Dr. Elizabeth Croft, Senior Associate Dean of Education and Professional Development at The University of British Columbia

There are no longer “typical careers” for women and we have entered every industry and realm and work toe-to-toe with men everywhere.  However, women are still underrepresented in many STEM related industries. Our breakfast event showcased, Dr. Elizabeth Croft, a trailblazer in robotics research and engineering, and she shared her experiences of the taking the road less travelled and breaking the stereotype.

Dr. Croft gave an inspirational speech about how the mentors and positive figures in her career path helped open doors and expose opportunities to her. She mentioned the importance of using positive language and encouraging young women into STEM careers. She has chaired the NSERC Women in Science and Engineering (BC/Yukon) program that promotes Science and Engineering as an excellent career choice for women and other under-represented groups, and eliminates barriers that results in attrition of women from these career paths.

Wyle Baoween

The GBWC executive team had the pleasure of attending the WXN event “Deconstructing Unconscious Bias” this past week. Keynote speaker, Wyle Baoween, CEO and Founder of HRx Technology, shared his experiences of unconscious bias in the tech and human resources industries. The presentation sparked a great dialogue on the pervasiveness of unconscious bias inherent in the hiring process. Through the talk and these discussions, our team gained greater insight into how we can be mindful of our own unconscious biases, as well as how these biases may affect us as female professionals in the future. Thanks to WXN and HRx Technology for an inspiring morning!

WXN Summit Attendees: Sarah Ferguson, Lindsay Cervenko, Anipa Jeyakumar and Alexa Harder.

In January 2017, members of the GBWC had the opportunity to attend the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Women’s Leadership Summit at the Fairmont Pan Pacific. The event involved a number of inspiring keynote speakers, presentation of this year’s Top 100 Award winners, and a delicious lunch!

The Top 100 Awards were launched back in 2003 and celebrate the accomplishments of Canada’s leading female executives who have paved the way in empowering women in leadership roles. Past Award Winners are some of Canada’s most iconic women including: Margaret Atwood (Best-selling author), Arlene Dickinson (CEO, Venture Communications and CBC’s Dragon’s Den star), Michaëlle Jean (former Governor General of Canada); and Heather Reisman (Founder and CEO, Indigo Books & Music).

During the event, we had the opportunity to hear from past and present WXN Top 100 winners including: Marta Mulkins (Commander, Naval Reserve), Charlene Ripley (Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Goldcorp Inc), and Natalie Dakers, (President & CEO, Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator). These women gave inspiring speeches about being trail blazers in their fields. For example, Cmdre Mulkins was the first women to command a warship in the Royal Canadian Navy and has since assumed command of all 24 naval reserves and 3,200 personnel located across Canada.

Thank you to SFU for support us in attending this amazing event!