TELUS supports women’s mental health, new Capterra research shows women feel less valued than men at work, and the AWS Women’s Inspiration Panel details the path-breaking journeys of three senior female executives.
Welcome to our special Women’s Day edition of Trending Hashtags! I’m your host, Sameera Balsara, bringing you these stories and more.
TELUS announced an expansion of its Healthy for Good program to provide women with free access to TELUS Health MyCare counseling services.
The growing mental distress in Canada affects about 60 percent of women and there is a 45 percent difference in rates of high levels of depression between mothers and the general population, reports the Canadian Women’s Foundation.
Jill Schner, Chief Social Innovation and Communications Officer at TELUS, said; “The pandemic has taken a toll on mothers, family caregivers, women and gender diverse people. Helping more women through our TELUS Health for Good program, this expansion is focused on removing barriers, making access to mental health services easier and more affordable, and making a meaningful difference in their lives. ,
Through the Telus Health MyCare app, women can have direct access to counseling provided by registered mental health professionals in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.
Source: telus
Women feel less important at work than men, according to a new Capterra study.
For this study, Capterra surveyed nearly 1,000 Canadian workers on pay equity, promotion opportunities, the hiring process and other topics.
Nearly half of female respondents reported that their company currently does not offer any programs or activities that promote gender equality at work. Additionally, more than 40 percent of women have never sought or received a promotion, compared to only 33 percent of men.
In fact, the study showed that men are more likely to be in senior and management positions, with almost half of respondents saying that there are only ‘some’ women in senior positions in their company.
Worryingly, 33 percent of the women surveyed agreed that they had experienced some degree of discrimination or prejudice during their hiring process.
Also, with 80 percent of those surveyed believing that pay equity is maintained at their current company, women feel less satisfied with their pay than men.
Capterra analyst Tessa Anaya commented; “Without adequate gender equality programs or pay equity assurances, it seems that women are not getting the same opportunities as their male counterparts. On the bright side, Canadian organizations are headed in the right direction, but more progress needs to be made to completely eliminate gender inequality in the workplace.”
Source: capterra
Spotify Canada is one of the companies that is leading the way in the right direction by empowering women’s voices through music.
For International Women’s Day, the company will promote music that celebrates women, gender equality and women’s empowerment through the EQUAL program launched in 2021.
Spotify Canada will team up Congolese-Canadian singer-songwriter, LU KALA, to create and co-curate content for an EQUAL Canada music playlist centered around a diverse range of inspiring stories from movements around the world.
Spotify is also presenting the Women in Music Canada Honor Roll, which recognizes 10 female and gender diverse industry members or artists who are in the early stages of their careers and are showing success and growth in their work.
To date, Spotify has added over 5,000 female artists to EQUAL playlists. These artists received nearly half a billion editorial streams within their first month of joining the program. And they’ve also been added to over 4,000 Spotify playlists.
Source: Spotify
Women of Influence, a Toronto-based company providing support, connections and training to women to excel in their careers, released Tallest Poppy 2023, a first-of-its-kind study.
Tall Poppy Syndrome occurs when people are attacked, resented, disliked, criticized, or cut down because of their achievements and/or success.
The study revealed that around 90 percent of women around the world are weak and vulnerable because of their success at work.
As part of the study, 4,700 working women from all demographics and occupations in more than 100 countries were surveyed to find out how interactions with their customers, colleagues and leaders affect their mental health, well-being, How engagement and performance are affected. around their success and achievements.
Studies have shown that experiencing tall poppy syndrome damages women’s self-confidence and well-being.
The Tallest Poppy study also found that men were more likely to punish or undermine women because of their success in leadership positions. On the other hand, women were more likely to put down peers or co-workers.
The act of undermining someone because of your achievements and successes manifests itself in many ways such as your achievements being downplayed, being ignored in meetings, others taking credit for your work, etc.
The study’s lead researcher said, “When ambitious workers find themselves in an environment where excellence is punished, their productivity will suffer, and they will have one foot out the door. This hurts not only the individual, but the organization.” also affects negatively.
Employees who experienced TPS shared solutions loud and clear, saying organizations listen to their employees, talk about it and share why it is unacceptable. Others confirm – stop talking about it, take action, create a culture of trust, transparency but also zero tolerance
Source: women of influence
Three female senior executives from the AWS Canada Women of Inspiration panel wowed the crowd as they talked about their personal trials, workplace disappointments, and ultimate successes.
“To say that each has led an extraordinary life is not an understatement, and if any of the panelists were to write an autobiography, this would certainly make for compelling reading.” wrote Paul Barker of ITWC.
The panel included Ruba Borno, vice president of worldwide channels and alliances with AWS, Rola Dagher, global channel head with Dell Technologies, and Rania Llewellyn, president and CEO of Laurentian Bank.
With Borno experiencing combat firsthand during the first Gulf War, from Dagher fleeing to Cyprus at age 16 after the invasion of his native country by Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces, each panelist recounts his or her own challenging journey. elaborated.
Llewellyn, like Borno, was born in Kuwait, but she and her family had already moved to Cairo, Egypt, when Hussein’s forces arrived in their country. She finished high school at age 14 and soon enrolled at an American university in Cairo, after which her family moved to Halifax.
Dagher continued, “When I arrived here and could not speak a word of English, people made fun of me, people doubted me.” “But every time someone doubted me, I proved them wrong.”
She said the mistakes made by at least three terrible bosses early in her career “helped [me] Don’t know what to do as a leader.
Llewellyn describes her own professional experiences, remembering being the only woman in a meeting with her male counterparts. She said, “You say something and they ignore you. A man says exactly the same thing and it’s the best idea since sliced bread.” At one point, I was told I was too outspoken, I Was too offensive, so I returned it. Then I was told that you are not saying enough.
But she claims that her goal in moving to Laurentian was to create what she described as an environment that was inclusive.
Borno told how she got some great advice from her country manager as she waited anxiously to deliver her keynote. He told her, “‘As you know, people want you to be successful, because they don’t want to be here and have a bad time.’
That advice completely changed his mindset. She said, “I started to think that they really wanted me to do well, because they wanted their time there to be worthwhile.”
Source: IT World Canada
And those are the stories from our special Women’s Day episode!
Links to these stories can be found in articles posted at itworldcanada.com/podcasts. You can also find more great stories and more in-depth coverage at itworldcanada.com or technewsday.com in the US.
I’m your host Samira Balsara – have a wonderful Wednesday and a very Happy International Women’s Day!
