Devra Charney / Silhouette Staff

The notion of the glass ceiling has become synonymous with the everyday struggles women face to climb the corporate ladder. On March 28, a networking event was held at TwelveEighty and allowed Mac students to get an inside look at how women in the community face and try to break through the glass ceiling in their respective sectors.

The non-partisan event was hosted by Beyond the Numbers, a Young Liberals of Canada program that encourages young women to engage in politics.

Executive Vice-President of the McMaster Young Liberals Tahiya Bakht organized the evening around the theme of breaking the glass ceiling. It was primarily aimed toward young women because, in Bakht’s networking experiences, men generally do more of the talking.

“When I was at career nights or networking nights, I felt like boys were getting more time with the guests, and they were just more able to break the ice with guests, so I decided that I would host an event that was geared toward getting women more comfortable with that. I wanted the guests to know that this was targeted toward women so that they’d come with a more open mind.”

Students looking to build their personal networks as well as learn how to navigate the workplace mingled with professionals in law, politics and business.

Guests included YWCA coordinators, former Chief of Staffs, lawyers, professors, a VP of Maple Leaf Foods, Mohawk coordinators, EMS workers and staff from the Hamilton Police Services, and other female leaders from the Hamilton community.

Graduate student Felicia Rahaman attended the event in order to network and get advice on entering the professional sphere as a young female. She explained that because of her academic focus in Gender Studies and Feminist Research, she was drawn to the values represented by the event because it encouraged women to move up in the workplace.

“I find the issue of breaking the glass ceiling and getting more women to participate in the workforce very interesting. So I [wanted to] get firsthand experience with women that are working in [various] industries and understand what they perceive to be barriers and how to circumvent those.”

Linda Minas-Connolly, Paramedic Training Supervisor and Advanced Care Paramedic, spoke about the lack of women in emergency service jobs, but she also noted that physical testing in her field does not segregate males and females or favour one gender over another.

She reiterated that personal motivation and qualifications are important factors in success, and so recently, more women are entering the emergency sector as they gain confidence in their capabilities.

“Fire, police, it’s male dominated. I think it’s just up to the individual ... Fortunately, in the twelve years that I’ve been here, there have been more women in this type of job, this career choice, and I think that’s because they realize that they can do it just as well as or even better than a man can.”

Sole Practitioner Joan MacDonald advocated for the importance of having a female perspective at the upper-management level. She recognized the gap between men and women in her field in senior management positions and hoped there would be continued work to diminish the gap.

“When I publicly speak, I’ll say to men, the next time you go into a board room and you’ve got a vacancy, rather than looking across at a man or thinking of a man you work with, think of some of those high powered women and bring them with you.”

Bakht hopes to organize a similar event that continues the theme of empowering young women on a larger scale in the fall.

Amit Sikder and Sophia Salem set aside time each week to help out fellow students, but the hours they put in are also an investment in themselves.

Sikder and Salem volunteer in various roles on and off campus. Both are Student Success Leaders (SSLs), assigned by the Success Centre to different units seeking to improve student life.

Salem is a fourth-year English and history major looking to go to teacher’s college. She started working as an SSL last year and intends to continue with the program when she returns for a fifth year.

For Salem, the program is a give and take. As with a job, she’s expected to fulfill certain duties, but she’s also able to turn to mentors for advice and attend workshops on public speaking—a skill she says has always come as a challenge.

“One of the things we do at the beginning of the year is goal-setting, and one of mine was to get in front of a group and present,” said Salem.

After a “super awkward and embarrassing” first experience as a presenter, Salem was disappointed but not deterred. She went from presenting in front of one person to speaking to a hundred people when she recently hosted an orientation day.

On the volunteer experience she said, “We’re also doing it for ourselves, and I don’t think that’s being selfish.”

It’s not surprising that students have been making the most of volunteer opportunities to develop their leadership skills.

A recent study sponsored by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario confirmed what seems intuitive: that students engaged in supportive programs on campus are likely to develop key skills for school and the workplace.

The study tracked the progress of students in the University of Guelph’s Peer Helpers Program over the course of three years. Researchers compared their progress to those in comparable programs and to students who were not involved, measuring skills like “managing self,” “communicating,” and “mobilizing innovation and change.”

The U of G researchers didn’t find the same skill development in students engaged off-campus and those who weren’t engaged at all.

Sikder, a third-year student who’s been involved on campus and in the community, said volunteering on campus has its unique perks.

His SSL placement is in the Student Wellness Centre, where he’s helped with November’s Stomp Out Stigma campaign and the MacSecret initiative.

“I really enjoy networking with people my own age,” he said. “And when you’re just starting out, you need guidance and mentorship. There are programs on campus designed for people in those situations.”

A biology and psychology student aspiring to work in medicine, Sikder said his volunteer experience is helping him communicate with more confidence.

“I want to be someone [patients] can trust to get help,” he said.

Fortunately, Sikder said, he’s not in a difficult financial position and doesn’t have to take on a part-time job.

Shaimaa Abousidou shares that perspective. A fellow SSL, she studies full-time and commutes from Brampton, which doesn’t leave much time for a job in Hamilton. Thankfully, she said, income isn’t a major issue.

In the career assistance unit, Abousidou reviews students’ resumes and leads professional development workshops.

“I treat it as a job. It’s a very formal process and students respect what you do for them,” she said.

Anna D’Angela, a graduating student who’s been volunteering all four of her years at Mac, echoed this sentiment.

“Maybe it’s just the type of person I am. I don’t see much of a difference between a job or a volunteer position,” she said.

D’Angela started out as a delegate for the Horizons Conference in her first year, and has been involved with the conference since. This past summer, she was a coordinator and was able to see her Horizons experience come full circle.

“A lot of first years need to figure out where they’re going,” said D’Angela. “Getting involved and volunteering showed me what I want to be as a person.”

 

A conference attendee makes her pledge at the 2012 Leadership Summit for Women.

It’s rare to see an all-woman panel filling the seats in the City of Hamilton’s council chambers, but that was the sight on Saturday at the Leadership Summit for Women.

About 200 people attended the conference, which was held this year at City Hall rather than on McMaster’s campus, where attendees convened last year.

“We wanted to extend the discussion to the community,” said Alicia Ali, conference organizer and former VP (education) of the MSU.

A lineup of women leaders took to the mic to share their experiences and to facilitate discussion on how women can advance themselves professionally.

Ann Decter, director of advocacy and public policy at Hamilton’s YWCA, opened the discussion by pointing to a reversal of the ‘gender gap’ in higher education.

In 1971, women comprised 32 per cent of Canadian university graduates aged 25 to 29, and by 2006, the number had shot up to 60 per cent.

“Boys are not falling behind or even declining in education - they are improving,” she added. “But they are outpaced by girls. This is not cause for hysteria.”

The morning panel had a strong McMaster presence, and included Theresa Burns, head coach of McMaster’s women’s basketball team, Susan Fast, director of McMaster’s graduate program in gender studies and feminist research, Dawn Martin-Hill, co-founder of the Indigenous Studies program, and Anisa Mirza, former president of the McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice organization.

While the overall mood of the conference was optimistic, concerns were raised about the challenges women still face in Hamilton and beyond.

“I want to see female athletes have a voice,” said coach Burns, who said the women she coaches often get less media coverage than their fellow male athletes.

Fast, who served as panel moderator, pointed out that only 20 per cent of female faculty at Canadian universities are at the rank of full professor.

Evelyn Myrie, executive director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, spoke highly of the diversity among women leaders in Hamilton, but also said they are underrepresented in the city's leadership.

“Hamilton is ascribed as a male-dominated town in all areas except in the social service sector, where at some level there are [more women in leadership]. We do have a long way to go,” said Myrie.

The conference generated significant buzz on Twitter, with several community members weighing in on the discussion.

Attendees were asked to share their pledge “to help more women become leaders in their community,” and many took to Twitter with the hashtag #LSW2012.

MSU president Siobhan Stewart, who was on the conference's planning committee gave the closing statement.

“In my work, it’s often noted that I’m the first black female president of the MSU. My hope is that we will one day live in a world where that would not be notable,” she said.

McMaster alumni on the planning committee include former MSU president Mary Koziol and the Student Success Centre's social media manager, Kathy Woo.

The same day, young professionals met to talk downtown renewal at the Hamilton HiveX conference one block away at the Sheraton Hotel. Both HiveX and the Leadership Summit for Women are in their second annual run.

Kyle Edward-Salter, a third year combined honours political science and labour studies student, has been awarded the Duke of Edinburgh Award - one of Canada’s most prestigious youth leadership awards. He is one of only 8,012 recipients of this specific Gold level award in the program’s 56-year history.

Edward-Salter will be travelling to Ottawa on September 12 to officially receive the award from His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, KG, GCVO, SOM, ADC.

The award was founded in 1956 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke of Edinburgh Charity aims to empower youth ages 14-24 to become involved in the community, develop practical and social skills and be physically active. The award itself requires substantial commitment and perseverance to meet the necessary volunteer and fitness requirements.  The program has three progressive levels that youth can work towards, which result in Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards.

Kyle began the program at age 14, initially focusing on attaining the Bronze level.  Eventually he set his sights on the Gold Level award, which he completed at age 20. The Gold Level requires participants to commit to leading an expedition and developing a residential project, which will enrich the community in the long-term. These two components are on top of the already rigorous fitness and community service requirements.

Kyle was guided towards the Duke of Edinburgh program through his early involvement in the Air Cadets. Many of his community projects, including debating coaching, outdoor expedition trips and participation in the Around the Bay Race have involved other members of the Air Cadet squadron.  But he was also quick to point out that the Duke of Edinburgh Award is open to all youth and could be an especially powerful way to harness youth leadership in universities and in urban areas such as Hamilton’s Downtown Core.

“Youth in cities really need this. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a huge personal achievement that is open to any and I would like to introduce it to as many people as possible“

Kyle was supported throughout the process by his mentor and coach, Captain Mike Lacombe. Cpt. Lacombe has known Kyle for several years through the Air Cadets Program.

Lacombe noted that in general, Duke of Edinburgh Award recipients typically stand out from the average young person in terms of their commitment to community service.

“Kyle in particular had 400-500 hours of service, well above the 100 required hours. And no one told him to do that…he just did.”

Lacombe, a former recipient and alumnus of the program described the excitement surrounding the upcoming awards ceremony. Kyle will be the second Hamiltonian, after Lacombe himself, to receive his award from a member of the royal family. Cpt. Lacombe received his award from HRH Prince Andrew while Kyle will receive his award from HRH Prince Edward.

Looking back upon his success in the program, Edward-Salter stated he wants to continue to be an ambassador for the award into the future.  There is currently no Duke of Edinburgh program or affiliated clubs at McMaster but Edward-Salter remarked that this would be an interesting endeavor to begin.  However, Kyle sees a greater demand in simply promoting the entire Canadian program, which is less established and does not have the same mainstream recognition in Canada than the initial program in the United Kingdom.

 

Ben Kinsella

The Silhouette

 

During the last 50 years, leadership scholars have conducted thousands of studies in an attempt to develop a reliable “cookie-cutter” leadership style. So far, none have been successful. And this couldn’t be better news. We want members of society to lead while being themselves, not while pretending to be someone they aren’t.

And that’s where my advocacy for authentic leadership is situated. Our innate abilities to pick up on dishonesty have been called to use way too often. Subconsciously, we pick up on the mismatch between people’s underlying intentions and the external image they attempt to create. Indian philosopher Swami Vivekananda once said: “We are what our thoughts have made us ... words are secondary. Thoughts live.” Thoughts themselves are enough to allow followers to see through a ruse. It is the congruency between the external and internal that builds the foundation for authenticity.

So that brings up the question, what is genuine leadership? The simple definition, although potentially a cliché, is to be yourself. One cannot lead authentically while trying to imitate someone else. To really gain the trust of our followers, we have to be true to ourselves and to our purpose. Amgen CEO, Kevin Sharer, worked for years as GE CEO Jack Welch’s assistant, and witnessed the conflicts stemming from false personalities first hand. He commented: “Everyone wanted to be like Jack. Leadership has many voices. You need to be who you are, not try to emulate somebody else.”

According to Michael Hyatt, there are five marks to authentic leadership: insight, initiative, influence, impact and integrity. Insight is a vision to the future. From a leadership perspective, this entails having the ability to look at complex situations, gain clarity and determine what to do based on what actions lead to particular outcomes.

By initiative, authentic leaders go first, lead by example and never stop to wait for the unwilling. The leader’s influence can be analogous to influenza. Real leaders are contagious. They draw people to their visions and values, move people to act, and create a ripple effect throughout the population.

Impact is about making a difference. Authentic leaders create real, lasting change. Without this step, the leaders haven’t led anything anywhere.

The fifth and most important mark of authentic leadership is integrity, which, in essence, demands a high moral standard. Adolf Hitler was, in a sense, a great leader who excelled in the areas of insight, initiative, influence, and impact. But he lacked this most important pillar of leadership, much to his own demise. Integrity ultimately determines the quality of a person’s legacy.

These five pillars of authentic leadership are not simple ingredients to a single recipe; they will help us succeed holistically in different levels of leadership practice.

Authentic leadership skills are not learned simply by reading about them. They must be honed throughout life. Both consciously and subconsciously, one must continuously test themselves through real-world experiences to discover what the true purpose of their leadership is. We don’t have to be born with specific characteristics, nor do we have to wait for the right moment to be a leader; we must just be willing to push our comfort zone and ensure our impact is benevolent.

We do not need to be the most personable character in the group; leaders are much different than entertainers. Young and Rubicam chairman, Ann Fudge, once said, “All of us have the spark of leadership in us, whether it is in business, in government or as a nonprofit volunteer. The challenge is to understand ourselves well enough to discover where we can use our leadership gifts to serve others.”

So, developing your personal authentic leadership requires a commitment to developing yourself and serving others. If you are an athlete or a musician, then you are familiar with the devotion required to realizing your potential.

Kroger CEO David Dillon said, “The advice I give to individuals in our company is not to expect the company to hand you a development plan. You need to take responsibility for developing yourself.”

Authentic leadership is not a chore, nor is it a recipe to be followed, or a task to be completed. It is being yourself and standing up for what you believe in. It is thinking what you mean, and meaning what you think. It is considering your impact, and trying to make every outcome as fruitful as the last. You can lack a title, a position of power and every tangible advantage in the world, and still possess the spark of leadership.

The world needs more authentic “you.” Keep striving to learn more about yourself, others and your unformulated ability to lead.