Girls night out!

Recently I attended the Canadian Women in Communications (CWC) Annual Awards Gala held at the Ottawa Congress Centre, as a guest of CPAC. Considering what the “W” in “CWC” stands for, there sure were a lot of men.

Three of the 10 people seated at my table were male. The percentages were similar or higher at other tables. It struck me as a bit odd until I heard the acceptance speeches from various recipients.

While the winners’ mini-video profiles featured testimonials from young women fairly gushing over the virtues of the recipient, many of the recipients themselves thanked male management or colleagues in their acceptance speech, as having been instrumental in mentoring or at least supporting them along the way.

Then the proverbial penny dropped.

In a traditionally male dominated industry such as broadcast and communications, who else would be in a position to foster a protégé but someone from inside the “old boys’ network”?

Then another penny dropped.

What if the group in the Congress Centre was a microcosm of future corporate Canada? Despite the current low number of women on boards of directors (somewhere around 12% - 14% depending upon which source you use) was it changing? Is the day coming when the ratio will be more equal between board members with estrogen to those with testosterone? (Will the CWC become the CWMC one day?)

At one point, “Trailblazer of the Year”, Sandy Larson (Manager at SaskTel and Mayor of Swift Current, Saskatchewan) mentioned that at the beginning of her career the “F” word (feminist) had a negative, almost militant connotation. Over the years, it’s been replaced with the “H” word (humanist) which is not only perhaps more p.c. (politically correct), but reflects a movement away from focussing inward on what’s holding women back, to focussing outward on what we can contribute and who we can mentor.

Inevitably it involves convincing others – often men in senior positions – to provide encouragement, support; assistance or acknowledgement to make sure the project has legs, as it were.

To wit: many years ago Sarah Crawford and I met working at City TV/Much Music in Toronto. She showed sincere empathy and awareness for the diverse polyglot that was/is Toronto and reflected that compassion in all her projects. Crawford, the current VP of public affairs at CHUM Television, accepted the award for “Woman of the Year” thanking Jay Switzer without whose support she could not have moved her initiatives forward.

Years earlier Mary Powers, Mentor of the Year, credited Moses Znaimer.

So the question is: should we be concerned that women comprise 51 per cent of the population, but only 20 per cent of the current MPs? Or that diverse cultural backgrounds are underrepresented in Canada’s political decision-making? Sure. But let’s also take heart that in the political arena women ran in 241 of 308 ridings. That the number of women on boards is increasing – slowly, but surely.

And perhaps just as importantly, we’re coming around to the idea that instead of battling with the other sex, it benefits both of us if we work side by side.

(Lani Wang is a freelance writer and producer at CPAC, Canada’s Political Channel, and can be reached at LifeWithLani@ orleansonline.ca)