Non-profit Catalyst has named “extraordinary” Canadian corporate leaders who have made “transformational contributions” to help women to accelerate and progress in their workplaces. Catalyst Honours Champions for 2020 represent “the gold standard for inclusive leadership in corporate Canada”.
The six leaders chosen by Catalyst for their progressive work and initiatives include Nicole Bourque Bouchier, CEO and Co-Owner, Bouchier; Guy Cormier, President and CEO, Desjardins Group; Mark Machin, President and CEO of CPP Investments; Gillian Riley, President and CEO of Tangerine Bank and Executive Vice President of Scotiabank; Arlene Dedier, Director at Colliers Project Leaders; and Miranda McKie, Manager, Digital Business Integration of Accenture. The nominees were evaluated in a rigorous process, said Catalyst. Since 2010, the non-profit has annually celebrated individuals who advance women and advocate for inclusive workplaces in Canadian business.
“Leaders at organisations with a solid foundation of inclusion are better able to navigate disruption, and are often more agile and innovative, because they made inclusion a priority,” said Catalyst President and CEO Lorraine Hariton. “As Catalyst continues its mission through this extraordinary time, we are thrilled to recognise Canadian Champions who are advancing women in the workplace because progress won’t pause.”
CELEBRATING PROGRESS
Catalyst, the organisation that helps to accelerate progress for women at work, will formally recognise the new champions at Catalyst Honours 2020, a dynamic three-day virtual conference on October 6-8. The conference theme, Progress Won’t Pause, underscores the urgent need for continued progress for workplace inclusion despite the unprecedented disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Now more than ever, as the negative impacts of Covid-19 continue to be felt disproportionately by women in Canada and around the world, we need individuals like these who are committed to championing gender equity and workplace inclusion,” stated Tanya van Biesen, Executive Director at Catalyst in Canada. “Our extraordinary 2020 champions are inspiring role models whose actions have helped to accelerate the careers of women across Canada and beyond. As we honour them we also thank them for creating workplaces where inclusion is a priority.”
Adding to her comments, Dave McKay, President and CEO of RBC, and sponsor of the event, stated: “Beyond the immediate challenge of overcoming the health crisis, we must also look ahead at our economic recovery and the bold actions that will help get us there. The advancement of women into leadership roles across our country is one of those actions – a business imperative for every organisation. Canadian organisations have made real progress so far, and post-pandemic we must continue moving forward. The leaders honoured by Catalyst this year all understand that when it comes to our future success, inclusivity is not optional. We need more inclusion champions like them.”
MORE ABOUT THE 2020 CHAMPIONS
Nicole Bourque Bouchier, CEO and Co-Owner of Bouchier, is a business leader, philanthropist and advocate for Indigenous women’s economic empowerment. Her firm is one of Alberta’s largest Indigenous-owned companies, with Indigenous individuals accounting for 42% of its workforce. Bouchier has built a family culture at Bouchier, with the founding principles of community, safety, respect, leadership and commitment. There she inspires her team to achieve their full potential and encourages them to be empowered to make decisions, learn and grow. She is very involved in her community and with organisations such as Girls Inc. of Northern Alberta, and encourages her employees to be as well. Bouchier’s success in this male-dominated industry is a signal to young Indigenous women that “with hard work and dedication, they can achieve their goals”, pointed out Catalyst.
Guy Cormier is a passionate supporter of inclusion at Desjardins, the leading cooperative financial group in Canada. As President and CEO, he has overseen the adoption of Desjardins’ first diversity and inclusion plan, the creation of an accelerated development programme for women with strong potential who are now serving as directors and vice presidents, and the appointment of a diversity and inclusion ambassador in every Desjardins executive division. According to Catalyst, Cormier has made gender parity his signature issue, taking steps to set ambitious organisational targets, create a company-wide talent identification process, and mentor and promote women. His visionary and unwavering efforts to foster inclusive workplaces make him a role model for business leaders everywhere.
Mark Machin, President and CEO of CPP Investments, is a long-time advocate of diversity and inclusion. He has encouraged Canada’s other institutional investors to join CPP Investments in pushing for accelerated progress. He is an exceptional leader who supports targets for the representation of women in leadership positions and holds his leadership team accountable for the results. Machin also drives CPP Investments’ efforts to influence the number of women on the boards of companies in which it invests, believing that companies with gender-diverse boards are more likely to achieve superior financial performance over the long-term, according to Catalyst.
Gillian Riley is a force in the championship of women’s advancement in business and in the community. A much-admired leader, she is a key driver for the representation, advancement, and inclusion of women at all levels within Scotiabank, Tangerine Bank, and in communities across Canada. Her intentional focus to drive both awareness and change through action and thoughtful dialogue has had a profound impact. Throughout her time at Scotiabank, Riley has successfully increased women’s representation at the Bank. She founded and championed The Scotiabank Women Initiative to strengthen equality and support for Canada’s women entrepreneurs by providing women-owned, women-led businesses with access to capital, mentorship and education. In her first year as President and CEO of Tangerine Bank, she has moved the dial on gender parity at Tangerine with an increase in women’s representation from manager-level and above and increased women’s participation on the Tangerine Board, confirmed Catalyst.
Arlene Dedier is a seasoned project management professional with an extensive background in development, architecture, and construction management. A respected leader and Director at Colliers, she is also an immigrant woman of colour who has risen to the top in a male-dominated field. As a tireless champion of women, Dedier has built an inclusive and diverse team of project managers, including 50% women in the private sector and 40% women as national business leaders, pointed out Catalyst. Two of her most recent projects were successfully led by 60% women, and all were delivered on-time and on-budget. An active proponent of organisational cross-collaboration, Dedier has also helped highlight that employee diversity is an opportunity to present different solutions for clients. Her leadership approach has resulted in new avenues of revenue in three new regional markets: Moncton, Halifax, and Ottawa. In her first year, her service line achieved a 150% growth in revenue that has only increased year after year.
Miranda McKie is a passionate, open-minded, and empathic leader who continuously strives to break down barriers for women, both within Accenture and in the broader corporate community. As Manager of Digital Business Integration, McKie is an expert in advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. She has strategically used these technologies to build new ways of addressing inclusion challenges, creating an advanced analytics system to understand gaps in the organisation’s diversity and inclusion efforts and bolstering opportunities for women. According to Catalyst, McKie’s most recognised strength is her ability to build relationships and rally people for a common cause; over the course of her young career at Accenture, she has played a leadership role in pitching new ideas and gaining commitment from colleagues to sponsor new programmes related to workplace inclusion. She is a trailblazer on the rise.
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