Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER October 30, 2017 10 NEWS Order # 987329-69557 $81 $68.85 Softcover November 2016 978-0-7798-7329-6 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. * Offer valid until March 20, 2017. Discount cannot be combined with any other offer from Thomson Reuters. Offer not available to academic or trade bookstores. © 2017 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00242WN-A86270-CM Reduce risk and comply with the law when terminating employees New Edition The Law of Dismissal for Human Resources Professionals, Second Edition A Canadian HR Reporter Special Report Howard A. Levitt, B.A., LL.B. Get the clear-cut, easy-to-follow guidance you need to meet the demands and challenges of employee terminations and avoid liability. The Law of Dismissal for Human Resources Professionals, Second Edition tells you what you need to know about dismissing a non-unionized employee legally and fairly. All the information that's relevant is laid out clearly and comprehensively in one concise and portable book. Organized for easy use, this handy and useful resource allows you to: • Obtain practical tips and strategies from a leading Canadian employment lawyer • Get explanations of your rights and potential liabilities, along with informative charts and checklists • Learn from many examples of actual cases that illustrate each point and help you learn from others' mistakes • Keep up to date with recent developments in the law, including several Supreme Court of Canada decisions Save 15%* when ordering by quoting promo code 69557. Available risk-free for 30 days Order online: www.carswell.com | Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 — a combination of barriers such as gender inequality, negative stereotypes and discrimination that hold them back from fulfi ll- ing their potential," said Caroline Riseboro, president and CEO of Plan International Canada in Ot- tawa. "We're saying, 'Let's stop limiting that… If you can see it, you can dream it. If you can see it, you can aspire to it.'" Around the world, young wom- en continue to face hardships, she said, noting that a recent survey by Plan International showed 60 per cent of Canadian girls believe gender continues to inhibit their career choices and goals. " ere's still lots of work and progress that we need to make here in Canada," said Riseboro. As part of the initiative, more than 500 girls in 60 countries — in- cluding 17 girls in Canada — took on leadership roles in capacities such as prime minister of Finland and mayor of Dublin — positions traditionally held by men. Participants were expected to weigh in with opinions and take part in decision-making, she said. "It's a global movement to be able to draw attention to the plight, but also the power of girls," said Riseboro. "It may be small, but the seats that they're taking on are very signifi cant." A day at Unilever Chen's day with the CEO of Uni- lever — a multinational corpo- ration selling products such as Axe deodorant, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soaps — began with a morning meeting outlin- ing Wade's schedule before poring over a daily sales report. " is was a really informative meeting because it helped guide me into the role I would be step- ping into, and essentially the re- sponsibilities and the different elements of the job," said Chen. "'CEO' is a very vague title and that's one of the reasons why it made it so intimidating for me… (but) what I noticed happened a lot during my day was the impor- tance of communication." From there, she sat in on two brand marketing meetings, with pitches made by the Dove and Seventh Generation teams. Chen saw the process behind advertising pitches, with many voices chiming in to make a sin- gular product more eff ective for both consumers and business. " e meetings were particu- larly informative, exposing me to new elements of the business and corporate sector that I'd never imagined before," she said. "I felt my voice particularly came out when we were looking at adver- tisements that in the past were used to target youth and young adults. at's where I was able to have the most input and kind of represent a younger generation." e day was meant to be an au- thentic experience of what it's like to lead a large organization, said Wade. Alongside the many meet- ings, the two partook in a charity anksgiving luncheon. Wade also encouraged Chen to spend time building connections with employees representing business resource groups. From his perspective, Chen was struck by the job's attention to minutiae. "One of the things in a senior job is you're just going from meet- ing to meeting," he said. "She was surprised about how much detail we would spend talking about a piece of print advertising for Dove, and debating the merits and how people might (react), and how we would use it… I think from her perspective, it was a very eye-opening day." Advice for employers Being able to picture the role of CEO is crucial to future success, said Chen of her experience. "I thought this was something out of my reach and that after this day, it would be cut out of my life, but my day at Unilever showed me that this is something girls should dream about and work hard to- wards, and I really hope that other girls in Canada get this message as well," she said. "It's less (about) the technical skills that I gained throughout the day, it was more about hav- ing an empowered and inspired mindset and believing that it was something possible for me." Feeling like she was part of the team was the most powerful mo- ment of the day, said Chen. "Feeling like you're part of the team and that you deserve to be here — particularly for girls who perhaps may feel intimidated or shy — having the feeling of confi - dence and belonging helps them feel attracted and succeed within a corporate environment." As for Unilever, which is gen- der-balanced in terms of its Ca- nadian workforce, the choice to become involved in this initiative was an easy one, said Wade. "We believe on gender equal- ity that there's a role government needs to play. ere's a role that NGOs need to play, and there's a role that society needs to play. And there's a huge role that business needs to play," he said. "So I think, as business leaders, we need to be really leaning into gender equal- ity and to be authentic and overt about what we are doing." While many Canadian corpo- rations adhere to robust diversity and inclusion initiatives, harmful gender norms still plague women, keeping them out of leadership roles, said Riseboro. "Oftentimes, girls don't aspire as high because they don't see themselves refl ected in many of the roles of leadership around the country," she said. "How can a woman aspire to be a bank president if they've never seen a female lead a bank before? Or how can a girl aspire to be prime min- ister one day if she's never seen a woman in that role?" "If you want to build your pipe- line, people need to be able to see it fi rst before they actually can take the step to achieve it. You've got to see it to achieve it." And while the Trudeau govern- ment is working to make gender a national conversation, "the area where we most need progress is in the corporate space," said Rise- boro. rough participation in programs such as #GirlsBelong- Here, employers can "challenge the status quo and have a young woman sit in a seat of power and meaningfully participate in a deci- sion. at starts to change how we operate." Building leadership pipelines requires experience CEOs < pg. 1 "As leaders, we need to be authentic and overt about what we are doing."

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