Canada 150 Women_Conversations with Leaders, Champions, and Luminaries

by Paulina Cameron

  All my kids were quite keen about it. It was like a family project. I went through the first interview, which was five hours long. I got the job and moved to Vancouver at the end of 2011. I arrived here and I knew nothing about TELUS Corporation. The work I was doing in Montreal was only related to TELUS Health and it had nothing to do with corporate. The company is incorporated under the BC Company’s Act. I had never read it and because the previous counsel had already left the company, there was no one here to transition the work. So the first thing my new CEO, Darren Entwistle, said was “Monique, I’d like to collapse our dual-share structure.” He wanted the whole transaction approved in February.

  I worked non-stop to prepare the transactions. As soon as we announced, there was a hedge fund from New York that decided to buy almost 20 percent of our voting shares and to short our non-voting shares. Suddenly, with their 20 percent, the position that was already in the market by non-residents was almost going to break our non-Canadian ownership restrictions. If you breach that cap, the consequences are disastrous. We had thirteen board meetings and we went to court twelve times fighting everything on the planet. The whole thing lasted a year. I really wanted to stand up to them and not give them any ground. At the end, we developed a strategy and I said, “Let’s go negotiate.” It took all my courage.

  What advice do you have for young women pursuing a similar career path?

  I would encourage them to find mentors and champions, be open to learning and receiving feedback, as well as to never be afraid of jumping in and taking on new roles and challenges.

  What message would you put up on a billboard?

  A quote from Raymond Radiguet: “Happiness—I only recognized you at the noise that you made when you left.”

  If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?

  “PLUS+” because being positive is so important.

  Farah Mohamed

  “Hands down, an education is the wisest investment I’ve made. A close second: building my network.”

  Birthplace Kampala, Uganda

  What age do you feel 35

  Occupation Former CEO of G(irls)20, now CEO of Malala Fund

  Book you gift most Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss

  Favourite drink A nice glass of red wine

  Favourite place in Canada The Harbourfront Centre at Queens Quay in Toronto

  What is your proudest moment at G(irls)20?

  I think my proudest moment is after every summit when a delegate writes to me about how she has taken the experience and done something that she would never have otherwise done. It crystallizes for me the investment we make in these young women and just how much can happen if you empower and believe in someone. The girl who arrives at the summit is different from the girl who leaves. She’s telling me about how the summit has impacted her education or her family life. Each time it happens, I don’t get emotional—I get pensive.

  Tell me about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.

  It’s taking a lot of courage to leave my family, friends, and nine-year-old niece, and everything I know to be “Farah,” to move “across the pond” and start anew in a place where I know very few people. But my new job as CEO of Malala Fund has made it easier to say yes to this big leap. The most compelling part of this job is this unbelievably incredible young woman who has taken a tragedy and turned it into a mission. To have the opportunity to be part of that mission and her vision—to have every girl have twelve years of safe and quality education—is a gift.

  What does being Canadian mean to you?

  One word: everything.

  What does Canada need more and less of?

  We need fewer unengaged voters. I was born in a country where there was no right to vote. I’ve been in countries where people literally die for the right to vote. There are some Canadians who think, the weather is bad, so I’m not going to vote. That, to me, is unacceptable. We need more people who want to become politically engaged, and we need to take the best of their skills, their knowledge and their passion for this country and put it to use. I hope that, with the prime minister we have, more young people see their role in politics. If we don’t engage young people in governance, government, and politics, what are we going to do when the current crop decides to retire? We can’t afford to lose that generation to apathy. It’s as simple as that. You can’t have a country run by a few people who vote.

  What message would you put on a billboard, and where?

  “Educate a Girl and the World Wins.” In Times Square because I’d want as many eyes on it as possible.

  If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?

  “Serendipity.”

  What will it take to achieve gender parity?

  An amazing combination of political will, significant investment, and the removal of some of the cultural barriers that exist and prevent girls and women from going in a direction they need to go. These three things need to happen at almost exactly the same time. We’re living in a world where there’s a perfect storm. We have world leaders who are looking at this for the first time, not as a human rights issue only, but as an economic issue. We have the prime minister of Japan saying that the Japanese economy won’t propel forward unless all the women are working. We have cultural changes. We have young women like Malala stepping up and saying, “I’m not going to let some guy with a gun count me out. I’m in it for the fight and I’m in it because I believe that it’s a right for every single girl to get an education.” The more voices we have, the more investment we have, the more understanding we have about what holds girls back in whatever country (and it’s different in each country), the better our chances of achieving gender parity. It seems so big, but it’s actually quite achievable. It’s like how people think about climate change or poverty. You just need to make sure you have the right actors in play.

  If you had a gift of a year off, in a paused world, what problem would you try to solve?

  Poverty. I would start where I was born, in Africa. Sadly, I think it would take a year. If you have the right resources, the right poli-tical will, and the right innovative ideas, you can solve poverty. You just need to all do it together.

  Emily Molnar

  “Success to me is when I feel I’m getting closer to myself and to the world.”

  Birthplace Regina, SK

  What age do you feel 32

  Occupation Artistic director, Ballet BC

  Book you gift most When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön

  Favourite drink Coffee

  Favourite place in Canada Jericho Beach, Vancouver

  How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?

  I have a hard time with the word “feminism.” I prefer the idea of “humanism” or “egalitarianism.” I haven’t tried to be or not be a feminist, but being a six-foot-tall woman in the ballet world making decisions in my own way has led me to take a certain type of leadership role as a woman. The way to find equality is by acknowledging the vulnerability and strength, the feminine and masculine, in each of us. We need to move forward, away from labels that separate us, and see each other as unique and diverse human beings in this collective experience called “Living.”

  Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.

  I knew at the age of six that dance would be my passion and my language. To realize this, it was clear to me that I needed professional training and that the National Ballet School was one of the best schools in Canada to provide it. If I was going to do it the way I wanted to, at a very high level, I needed to go there. I did everything possible to make it happen, including leaving home when I was ten. My career in dance has been a long and beautiful discovery that has challenged me to go deeper. The body, mind, and spirit are activated in the act of dancing, and doing it at a professional level offers tremendous learning. I knew from an early age that I was embarking on a journey of the self and the world, and that dance was going to help me make
sense of that. Dance has been my way of expressing my joy, my fear, and my questions. It was very important that I found some form of structure that would allow me to follow my desire to help create change and meaning in the world.

  What does being Canadian mean to you?

  It means the future. It means opportunity and possibility, if we take care of it.

  If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?

  I wouldn’t get a tattoo because I don’t believe in permanency.

  Marta Mulkins

  “What gives you courage is your moral underpinning, your belief in what is right.”

  Birthplace Brockville, ON

  What age do you feel My actual age—50. I’ve earned it!

  Occupation Commander of the Naval Reserve, Royal Canadian Navy; landscape architect; public servant

  Favourite drink A good Kenyan coffee

  Favourite place in Canada My family cottage

  How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?

  To the degree that I have thought about feminism, my view has always boiled down to the simple expectation that there should be no artificial barriers preventing women (or men, for that matter) from doing what they are otherwise capable of doing. Those who can do, should be able to do. My perspective on it has always been one of enabling all people to achieve their human potential; to do otherwise strikes me as a waste of talent. This is also an enabler of our broader societal goals of diversity and inclusion.

  That said, I know today that I am awfully lucky to have been born after a lot of the heavy lifting of the feminist movement had already been done. I admit that my job of commanding a ship was possibly easier than the task of convincing the senior leaders of years before that it should at least be made possible!

  Nonetheless, I believe the demand for equality to be a constant effort and not to be taken for granted; every generation seems to have to redefine this space. Having been part of the transition period in the military, I find it reassuring that the success of women in the highest levels of responsibility and leadership demonstrates that, of course, women were always capable of having strong, fulfilling, and exemplary military careers—we simply needed the opportunity.

  What does being Canadian mean to you?

  It is a tremendous blessing. Western liberal democracy and values, rule of law, resources in the broadest sense, sophisticated economy, and governance. We have so much natural beauty. Being Canadian is an opportunity to make what you will of your life, rather than having a life imposed upon you.

  What do you love most about working in the Navy?

  I love the nature of the job, first and foremost. I love the experience of working in a team and executing a mission that is different. It’s complex and it’s like an orchestra. Everyone has a specific role and they have to be choreographed and brought together very carefully to execute a specific task. It’s also a very broad role. It’s really important to me as an instrument of government to express the will of Canadians around the world.

  What does it takes to be a good leader?

  Being a good leader is something that starts, at least in the military paradigm, with being a good follower. Leading and following both take a certain personal discipline. That’s how the military looks at it. First, they instill the sense of that discipline. You move as a team. You have to do what you’re directed to do. Some people are more natural in their leadership abilities, but they’re still going to learn through the experience of discipline. The core skills of analyzing a problem, knowing your role in the solution, and then being able to execute it—those are the building blocks of leadership. Then through the course of your career in the military, you’re going to be employing those same skills, just at more challenging and sophisticated levels.

  It’s taking care of your subordinates. If they know you’re going to take care of them, they are going to trust in your leadership, and that builds the cohesion of the team.

  What does success mean to you?

  Success is a family that gets along. Also, a good night’s sleep (as one of my grandfathers used to say, “the sleep of the just”).

  Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently when you were first starting out?

  I would tell myself to not be so self-conscious, and to not fear making mistakes.

  What gives you courage?

  My convictions and my husband. What gives me courage is my moral underpinning, my belief in what is right.

  What has become more important to you in the last few years?

  I regret that I do not spend more time with my extended family. Even though I love my work, I allow it to take over a bit too much of my time. It is becoming more important to me to rebalance between the two. We all can become quite driven but, like we say of a good ecosystem, more diversity is healthier.

  When do you feel most powerful?

  As a landscape architect on the one hand, and a military leader on the other, I probably feel most powerful when I am developing the next vision/strategy/plan to seize the next opportunity and/or tackle the next challenge. It can either be on my own or in concert with a team—but the combination of analysis and creativity is very motivating for me. Empowering the team who will then execute the plan is also inspiring.

  If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what would it be?

  “Bon Espoir,” meaning “Good Hope!”

  Saadia Muzaffar

  “I advocate for justice and equity when it comes to people and talent, and want to encourage the trickle-up effect.”

  Birthplace Pakistan

  What age do you feel The age I am—39

  Occupation Leadership futurist, entrepreneur, author

  Book you gift most Change Together by Matt Whitlock

  Favourite drink Horchata

  Favourite place in Canada Toronto

  How has your view of feminism changed over your lifetime?

  When I started out, my view of justice was very tied to what I embody as an identity—my feminism felt the inequities of being not only a woman, but a queer immigrant woman of colour. As I learned more and dove deeper, my advocacy signal-boosted experiences that I don’t share—trans and non-binary identities, challenges of anti-Blackness, poverty, physical disabilities, and mental illness. My feminism has become a lot more intersectional.

  What will it take to achieve gender parity?

  In my early years of activism, I was definitely someone who advocated for gender parity in my work, whether I was organizing tech hackathons where I challenged everyone to ensure 50/50 gender parity, or being part of the inaugural “Let’s Make the Industry 50/50 Initiative.” I have learned about the limitation of this motto, though, in that it levies very similar exclusion that women face in patriarchal systems onto people who don’t neatly fit into the gender binary of men/women. It also erases the unique experiences of women who face exclusion on multiple fronts. So now, instead of gender parity, I advocate for justice and equity when it comes to people and talent, and want to encourage the trickle-up effect, which is to say that if we work to remove barriers for the ones who face the highest number of hurdles, the rest of us are guaranteed freedom.

  What does being Canadian mean to you?

  Being Canadian means a lot of nuanced things to me. I feel grateful that my family was able to flee dire political and economic strife, and build a safe life here in Canada. As an immigrant, I am also very aware of my settler status and the role I play in the displacement of and injustice against Canada’s Indigenous peoples in a 150-year history of colonial violence. It means that I can never opt out of building a responsible and equitable future. It means that I find myself a steward of one of the most beautiful and resource-rich parts of our planet. I feel hopeful that if we commit to equity and justice, our leadership can change the course of human history. Canada needs more honesty when it comes to our history and its implications on our collective future.

  If you were to get a tattoo of one word, what wo
uld it be?

  “Believe.”

  Carol Newell

  “Being Canadian means caring about land and people and offering the best of myself in a strong but humble and respectful way.”

  Birthplace Ogdensburg, NY

  What age do you feel 48

  Occupation Wealth activator, investor, philanthropist, entrepreneur

  Book you gift most Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

  Favourite drink Fig-infused gin martini with Stilton cheese at Chambar

  Favourite place in Canada Cortes Island, BC

  Tell us about a time when you had to summon all of your courage.

  I was scuba diving in BC coastal waters. My buddy and I, both experienced divers, dropped down to discover a remarkably rich new underwater site, when suddenly a force began to pull us down, even though we were diving at peak slack tide. One moment we were relaxed, and the next second it took every ounce of strength to cling to the slope. We clawed our way back up by our fingertips, desperate to not lose touch with the rock surface lest we be swept away. My buddy was right beside me, but we couldn’t connect visually, as we fought our own battles. We finally each reached a small protruding knob we could cling to, where the pull had subsided just enough that we could hold on with one hand and check in with each other. We stared at each other wide-eyed. After we caught our breath, we carefully inched our way to the right, and just like that were out of the down surge.