She Breaks The Mold

My guests are ambitious for themselves and, quite literally, every other woman in the world, and spend their days actively working to empower women in all walks of life.

I was fortunate to host TWO guests for this episode - the CEO of G(irls)20, Heather Barnabe, and Vandinika Shukla, a 2014 delegate to the G(irls)20 Summit from India who now works at UN Women's Heardquarters in New York City, and was recently named Vice-Chair of the G(irls)20 Global Steering Committee. This is an impressive duo - you're going to want to settle in for this entire episode and be inspired by the wonderful work they're doing to raise the impact of young women's voices globally.

G(irls)20 was launched in 2009 at the Clinton Global Initiative and founded by Farah Mohamed (current CEO of the Malala Fund), with the goal of placing young women at the centre of decision-making processes. Through their Global Summit and Girls on Boards programs, they make strategic investments in young women through education and training, building networks, and opportunities to become leaders at home and abroad. While advocating for change at the global level through the annual G(irls)20 Global Summit, they are changing the status quo for women at decision-making tables in communities across Canada by placing Girls on Boards.

Every year, G(irls)20 sends one young woman from each G20 nation to attend the G(irls)20 Summit, held prior to the full G20 Summit. Delegates who attend produce a communique which is sent to the G20 leaders ahead of their own summit with policy ideas and suggestions for inclusion in their final global commitments. To see some of the incredible work previous Girls20 delegations have produced, check out these videos of the delegates themselves sharing their policy outlines.

The application deadline for this year's Summit in Argentina has just passed, but watch for it next March if you know a young women who would be interested. In the meantime, applications for the Girls On Boards program, in Canada only, are open until May 16, 2018 here. This program gives young Canadian women a chance to gain valuable and real board experience acting as full participating members on community boards across Canada. This is important work!

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What do you do when you’ve always loved your job – the job you planned to have for life – but suddenly it doesn’t seem to fit you anymore? Today’s guest had just this experience after 13 years as a successful corporate litigator in New York City.

Amy Impellizzeri loved the law and will never stop calling herself a lawyer (a title she earned through years of hard work and study), but the day to day work of being a corporate lawyer soon began to encroach on her family life in an unacceptable way. And she knew something had to change.

What came next were jobs working with entrepreneurs and advocating for women while at a virtual magazine called Hybrid Her. But on the side, Amy was working on the beginnings of what is now her full time career – being a published author. Since leaving the law, Amy has published a non-fiction book called Lawyer Interrupted about how to leave the practice of law for a new career path. And she is currently working on her fourth novel – with Lemongrass Hope, Secrets of Worry Dolls and The Truth About Theaalready published and out in the world.

To find out how she did it, and the suggestions she offers others in similar situations, you’ll have to listen to the podcast! Amy’s advice isn’t just for lawyers – her suggestions are completely transferrable to many fields.

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Maggie DiStasi spent years in the world of corporate finance and financial technology, with her last role as Vice President, Technology for a brokerage department of a major Canadian bank. Several years ago, after a medical crisis and a desire for change inspired her, she took a huge leap and become a career transition and leadership coach. And now, she brilliantly helps others navigate their own transitions – those ready for the next step in the careers, wanting to start new businesses, or simply try something new. She also recently joined the faculty of the Business Coaching Advantage Certificate Program in Toronto.

As the name of her business (Process Based Living) suggests, Maggie focuses on her clients’ individual process to create positive change in their working lives. She explains this further in our interview and for those of you who worry about your ability to set concrete goals and achieve them, Maggie has a perspective on this problem you’ll find reassuring!

What you’ll learn from Maggie:

• How “glass ceiling issues” hold women back
• How we can learn to focus on what we do control (not seeking permission to act, building relationships with senior leaders), vs what we can’t (bias, pay inequity) to make change and get unstuck in our careers
• Why it’s important to get the other person to say “No” early in a negotiation
• How she coaches women experiencing Imposter Syndrome
• How to use a mind-map tool to find confidence where you don’t think you have any

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Pam Damoff was elected to represent the riding of Oakville-North Burlington (just outside Toronto, for my non-Canadian listeners) in the House of Commons in Canada's 2015 federal election. Prior to the election, Pam served as an Oakville Town Councillor from 2010-2015. During her time on council, she served on the Oakville Public Library Board, the budget committee and the Oakville Tourism Partnership. And all of this came after a 25-year career in corporate real estate. Pam was named Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in December 2015. She is also a member of  the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

I met Pam about a year ago when I attended one of her Young Women in Leadership events - a program she offers to match girls in her riding with local female mentors from various industries. Her goal is to help girls see career opportunities they might never have considered and the program is having great success. I've continued to follow her ever since, even though I live outside her riding, because of her passion for women's issues and the inspiring way she confronts social media bullies who can't seem to get comfortable with the idea of female politicians.

We need this kind of leadership from more leaders like Pam. In this interview we talk about how to encourage more women to run for office, what the real culture is like on Parliament Hill and what still needs to change, why Pam is passionate about fixing workplace harassment issues for federal employees and her program for girls in her riding.

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Today we’re talking about Karen Karbo's latest book which just launched yesterday (Feburary 27) called In Praise of Difficult Women – Life Lessons from 29 Heroines Who Dared To Break The Rules. The book is a series of essays about Karen’s list of women, highlighting the aspects of these women that makes them "difficult" in the way they react to societal expectations, how they cultivated unexpected careers, and generally showed up in the world ready to be themselves, regardless of who else approved.

As you’ll hear Karen say, these are her women – and they represent a cross-section of races, careers, marital status, sexual orientation and even eras in which they lived. As Karen tells us, you might choose a different 29 women for your list, but the focus she places on what makes them “difficult” and their bravery in expressing the full range of their humanity, as Cheryl Strayed puts it in the book’s foreword, is the real key. There’s a lot to learn from each of these women’s lives, even if you wouldn’t choose to befriend them.

This is a fun conversation about how we need to think differently about women who are unapologetic about the way they choose to live their lives. I hope it makes you think, laugh and examine the ways in which you could be more unapologetic about your own way in the world. Because the world needs more women like that.

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Sometimes, just when you think you have the world on a string, life chooses that very moment to remind you you're not in control. What's that saying...if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans? It feels unfair at the time, but if we're lucky enough to survive those moments, we can usually find what Komal Minhas refers to as collateral beauty. Otherwise known as a silver lining...the ancillary lessons we can take from a miserable experience to help us not only get through it, but thrive on the other side.

That kind of resilience is one of the most important skills for entrepreneurs, or anyone really, to master. My guest this week has that skill mastered in spades. In her mid-twenties, Komal Minhas was starting a bright career as a film producer and distributor and in a partnership with a good friend that resulted in the feature length documentary, Dream, Girl. Just a few short months before the film was to premier at the White House, and being named to Oprah's Super Soul 100 list,  she was diagnosed with cancer. In this episode, Komal tells us what happened next, how she survived only to face another medical emergency, and what she's doing now with the abundant learning she has taken away from these experiences.

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Michele Viner believes in the power of words to change minds, lift up, inspire, and in short, be day or even life-changing. She started A Little Wordy after quitting her job to be at home, supporting her daughter who had recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

It’s an inspiring story of how sometimes, the trials of motherhood can also instigate really good ideas that are helpful beyond the scope of our own families. Yes, we need more women in science and tech – but we also need more women bringing their hearts and souls to ideas like this that can have huge societal impact.

What you’ll learn from Michele:

1. Why she felt like taking a job outside her family business was “stepping outside her comfort zone” but also why she thinks everyone can benefit from both corporate and entrepreneurial work experience
2. Why she believes words have the power to encourage, lift up, and change someone’s day
3. That knowing “why” you’re launching your business will take you farther than just focusing on what you sell
4. How giving back to mental health initiatives through her business is tied to her “why”

Marie Wiese is the President of Marketing CoPilot (a digital marketing agency), the award winning author of a book for digital marketers called "You Can't Be Everywhere", and host of The Common Sense Marketer podcast. She also has an extensive background in sales and marketing leadership in the financial services and financial technology sectors.

In this interview, we tackle many of the key issues facing women at work today, paying particular attention to the technology sector. There's no denying we still have a long way to go to change the working environment, pay equity issues and harassment issues that surround this particular industry, seemingly more than others.

Marie is a passionate advocate for finding ways to encourage more women in tech as the stats, particularly in Canada, are shocking and reflect a decline in women pursuing computer science careers. Couple that with exponential growth in artificial intelligence innovation, and it isn't hard to see the problems that arise from having a non-diverse programming/design workforce.

We also touch on lifestyle issues for women who are the primary breadwinner in their families, and what Marie learned when she unexpectedly had to take 6 months away from her business to look after a sick family member.

Find out more about Marie at marketingcopilot.com

Ann Garvin is a three-time published fiction author, university professor and entrepreneur who offers great advice for women and girls about the importance of breaking some rules, doing what we love and supporting other women. Listen for her insightful perspective on making mistakes, how confidence can be learned and improved through experience, and what she's doing to fix gender-based inequality of opportunities in the publishing industry. Ann keeps it real about succeeding in a world that tells overworked women to pursue "balance" and perfection over passion and an ambitious, fulfilling journey. 

Erin O'Neil explains why she started Broad Conversations, and how she manages depression and anxiety by turning her negative feelings about world events into productive, warm, and encouraging action that inspires other women to do the same. Erin is a great example of "being the change you want to see in the world" - there's a lot of wisdom in her outlook and actions.

While Erin didn't start BroadConversations.com with a work focus in mind, her events are instructive on the importance of building networks, learning to trust and use our voices, and how diverse teams can benefit all organizations.