Women must support each other, say panelists at Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians forum

By: Liz Dadson November 9, 2015 1482

Women must support each other, say panelists at Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians forum

It's important for women to support each other's endeavours and successes, in order to make a difference in their communities.

That was the message emphasized at the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Canadian Region outreach program forum, held Friday morning at the Bruce Power Visitors' Centre.

Hosted by Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, the event was delayed briefly because, ironically, there was no power at the building, located beside the world's largest nuclear generating station.

James Scongack, vice-president, corporate affairs, at Bruce Power, welcomed about 100 people to the session in the auditorium, once a generator had been brought in to supply power to the building. He noted that the hydro was not out because of a lack of power generation but because of distribution.

"We are pleased to host this event," he said. "We have a lot of Bruce Power staff involved here today. Our company has a very diverse workforce because of hirings over the past 15 years. We have more women on site, as well as Aboriginal people and visible minorities."

He said Bruce Power hasn't developed its workforce this way because it's a nice thing to do, but because businesses that embrace diversity are more successful.

Thompson also welcomed everyone to the program, noting that the event was being held outside the urban centres, in rural Ontario, because rural Ontario matters, and Huron-Bruce matters.

Laura Ross, vice-chairperson of the CWP Canadian Region, said the group holds one event per year in a member's riding. She said Thompson did an incredible job introducing the CWP steering committee to the agriculture sector in Huron-Bruce.

"When we gather to discuss issues, we park our partisan politics at the door," said Ross. "Our tours across Canada are great opportunities to tell women what we do as elected officials and encourage them to run for public office."

The first panel of the day, featured women who work at Bruce Power: Christine John, communications specialist; Heather Kleb, president of Women in Nuclear (WiN) Canada; and Sarah Shortreed, vice-president and chief information officer at Bruce Power.

John has worked at Bruce Power for 10 years in various roles, now overseeing sponsorship and community relations. The mother of five is also a board member of Child and Family Services. "It's important for women to be involved and active in order to make a difference in their communities."

Kleb has worked as an ecologist for the past 20 years, originally for AECL (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited) and now for Bruce Power. "We need to have good role models who show the pathway for a career in nuclear," she said.

Shortreed has worked in the high-technology sector for 25 years, and been at Bruce Power for the past two-and-half years. A mechanical engineer, she said she grew up thinking women could do, and be, anything they wanted.

It was only after her third year at the University of Western Ontario in London, and then after her friend Lynda Shaw was killed, followed by the massacre of female engineering students in Montreal, that she realized that not everyone wanted her to succeed.

Women should be helping each other, and especially young women, succeed in non-traditional roles, she said, such as science, technology, engineering and math.

The second panel featured Jacquie Bishop, chairperson of the 2017 International Plowing Match; Kelley Coulter, chief administrative officer (CAO) of Bruce County; Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie, and her mother, Audrey Ferguson; Brenda Orchard, CAO of Huron County; and Sylvia Sheard, community champion.

Bishop noted she is the first female chairperson of the plowing match which began 100 years ago. She is also the only woman on the board of Howick Mutual Insurance, and serves as the Huron-Bruce Returning Officer for provincial and federal elections.

Coulter said her maternal grandmother was among the first women who were allowed to vote, and she told Coulter to always get out and vote. "She was a tremendous woman - very opinionated."

A professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, Coulter said the gender gap prevails today. "My class is 50-50 women and men. I asked a question and all the hands raised were men. Afterwards, I discovered that the women all knew the answer but they hesitated to put up their hands."

Eadie is a retired teacher and said she got into politics because of her interest in environmental protection and the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation. She helped form the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network (PRWIN), was elected to Huron-Kinloss council, later Kincardine council and was elected mayor in 2014.

"Whatever you like to do and can do, you can make a difference," she said. "In a rural area, community service was a given. You did what needed to be done."

Ferguson said her passion is Community Living of Kincardine and District which she helped develop more than 50 years ago. Her son, Allan, is developmentally-delayed and there was no school for him to attend which prompted Ferguson and a group of volunteers to establish an organization supporting people with developmental disabilities (later Community Living).

At one point, the volunteers were getting tired and Community Living was going to fold, but Ferguson declared, "Over my dead body." She rounded up officers for the various positions and the group continued. Even today, she is involved with Community Living and is a proud champion of that cause.

Orchard directs a staff of 700 in Huron County and at the senior management table, the discussion is about ways to grow and develop the skill set of that staff. Volunteer work is also important, she said; without it, she never would have become a CAO.

Sheard of Southampton is a breast cancer survivor and has been a volunteer all her life. Since 2009, she has led the organization of the annual Pretty in Pink event, raising money for the Breast Cancer Society. The goal is to raise a total of $250,000 by 2016. "I'm lucky to live in such a great community. We can all work together to make a difference in our communities."

During a question-and-answer session, Coulter was asked how we can counter the stigma of women deferring to men, such as in her example of the classroom setting.

"The biggest struggle I had was with other women, not men, supporting me," said Coulter. "Women have just as much right as men to voice their opinion. If you don't speak up, nobody else will."

All panelists agreed that it's important to get youth involved in science and technology, bu providing strong mentorship and good role models.

Eadie pointed to the Kinetic Knights Robotics Team 781, based in Kincardine and sponsored by Bruce Power, which encourages young people to work together and build a robot to take on a different challenge every year. "There are also 4-H and school groups available; young people need opportunities other than sports, and we have to encourage that."