Business
Trump’s Win Over Clinton a wake-up call for Women in the Workplace
For working women, calls to Lean In at the office and get men to pick up the slack at home may have made the world seem like it was turning the corner on gender inequality.
Then the 2016 presidential campaign happened.
But one look at the data shows no one should be surprised women are still held to a different standard, especially in the workplace.
The pay gap has barely budged in decades and few women rise in the ranks at the office. This fall, McKinsey and LeanIn.org surveyed 132 companies with a total of more than 4.2 million employees. The results showed that while women start out at near parity with men in entry level positions, only about a third reach senior level management positions.
After that, things get worse: About a quarter reach senior vice president positions and only 19 per cent get to the C-suite. Lower promotion rates, less access to mentors, less challenging assignments, and a feeling that they are unable to contribute as much to meetings all contribute to this inequity. Often lurking beneath these trends is the misconception that women are less qualified. More than three-quarters of 1,000 people surveyed by MWW Public Relations and Wakefield Research describe male leaders as stronger at delivering financial returns and developing strategy.
Another recent survey of 1,000 workers by EY found 64 per cent said there is bias shown against women in leadership positions. Women are more likely to say there is bias shown against female leaders, but more than half of men surveyed agreed.
Yet, the reality of performance is very different. According to a 2014 Credit Suisse report of 3,400 companies, those with more female senior managers perform better financially than those run by mostly men. Organizations with a female CEO saw a return on equity averaging about 19 per cent higher and dividend payouts about 9 per cent higher than companies run by men, the report found. All of these surveys were conducted before the election.
Yet, for many women, Hillary Clinton’s electoral college loss to Donald Trump served as a wake-up call that they haven’t come as far as many thought.
“A problem we thought was on its way to being solved, is not near being solved,” said Careen Winters, a vice-president in corporate communications at MWWPR. “We’re having a reality check that the universe we thought we we’re living in isn’t the reality we’re living.”
On top of his crude comments about women and multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault, for female strivers, Trump’s victory crystallized the perception that it’s impossible to achieve while female. Women supported Clinton over Trump by a 12-point margin, with particularly strong support from young women: 63 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds voted for Clinton.
To many of them, her loss felt like a personal affront: “When this happened, it was like ‘Bam!’ This is a great example of someone who is super misogynistic being given a path over this woman who is more than over qualified,” said Claire Wasserman, who runs Ladies Get Paid, a professional development organization for women.
“There has been so much discussion about the advancement of women at work that it felt like it was happening,” said Sallie Krawcheck, who runs Ellevest, an investment platform for women. It wasn’t. And now a lot of women who were blind to that, for the first time, see the state of things.
Even Krawcheck, a veteran businesswoman who has long understood the penalties of her gender, admits the election shocked her into action. “It’s a bit like how you feel after a huge bucket of cold water has been poured over you: I’m awake, I’m fully awake. I’m tingling,” she said. “We have to do something different tomorrow than we did yesterday, on a range of things.”
Trump’s win is serving as a useful catalyst for women’s organizations. One benefit of the election is that it has made messaging for women’s groups clear and simple. “I’m conflicted because I’m devastated, but I see such opportunity,” said Wasserman. “We can stay focused on the action plan, we don’t have to worry about how we’re communicating it because the case has been made for us.”
Following the election, groups like Lean In and Ellevest put out statements reaffirming commitments to women’s equality. “You can’t be a woman — and perhaps particularly a professional woman — today without being forced to confront that, despite how far we’ve travelled, we have so much further to go,” read Krawcheck’s newsletter the day after the election.
The next step for these groups is turning all that talk into action. Ladies Get Paid will hold an “Emergency Town Hall” on Nov. 30 to discuss how to hold politicians accountable to female friendly workplace practices and wage equality. Krawcheck plans on redoubling her efforts to help women in business through mentoring, sponsorship, and funding female owned businesses. At EY, Karyn Twaronite, a partner and the head of diversity, says mentorship isn’t sufficient: women need sponsors and advocates in the workplace to ensure promotion.
“The good news is that it’s on the table; the good news is that we have more levers than ever; the good news is women are more energized than ever,” she said. “The bad news is I thought I wasn’t going to have to try as hard. I thought we were in a slipstream and that the big effort had been done. But it’s clear that has not been case.”
Beauty enthusiasts rejoice! Beauty Week at Hudson’s Bay is back in Toronto for another year. It’s time to stock up on all of your fall essentials and, maybe discover some new ones.
From Friday, August 18 to Sunday, August 27, you can expect a truly elevated beauty experience in-store with incredible special offers, limited-time gifts, and exciting activations.
If you’re a diehard beauty lover, you’ll already know that Hudson’s Bay is the place to shop thanks to its extensive range of over 195 skin and makeup brands from both luxury labels and masstige brands — including Tata Harper, Estée Lauder, YSL, Nars Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, and so much more.
Throughout The Bay’s Beauty Week, visitors can take in some at-counter activations and interactive expert-led tutorials, where there will be chances to get makeup touch-ups from top-tier brands, try a spritz of the most alluring fragrances, and sample tons of new products.
This year’s Beauty Week highlight is the ‘Best in Beauty’ tote, a meticulously-curated selection of 30 deluxe samples from an array of top-tier brands like Dr. Barbara Sturm and Shiseido spanning skincare, fragrance, and makeup — all in a super sleek bag.
The tote, which is valued at over $300, is retailing for just $39 and is a fantastic way to explore new products (without breaking the bank). However, there is a limited quantity, so if you want to get your hands on one, you’ll need to be fast.
Wondering exactly what Beauty Week’s free gifts with purchases entail? If you spend over $95 at Lancôme, you will receive a six-piece set valued at $130. Or, you can get an Estée Lauder gift valued at $170 with purchases over $80. (And that’s just to name a few.)
If you’re a Hudson’s Bay Rewards member, you’ll also get $20 in Hudson’s Bay rewards when you spend over $100 on beauty.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have several non-combat jobs, some of which do not require a college degree or past work experience.
Life in the forces has several benefits, such as paid education plans (college, university and graduate-level programs), 20 paid vacation days, health and dental coverage for you and your family, maternity and paternal leave, and pension plans. You can learn more about the benefits in detail here.
And to make it easier to gauge if you qualify, the listings also include related civilian jobs to see if it’s your ideal role.
Financial services administrator
Related civilian jobs: Financial records entry clerk, financial manager, accounting technician, bookkeeper, budget officer, cashier clerk, business planner technician, and verification manager.
Description: You’ll help budget resources for all military activities besides providing financial assistance.
Education: You need to have completed Grade 10.
Duties: As a financial services administrator, you’ll be responsible for bookkeeping and managing budgets. You’ll also provide support in accounts payable and accounts receivable.
Work environment: Those in this role work at CAF bases, on ships or overseas. You might also be expected to help special operation units, recruiting offices, schools, and medical organizations.
Postal clerk
Related civilian jobs: Mail clerk, mail sorter.
Description: You’ll provide postal services to members and their families at bases and establishments.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: As the postal clerk, you’ll handle mail duties.
Work environment: Besides a postal office, you may work on a ship or a mobile postal van. You might be expected to serve with Royal Canadian Navy, the Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force in Canada and abroad.
Dental technician
Related civilian jobs: Dental assistant, dental hygienist.
Description: You’ll be helping dental officers provide dental services to CAF members, their families, and dependents.
Education: Level II dental assisting diploma from an accredited college or a National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) certificate.
Duties: Those in this role will be responsible for various responsibilities, including disinfection and sterilization of dental equipment, applying rubber dams, placing cavity liners, and controlling bleeding. In addition, you’ll assist in laboratory procedures like creating casts, custom trays, and mouthguards.
Work environment: This role will require you to work in a military dental clinic, a Mobile Dental Clinic, an Air Transportable Dental System, or onboard a ship. You might be expected to work on a base in Canada or other operations in other parts of the world.
Human resources administrator
Related civilian jobs: Records administrator, data entry supervisor, receptionist, office manager, executive assistant, payroll clerk, and information management technician.
Description: Provide administrative and general human resources support.
Education: Grade 10. No previous work experience or related career skills are required.
Duties: In addition to human resources administration and services, you’ll be handling pay and allowances, managing automated pay systems, and maintaining personnel records.
Work environment: HR administrators work at all CAF bases in Canada. They also work on ships and overseas to support the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, or Royal Canadian Air Force operations.
Medical assistant
Related civilian jobs: Emergency medical responder, ambulance and first aid attendant, registered nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse, and hospital orderly.
Description: Successful candidates will help treat the sick and injured in CAF units. You’ll be assisting and supporting nursing and medical officers.
Education: Minimum of Grade 11 biology, Grade 10 physics or chemistry, and Grade 10 math.
Duties: You’ll provide initial care and essential life support treatments in trauma cases. You’ll help with health assessments (hearing and vision tests, perform basic lab procedures, etc.) and initiate and manage medical records and reports. You’ll also be expected to provide support and first aid during training exercises.
Work environment: Medical assistants may serve with the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force or the Canadian Army as part of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group. Those in this role are exposed to the same risks as the forces they support.
Porter Airlines is once again stirring the pot among Canadian airline rivals, now going after Air Canada’s Aeroplan members by offering to match their loyalty status to an equivalent of their own.
The beloved airline, which recently ranked as having the best cabin service in North America, challenged the competition for the second time this year, after previously deploying a similar tactic against WestJet in the spring.
Earlier in April, Porter presented customers with a limited-time offer to match the loyalty status of WestJet’s patrons with VIPorter levels.
Now, they’re offering Aeroplan members to seamlessly transition to an equivalent VIPorter Avid Traveller status based on their existing membership tier.
Members can then take advantage of an array of travel perks that come with flying Porter, including seat selection, baggage, and flight changes.
For those currently holding an Aeroplan membership, there are two ways to acquire the Avid Traveller status for the rest of 2023:
Status-Based Match:
- Aeroplan 25K members = VIPorter Venture
- Aeroplan 35K members = VIPorter Ascent
- Aeroplan 50K, 75K, and Super Elite = VIPorter First
Flight Segments-Based Match:
- 5 flight segments = VIPorter Passport
- 8 segments = VIPorter Venture
- 17 segments = VIPorter Ascent
- 28 or more segments = VIPorter First
Members will have to first submit their applications on Porter’s website. Registration will remain open until September 6, 2023.
In order to maintain their membership level through 2024, customers will have until the end of 2023 to reach the following reduced qualifying spend (QS) targets:
- Passport = $500 in QS
- Venture = $750 in QS
- Ascent = $1500 in QS
- First = $2500 in QS
Over the past year, Porter has launched an aggressive expansion strategy, including everything from introducing longer flights on newly-purchased jet planes flying out of Toronto Pearson, free WiFi, and a new all-inclusive economy experience.
With Canadians losing both Swoop and Sunwing as WestJet incorporates both into their mainline business, Porter’s direct competition is welcome to keep prices competitive.
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