Who's Who Women in Business

women a who's who special edition 5 Mohammed, CEO of the Malala Fund and founder of G(irls)20. Among the day's highlights was a millennial panel facilitated by Loustel. Participants included The Great GORP Project founder and CEO Colleen Dyck, who spoke from the heart about her experiences as a young entrepreneur. Dyck, who provides work shifts that accommodate the school bus schedule for employees who are moms, told the audience she used to break into a cold sweat when she had to make calls. Altner says that's the sort of confession that resonates with and helps to motivate other women who struggle to succeed. "The difference is not that it's easy for somebody, but that they do it anyway whether it's easy or not, and we need to hear more stories of people who say, 'Just go do it,' and, 'This is what happened when I decided to grit my teeth and make it happen,' " she says. "I was in business myself many years ago and I can tell you that I would have greatly benefited from the likes of the Women's Enterprise Centre or a day tailored to professional development for women and listen to other women tell inspiring stories of how they … made it, just because they were determined to do it and they found different ways to make it work." IBM Canada National Aboriginal Program executive Loustel offers another takeaway from Dyck's support for the mothers in her employ — one that points to the value of a wider perspective. "Perhaps a woman needs to get a child to the bus on time. We can go broader than that — we can just talk about the need for child care and service support." When she was board chair of EDW, Loustel and then CEO James had many conversations about the social connection to economic development. In 2014, following the murder of Tina Fontaine, Loustel realized that the effort they put into tourism and development would be overshadowed by "this stain that we seem to experience in our city dealing with Indigenous women." She says people of all genders, generations, cultures, political stripes and socio-economic backgrounds bring different perspectives — and solutions — to the table, and it's important that all voices are heard. SHEday has met some of her hopes and expectations. It opened a conversation about the advancement of women, but Loustel says it's just a starting point. "My expectation is that Winnipeg is a safe place for all women and that we make our city one that we can be proud of, and I think there's a lot of work to be done in that yet." Today, she and James are looking at expanding engagement to include more men and women across the city, province and country. "People are interested in being able to watch it on YouTube or to participate in live streaming or online to be able to see what's happening online for women in rural Manitoba, for example." James says the event has strong support from more than 30 corporate sponsors, who help keep ticket prices affordable for lower-income women. Potential speakers are asking to be involved, and 95% of participants say they'd attend again or recommend SHEday to a friend. "It's nowhere near reached its potential yet," she says. "This is about the idea of women banding together and building on our ability to participate in the economy, and at the same time grow possibilities for ourselves and share and inspire together, so we'll keep doing it for as long as we have audience interest." ❚ We just think that women need to recognize their own potential and their own power to achieve success in their lives — however they dream it, however they define it." Opposite page: Mary Jane Loustel (left) and Marina James. Photo by Cory Aronec Photography. Above: Sandra Altner. Photo by Darcy Finley

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