Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER February 22, 2016 6 NEWS Labour law research just got faster, easier and more comprehensive. LabourSource™ on WestlawNext® Canada combines the most robust collection of grievance arbitrations with court and board decisions, expert commentary, legislation and collective bargaining-related content – with Canada's most advanced search engine. A single search delivers the content you're looking for, whether it's case law, legislation, commentary, or legal memos. You can then filter your results to get exactly what you need. With LabourSource, you'll always be confident that your research is complete and that you haven't missed anything. Experience the benefits • Prepare winning grievance arbitrations and labour board applications • Successfully negotiate favourable collective agreements • Stay up to date on the latest labour-related decisions, industrial relations and economic news Legal content that is labour focused, not labour intensive Introducing LabourSource™ on WestlawNext® Canada See the LabourSource advantage View a demo at westlawnextcanada.com/laboursource 00224EP-A47770 Compensation Surveys Incentive Programs Job Descriptions Job Evaluation Pay Equity Performance Appraisal Salary Administration Sales Compensation (416) 498-7800 ext. 1 www.resourcecorporation.com COMPENSATION CONSULTING One-third of female employees don't believe they can reach C-suite Yet many consider themselves ambitious, highly motivated: Survey BY LIZ BERNIER WOMEN are holding senior lead- ership positions in greater num- bers than ever before — but there's no denying the gender gap in the boardroom is still alive and well. Part of that might be explained by attitudes revealed in a survey of 1,270 female professionals in Canada. One-half of the women de- scribed themselves as ambitious, while 47 per cent said they are highly motivated to advance their careers further, found a survey by American Express Canada and Women of Infl uence. However, only 32 per cent of women believe it is achievable to reach the C-suite, and just 28 per cent aspire to such roles. It's hard to say what the reasons are for why women aren't aspir- ing to be executives, said Stepha- nia Varalli, co-CEO and head of media at Women of Infl uence in Toronto. "It could be partially because it doesn't fi t in with their lifestyle or their career ambitions, but if you don't even think it's possible, what sort of impact does that have on your own ambition?" ere are some interesting im- plications when it comes to recon- sidering our defi nitions of ambi- tion and success, said Naomi Ti- tleman, vice-president of human resources at American Express Canada in Toronto. "( e stats are) saying some- thing about the way we may have traditionally defi ned ambition, as well as there potentially is some- thing that we can do as organiza- tions to close the gap for those women who feel that they're am- bitious but just don't see a way to the C-suite," she said. "Women are clearly defi ning themselves as ambitious in dif- ferent ways, which is great, and it doesn't necessarily mean 'Attain the C-suite' or even 'Attain senior management level.' In my opinion, the way I defi ne success is really knowing what you want short and longer term, and going for it. And what I mean by going for it is let- ting the people around the table — and this is where mentorship and sponsorship come into play as well — but letting people around the table who are making key de- cisions and infl uencing key deci- sions know what you want so that your career decisions aren't made by someone else. "It's really important to start by really knowing what you want shorter and longer term, and go- ing for it — and, that being said, being open to possibilities." Mentorship, sponsorship A key piece of the puzzle may be the fact professional women in Canada lack mentors or champi- ons to help coach them forward in their careers, found the survey. "Only 27 per cent of women feel that they have a mentor… and on the sponsorship front, only eight per cent of women feel that they have a sponsor," said Titleman. Meanwhile, mentorship and sponsorship become more and more important, she said. "Just by sheer number of how many spots there are as we get more and more senior in the orga- nization, you need someone who's going to pound the table on your behalf. On the mentorship front, it's really important for women to be able to speak to someone as a sounding board." In some ways, sponsorship can be even more diffi cult to attain be- cause it's not just something you can ask for, said Titleman. "Sponsorship is kind of some- thing that's earned and not asked for. So I've been asked many times 'How do we get women to ask for sponsorship?' And that is actu- ally not possible. You have to put yourself in a position where some- one actually wants to pound the table and put their reputation on the line for you," she said. "Women — and people in gen- eral — feel much more confi dent when they know that they have someone who's going to have their back." Having mentorships and spon- sorships are hugely important for workplace advancement, said Varalli. "For one, women typically have fewer sponsors than men do, and you can immediately see the im- pact of that in terms of what they think is possible in their career and what actually is possible in their career," she said. "When a woman has a sponsor, that's a person who can help them get into stretch assignments that help them move up, can get their name in the circle when people are talking about who should get promoted. People like to think that we're in a meritocracy, but that's a challenge if one-half of the population has those people going to bat for them, and the other half doesn't." Case study Encouraging women to set their sights high — and then follow through — has long been a prior- ity at American Express Canada, said Titleman. "Everyone wants to know 'What's the silver bullet? How do we get more women in senior positions? How do we do it?' And I think a lot of people are asking that question from 'What kind of policies and practices and pro- grams can I put in place?' which, to me, is table stakes." Yes, it takes work and thought, but policies and programs are pretty easily replicated, she said. "Our secret sauce at AmEx is having those senior role models so that the more junior employ- ees have someone that they can aspire to be like in top positions," said Titleman. "We really walk the talk here… three of our four most senior fi - nance roles are fi lled by women, one of our top risk roles is fi lled by a woman, about 59 per cent of our roles across the organization Who needs a mentor, anyway? "Mentorship" is a concept that is given a fair amount of discussion, yet many professionals still don't have a mentor. Only 13 per cent have a mentor, according to a 2016 survey of 270 workers and 270 CFOs in Canada by Accountemps. Yet mentorship is crucial for career development — 80 per cent of CFOs feel it is important for employees to have a mentor. "They help you navigate through career challenges, they provide the encouragement and support to help you set objectives and to actually attain those goals — whether they're career goals or personal goals," said Alex Saatjian, division director at Accountemps in Toronto. "The other thing is the value in mentors is that they're role models. They act as a role model, and mentees in some ways want to emulate those behaviours and those specifi c attributes of a mentor that allow them to be successful." A good mentor helps people identify long-term career goals and the path they need to take to attain those goals, he said. "Mentors help unlock new networks of contacts. So mentors can introduce their protégés to their colleagues or perhaps other in the industry who can become additional role models," said Saatjian. "So why don't more workers have mentors? I think the short answer, and this might be blunt, is because it'll make people appear like they need help. It might make them appear that they're perhaps vulnerable and perhaps they don't want to show that sort of a 'weakness' — especially in certain organizations where it is a dogfi ght," he said. "They also might feel intimidated approaching senior-level colleagues for advice." EMBRACE > pg. 11 "It's really important to start by really knowing what you want shorter and longer term, and going for it — and being open to possibilities."

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