Who's Who Women in Business

4 SHEDAY 2019 SHARE, HEAR, EMPOWER — AND connect SHEday has become a beacon in Winnipeg, bringing people together to connect through stories and experiences that inspire women to develop their unique strengths and leadership capacity. Produced by founders Marina James and Mary Jane Maillet Brownscombe, and presented by the Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba (WECM) on Feb. 7 at RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg, the fifth annual SHEday brought a diverse slate of local and national speakers to the Share Hear Empower stage. Some 1,700 participants gathered for a day of professional and personal development, taking advantage of opportunities to expand their business and social networks. Tamara Pound, manager of client relationships at Online Business Systems, was the perfect fit to moderate the Women in Tech and Trades panel discussion. A member of the WECM board of directors, Pound has devoted her career to making connections, steering clients to the people, solutions and technology that will help them step up to the next level. "It was really beneficial to talk to people in the industry and bring to the table some of the challenges and opportunities that are unique to females working in industries dominated by men," she says. "That's one of my favourite things to do — inspire interesting and meaningful conversations." The panel discussion was wide-ranging, touching on the fact that women bring different traits and strengths to the workplace and underscoring the value of this diversity. The discussion also recognized the essential role men can play in serving as champions for women's inclusion and success in workplaces. At the end of the day, Pound says the panelists' progress in their careers left her with a sense of optimism. "Their interactions with their male colleagues and the support they receive is really positive. They had a lot of good things to say, which was really hopeful and consistent with what I've personally experienced." An ISO-certified mentor, Pound is most often in the champion role, helping to advance the careers and businesses of others by connecting them to people and solutions. She was inspired to join the WECM board when she was mentoring startups alongside current WECM board chair Karen Debroni. "I'm a huge supporter of female entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in general. There's something about the type of people it attracts – problem solvers who are providing solutions to challenges or gaps in the market. Entrepreneurs are creating jobs, feeding families and doing fantastic things on their own. There's a level of autonomy that's hard to achieve in other professional settings," she says. "It takes a lot of courage, so from a board standpoint I could easily get behind it, it makes a lot of sense." SHEday speaker Zofia Dove excels at connecting people through a different avenue — humour. Dove spoke little English when she immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1987. Today, she's a professional speaker, specializing in palliative communication for health-care professionals. She found her calling over the course of 30 years working in the health-care system. "It was such a privileged space to be with people at the end of their lives when they were really struggling physically or mentally and see how humour affected them," she says. "I have never experienced another environment where people were as authentic as when I was working with my palliative patients. People who are facing their own mortality … the core of the person, what really matters, surfaces." During her presentation, Humour as a Universal Language for Leaders, Dove got right down to funny business. Making her audience laugh brought home her message that humour has the power to create an energizing atmosphere and spark innovation. "Because humour is a creative process, it is linked to the same abilities as problem solving," she says. "Humour puts the same SHEday participants (from left): Zofia Dove, Tamara Pound and Robyn Priest, reunited at the Asper School of Business James W. Burns Executive Education Centre. PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY

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