“Letting nature take its course is not cutting it: Just do it!” As panelist Michelle Osry, Partner at Deloitte, said these words, the audience roared with enthusiasm and collective nods. These were the words that echoed the theme of the day and these were the words that stayed with me. 300 individuals were all gathered to make one thing happen: the advancement of women in government, business and emerging trades.
On Friday, October 23rd, I attended the BC Economic Forum: Women as a Catalyst for Growth, hosted by the Vancouver Board of Trade (VBOT). I truly had no idea what to expect as I made my way over to the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel but as I stepped in line to register, I was greeted with warm faces and keen smiles. Excitement started to build as I found myself recognizing faces – some of BC’s finest women leaders including Narges Nirumvala, CEO at Executive Speak and Barinder Rasode, Director of Social Responsibility at Resource Works. I realized then that I, a 22-year old Beedie student, was standing in the midst of some of BC’s most widely accomplished women. This was a tremendous honour given to me by the Beedie Ambassador program.
The inaugural forum in 2014 highlighted ways of supporting women in business while identifying areas for growth. One year later, the VBOT had once again gathered the largest collaboration of women organizations and experts to discuss strategies that would promote continuous action to propel society towards sustained social changes – specifically, women growth. This would be done through two panel sessions and one session of conversation involving all attendees.
I took my seat and found myself sitting at a table of esteemed women, each with a diverse portfolio of achievements. I gazed around and I was very pleased to see that there were male attendees, as well. I took a look at the event program and was pleasantly surprised to see the presence of male panelists. This issue affected men just as much as it affected women and I knew it was going to be wonderful to hear from the different perspectives that day. Amazed by it all, I got out my phone and started live-tweeting right away. For the rest of the day, if I wasn’t tweeting I was furiously scribbling down notes. I was completely entranced and inspired by the flow of ideas during the intensity of the panels and the inspiration from the Q&A. The passion was infectious and it was difficult not to be positively affected.
For me, one of the best parts of the day was the collaborative dialog that allowed for small groups of women to discuss barriers against women advancement and potential solutions. The mere act of talking made things so much more real. For an hour and a half, we worked in 3 separate groups. At first, I felt a little out of place because I wasn’t sure if the women I was with would want to hear what a student had to say. I was proved wrong. They went out of their way to ask what I thought and asked me how different my experiences were in school as opposed to their experiences in the workplace. I felt valued and realized that this specific experience captured the whole essence of the forum: women supporting women (even men supporting women!), despite differences, to help identify issues and solutions to reach a common goal. This was further proved when my fellow Ambassador, Joy Marlinga, stood up in front of the whole room to share her commitment to advancing the growth of woman and was warmly received by all attendees.
Towards the end of the forum, I realized that my place as a student at this forum was equally as important as anyone else’s. It didn’t matter if I wasn’t in a senior position at a firm or a well-known woman leader. I realized that as a young woman, I have to commit to taking steps to better ensure the growth of women because change begins with everyone. I felt lucky that this forum had allowed me to make the commitment to break barriers as a woman and carve a path that will help girls of today blossom to become the leaders of tomorrow. In the words of Michelle: There is no more time to let nature do its thing. We have to step in and take charge. Now, my question for you is, regardless of your age or gender: what is your commitment?
Vameesha is in her final year pursuing a joint major in Psychology and Business, with a concentration in Human Resource Management. Currently, she is the President for SFU’s Human Resources Students’ Association with past involvement at Enactus and she is grateful for the experiences and opportunities that Beedie has provided. Passionate about helping others, she has strived to do this in all of her endeavors throughout her academic career and hopes to continue to do so as a lawyer in the future.