This text is part of the special International Women’s Day booklet
On February 24, the Quebec Business Women’s Network (RFAQ) celebrated International Women’s Rights Day a few days early. To reflect on issues and emerging trends in the business world, RFAQ President and CEO Ruth Vachon and businesswomen Christelle Mokoko and Élisabeth Deschênes surrounded themselves with inspiring leaders.
As an extension of the work of the symposium on the Feminization of Leadership, which took place last October, a panel of personalities brought together by the RFAQ shared their thoughts on the transformation of the business world, the impact of women in this evolution and the actions to be taken. This meeting, broadcast virtually, was nourished by testimonies from leaders in the political, cultural and business spheres.
Transforming company culture
The question of women is “the deepest commitment” of Monique Simard, President of the Board of the Quebecor Fund and the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, who is delighted with the progress made since the beginning of her journey 50 years ago. years. The one who once demonstrated in the streets to demand child care highlighted the problems that remain in Quebec: violence against women, the pay gap, the imbalance in the mental load of women and men and the low representation of women in places of big decisions.
For meme Simard, the feminization of leadership must lead companies to “adopt a mental posture different from traditional postures”. The testimony of Brigitte Jalbert, president of Emballages Carrousel — a company founded by her father — embodied this renewal. “From one one man show, we moved to an ultra-collegiate management system”, affirmed the one who did not hesitate to seek “big names”, with skills that she lacked, to allow her company to take exponential momentum. Diversity is also at the heart of her company’s success, believes Brigitte Jalbert.
The evolution of the mental posture, by carrying the cause of equity, must come from an inclusive approach associating men and civil society, underlined for his part Mohamed Aissaoui, president of the French Alliance of Tunis. The importance of the ecosystem and training was also mentioned by the speakers. Raymonde Goudou Coffie, Minister Governor of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, recounted her commitment to train 200 Ivorian women in female leadership. “Some have become MPs or have been appointed to decision-making positions,” she says. At the end of the meeting, Mohammed Aissaoui proposed to the RFAQ a joint action so that Canadian and Tunisian business leaders train young entrepreneurs.
Prosperity and Benevolence
Anne-Marie Hubert, managing partner at Ernst & Young for Eastern Canada, reported an acceleration in requests for information from major investors on the societal impact of organizations in terms of climate, diversity or even occupational health and safety. She anticipates a “profound change in the financial markets” and a different mindset of businesses, more geared towards prosperity. “It’s up to us to seize this moment in history and join forces to create a world different from the one we grew up in,” she said.
One of the most frequently used words during the meeting was benevolence. “Twenty years ago, if I had described my company – which offered financial services – as a caring company, my clients would not have understood! launched Christiane Bergevin. For the co-chair of the Strategic and Scientific Committee of the Women Initiative Foundation, “large traditional companies must adapt their activity, modify their supply chains and give points for diversity”.
A new leadership
A new profile of leader, who “must be more empathetic, more attentive, more coach, more inclusive”, is emerging around the world, observed Marie-Claude Pelletier, president and founder of the Global network -Watch.com. This new leadership must enable organizations to offer a work environment that preserves people, their integrity and their quality of life. “There won’t be any lasting business impact or performance going forward if there isn’t a very significant and measured concern for people in the workplace,” said Ms.me Peltier.
Isabelle Côté, president and CEO of construction company Coffrages Synergy Formwork, rose through the ranks after being hired as a receptionist. She emphasized the trust placed in her in “an environment that wants to move” and advocates “definitely more human leadership, more attentive to needs and much less directive”, with “actions that give time and freedom for people to develop personally”. Her innovative vision of leadership illustrated, during this meeting, an expression used by Christiane Bergevin at the conclusion of the discussions: “feeding ambition”.