Book you gift most Good to Great by Jim Collins
Favourite drink Skim latte
Favourite place in Canada The Rocky Mountains
How do you think we’re doing in the area of STEM?
The numbers are stronger but they’re not where they need to be in some STEM disciplines, so we have a ways to go. There’s certainly a continuing momentum to try to encourage young women to pursue careers in STEM. What I really appreciate is that while it started with a lot of women focused on this—and they continue to be so—a lot of men are now equally committed to the idea that gender balance is important to our communities, to our economy, and to society overall.
What has been a defining moment in your personal or professional life?
As a female leader, having children. It’s having that grounding of a family with your husband and your two children while pursuing your passion and your profession. Having children keeps you very humble and focused on what’s really important in life.
If you had the gift of a year off, in a paused world, what would you work on?
I’ve always been very committed to, interested in, and involved in the whole concept of innovative communities. We looked at it at the University of Calgary, and we just prioritized, within our institutional strategy, entrepreneurial thinking opportunities for our students, so that they’re better prepared to be more resilient in a very fast-paced, changing world. That ties into the enhancement of the entrepreneurial spirit, which is going to fuel the future of Canada.
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
Sometimes I feel like I have to do that every day. Certainly when you’re a leader of a post-secondary institution, you have a lot of stakeholders and a lot of different interests in your campus and in your community. There are times when those interests are not aligned. We have had situations here where some stakeholders in the community have attacked me personally, or have attacked the institution, and to work through that, you rely on your core principles and values to build that courage and to demonstrate strong leadership to your community. That’s a real test of leadership and it comes from within.
Knowing what you know now, is there anything that you would have done differently when you were first starting out in your career?
If I look at my career, I was perhaps not as much of a planner as I could have been. Like many women, I grew up thinking I was going to work hard, and then we’d see what happens. I was fortunate that wonderful opportunities came along, but if I look at where I am now, I certainly didn’t have it planned twenty-five years ago. I probably could have rounded out certain skill sets at different points in my career and gotten additional mentoring along the way.
What message would you put on a billboard, and where?
Peter Drucker’s quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I would love all of our leaders and our organizations to wear a t-shirt that says that. I think it’s something that we can’t forget. At the end of the day, communities are built on people, and organizations are built on people. It’s how we treat each other. It’s how we respect one another, how we incentivize what we do and encourage and empower people that will determine the success of our community and, ultimately, of our country.
What is the best investment you’ve made?
My education.
What does being Canadian mean to you?
It’s about being part of an inclusive society, one where we are seen on the world stage as having strong values, and one in which we want to contribute in a constructive way to the world around us. It means that we are facilitators, builders, shapers, and collaborators with the rest of the world.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Integrity.”
Maryse Carmichael
“We’re truly lucky to live in a country that promotes gender equality and freedom of speech and expression.”
Birthplace Quebec City, QC
What age do you feel As young as I was when I first joined the military and started flying
Occupation I work for CAE, mainly a pilot training company
Favourite drink Wine
Favourite place in Canada Quebec City
Tell us what it felt like to be the first Canadian woman to fly with the famous Snowbirds aerobatics team.
I remember seeing the Snowbirds when I was six or seven. My parents had brought my three brothers and me to the Bagotville Airshow. I was really intrigued by what they were doing—the flying, the precision, and the entertainment. Later, as a teenager I was able to join the air cadets and started my journey in aviation. That was a significant moment because if you have a passion in life—it doesn’t matter what it is—then it will give you the energy and the motivation to move toward the goal. So I started flying, and not long after I decided that I wanted to join the Canadian Armed Forces and become a military pilot, with the goal of one day flying with the Snowbirds. Finally, in November 2000, I went through the tryouts and was accepted to become a Snowbird pilot. It was a dream come true to be able to demonstrate to the Canadian public what military pilots and Air Force members can do, to be part of a team like this.
How have your experiences impacted your view of feminism and your industry?
I grew up with three brothers, so I’ve always been and worked with men. When I joined the Snowbirds, it was not really different. I was still working with a bunch of guys and I was doing what I loved. For them, and for the public, it was probably more of a novelty to see a woman on the team. For me, it was quite normal.
What will it take to achieve gender parity?
I recently opened the Canadian Women in Aviation conference in Calgary. What I said was, “We’ve achieved a lot of firsts. We finally have some good momentum not only in aviation but in all sectors in Canada. Where are we going? What now? What do we have to do next?” We have to be leaders not only in our country, but around the world. It has to become our passion to work and to educate. It’s not about women anymore. It’s about men and about educating men and ensuring that not only our daughters, but our sons and our male colleagues, are educated.
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
Well, sadly, in aviation, sometimes even the smallest mistakes can mean an accident and maybe even losing a life or lives. I have been part of a few different groups that had to go through something like that. I’ve had to use every ounce of courage to be there and to lead people through a traumatic experience. I was with the team in 2001 when we had a mid-air collision. Fortunately, no one was killed there. I was part of the flight safety investigation at the Malmstrom Air Force Base in the US, where one pilot was killed in 2007.
What has been a defining moment in your personal or professional life?
I’ve been very lucky throughout the years to have many wonderful colleagues or bosses who believed in me when I was very young. I was twenty-six or twenty-seven, and I was the operations officer of the flying school in Moose Jaw. Someone believing in me and giving me that opportunity totally changed the course of my career.
What does being Canadian mean for you?
Being Canadian means we have to be leaders in the world. We have a responsibility and we have the opportunity to improve the lives of women around the world. We need to be strong in our values and our beliefs to ensure that we’re able to help one another as much as we can. We need to affirm ourselves and continue in the direction we’re in—it’s the right one. To me, I’m blessed to be Canadian.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Dream.”
Tania Carnegie
“[Businesses should] be more aware of the inherent social value they create, as well as the consequences of their operations.”
Birthplace Welland, ON
What age do you feel Forever 35
Occupation Chief Impact Officer and Leader of the Impact Ventures practice at KPMG
Book you gift most The
Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
Favourite drink Anything by David’s Tea
Favourite place in Canada Kenauk Nature Reserve, QC
If you could have dinner with any woman, alive or dead, who would it be?
Gertrude Bell—the first woman to receive First Degree Honours at Oxford University, pioneering diplomat, intelligence officer, mountaineer, archaeologist, linguist, author, museum founder, and advisor to kings. A courageous woman far ahead of her time, who refused to bow to societal expectations and limitations.
What will it take to achieve gender parity?
More male champions, intentional action on the part of investors, and zero tolerance for excuses.
If you had the gift of a year off, in a paused world, what would you work on?
I would focus my efforts on connecting Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. I believe Canada would benefit greatly if non-Indigenous Canadians had a better understanding of First Nations culture, beliefs, history, and spirituality.
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
Pitching the business case and launching a new national strategy and practice in an emerging field at my firm was daunting. Both ideas were sharp diversions from a well-defined career path into unchartered waters. I surrounded myself with people who saw the merits of what I was doing, and learned from those who were skeptical. Now I find that more executives and investors are like-minded in their desire to drive impact through their core business and investment activity, and it’s very exciting to work with them to create a “new normal” for the way we think about business.
If you were to write a book, what would its title be?
The Power of Unintended Consequences: Long Live the Road Less Travelled!
What is your vision for Canada in twenty years?
Continuing to lead on issues like economic equality, gender diversity, and climate change in both the public and private sectors. No Canadian living in poverty. A model for reconciliation.
How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?
As a young girl, I thought there were different roles and expectations for men and women, which made me feel uncomfortable. At university, I believed that I could do or be anything. As an adult, I still believe that, but the limited number of female chief executives and board directors is troubling.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Pamoja.” (Swahili for “Together.”)
Debby Carreau
“Courage is like a muscle—you build it over time.”
Birthplace Durban, South Africa
What age do you feel I don’t think much about age anymore
Occupation CEO, Inspired HR
Book you gift most My book, The Mentor Myth
Favourite drink Smartwater
Favourite place in Canada Anywhere on the water in Vancouver
What does being Canadian mean to you?
I spent my childhood in South Africa in the height of Apartheid. I remember my family moving here, and Canada to me has always represented a land of equality and opportunity, regardless of age, gender, and ethnic origin.
How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?
I was pretty naive early in my career and I didn’t think there was a glass ceiling anymore, or that there was gender inequality. So I put my head down and I plowed through it—whether I was lucky or I was stubborn, or I just wasn’t smart enough to see the barriers in my way, I just managed to plow through. The reality is that the more educated I’ve become, more aware of the data and the stats and experiences of women I work with, the more I feel that there really are some barriers that hold women back. They’re not just the implicit ones. One of the biggest barriers today is unconscious bias.
Tell us about your mentorship philosophy.
The word “mentorship” has become a catch-all for career development and success. People are told, or advised, to find a mentor and they’ll be successful in their career and they’ll climb the career ladder and get to the c-suite.
What I wanted was to tell the story about how you need to take control of your own career and about the importance of personal accountability. Because there are so many more men in leadership, it’s easier for men to find mentors. More often than not, mentors are the same gender for various reasons.
Confidence in women is such a limiting factor. When you look at successful career outcomes, particularly for women, confidence and competence are equally correlated with success. So even if women are highly skilled and work really hard, if they’re lacking the confidence, they’re likely not going to get the visibility to advocate for themselves. Often, that’s what holds them back.
What will it take to achieve gender parity?
One thing is really engaging in the discussion. Second is sharing the data. Third, and I think we’re starting to do this one better as a nation, is demonstrating equality where it matters.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Inspired.”
Ann Cavoukian
“Privacy is vitally important not only as a human right, but as a societal right. It’s essential to our freedom; it forms the foundation of our freedoms.”
Birthplace Cairo, Egypt. I moved to Toronto when I was four.
What age do you feel 47
Occupation Distinguished Expert-in-Residence leading the Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence at Ryerson University
Book you gift most Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, by Susan Jeffers
Favourite drink Cappuccino
Favourite place in Canada Toronto
Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.
I was thirty-nine, and the irony was that I was dreading turning forty until I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It was a very small tumour called a “glioma.” It was deep in my brain stem and blocking the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. If it doesn’t have a place to flow out of, the fluid will accumulate in the brain, which then presses increasingly against the skull, and eventually you’ll have a stroke and die. The first surgery was the hardest because they have to put in all this equipment (a pump and a shunt or tube), shave your hair off, and cut into your head—the pain was terrifying. It took about eight months to recover. The good news is that once you get past the fear of something, then you’re laughing. Your life takes on a quality that it would never have had because you never faced adversity that way. It makes you very strong, grateful, and focused on every day. I’m so blessed! At that time, I was engaged to get married, but the surgery scared the guy off. I thought my life was over. But it was the best thing that ever happened because years later, when I was all better, I met my husband, who I just adore! When bad things happen, I tell people, “You don’t know how this could improve things and you won’t know for a while. You need to have faith.”
What does being Canadian mean to you?
I’m so grateful to Canada for giving my family the life it has given us and enabling us to live our lives in complete freedom without any fear and without having to look over our shoulder.
What is your marriage and relationship advice?
Always have an open heart and refrain from judging. We all judge from time to time, but always lead with the best possible view of your spouse. We all make mistakes in life. Give them the benefit of the doubt and help them if they’re going through a difficult time. Be grateful every day for the love that your husband brings to your life!
What has been a defining moment in your personal or professional life?
I’m Armenian. We moved to Canada in the late 1950s. My mom used to tell me that Egypt was actually a very free and prosperous country when it was under British rule. In the late 1950s, the British pulled out and Abdul Nasser came in. Everything changed overnight. Our freedoms went out the door, the banks were nationalized, and we couldn’t take our money out. We couldn’t do anything. We would never have been able to leave properly
, so we snuck out in the dead of the night—eight suitcases, two mothers, and three children. We lived in a friend’s basement in Toronto for six months until my dad could get his business up and running. My parents couldn’t get their money out of the bank. Nothing. They gave up everything for us. Before my mom died, I asked the question I had never asked: “Why would you give up the charmed life you had to come here with nothing?” She looked at me like I was crazy. She said, “My daughter, we did this for you and your two older brothers so that we could raise you in freedom. That was the most important thing.” Did I ever feel grateful! So lucky!
When do you feel most powerful?
When I’m on stage speaking. I love getting the message out about privacy and freedom, and how privacy breeds innovation and prosperity! And the best place to do it is when someone has honoured you by inviting you to speak to a group of people.
If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?
“Freedom.”
Lisa Charleyboy
“Pursuing my passion gives me the most courage.”
Birthplace Williams Lake, BC
What age do you feel 27
Occupation Reporter at City News, Winnipeg
Book you gift most The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Favourite drink Bulletproof coffee made with coconut oil, stevia, and cinnamon
Favourite place in Canada Banff, AB
Canada 150 Women_Conversations with Leaders, Champions, and Luminaries Page 6