Maria David-Evans joins me today to talk about how to bust through the glass ceiling as a woman and become successful in your career. Maria has been breaking down the gender barrier for decades. She talks about her 45 years of public service where she was often the only woman in the room. Receiving numerous awards for her leadership and community work, Maria has been twice named on Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
Her family left war-torn Hungary during the revolution. After living in a refugee camp for over a year, she and her family had the opportunity to move to Edmonton. At the age of 10, she and her friends formed the Busy Bee Club to help the elderly and disabled in her community. This started her interest in solving “people problems.”
As an adult, Maria blazed the trail for women in leadership and management positions, including being the first female parks and recreation director of Canada, and being the deputy administrator in multiple areas of the provincial government.
Maria shares how she tried to fit-in early in her career when working in male-dominated industries, and what it was like to often be the only woman in the room. And she explains why finding the right mentors is so important for women in business.
Show Highlights
[02:40] Maria started off her leadership role early in childhood.
[04:00] Moving to Edmonton after living in a refugee camp.
[09:09] Her experience as the first woman to take on the parks and recreation director position in Canada.
[12:25] How she dealt with being a female lead in male-dominated roles.
[13:45] Maria talks about her female mentors, starting with Betty Hughes.
[21:13] Why she decided to go into teaching after her career.
[23:05] The importance of having mentors in your life.
[25:00] Role that self-confidence gave Maria in her career.
[29:15] Her experiences in Kenya with gender discrimination.
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Find out what Maria teaches at her U of Alberta page