggestions – if you have other ideas, thoughts, or recommendations, please let me know.

1. Learn from women. Our media bubbles contribute to our bias – most of us grew up in a media environment that was saturated with images of men in leadership roles, so naturally we have unconscious bias. If you’re not already, make sure that you’re reading, listening to, and learning from women. A few recommendations from our own Mel Webb:
   
   • “Listen to Second Life Podcast – Spotlighting successful women who've made major career changes, and fearlessly
   mastered the pivot
   • Read Girl, Woman, Other – a fictional novel following the lives of various British Black women. Girl, Woman, Other
   expanded my perspective of what it means to identify as a woman
   • Follow Taylor Lorenz – the best source for tech and digital culture news
   • Follow Design Sponge – a community feed celebrating the voices & work of creatives of colour”
2. Take action. There are so many amazing organizations out there doing important work. Here are just a few to support:
   
   • Downtown Eastside Women’s Shelter
   • Girls Who Code
   • Association for Women’s Rights in Development
3. Hire and promote women. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because there is direct and undeniable data that shows it’s good for your business.

Oh, and remember Mel? She was also responsible for creating the artwork above. Here’s what she had to say about it:

“By elevating women’s voices, extending a hand to help others rise up, it creates space for women to show up as our full, vibrant selves.”

Learn more about Mel, check out her other pieces, and buy her art here: melwwebb.com

Written by Conner Galway, Junction Consulting