What is happening to women in leadership in Canadian telecom?
I was chatting with a colleague over the weekend and she pointed out shrinking numbers in the executive ranks of our major carriers. I decided to check out her perception. Looking at the composition of the corporate leadership teams of Canada’s biggest communications providers, one has to wonder if we have made enough progress with diversity development. There are a couple exceptions but there are other companies that seem to be regressing from previous advances.
Check out the executive listings:
I count just 13 women among the 83 listed executive leaders at these companies. An overwhelming preponderance of white males.
The Globe and Mail had an article in October that discussed Canada’s poor record of women breaking out of “middle-management purgatory.” The story was part of a series worth reading entitled: Women in Power.
Research reported by Engineers Canada suggests that there are signs of a decline in the percentage of women pursuing engineering compared to men. This should be a concern to all of us in the industry.
Are there factors that inhibit increased representation by women in our schools?
Are we doing enough to ensure that the industry benefits from the rich diversity that defines Canada’s cultural mosaic? Why would companies recruit from a restricted talent pool? Is there is sufficient diversity in the secondary school programs that lead to technology fields?
As we look to drive increase digital literacy in Canada, we need to be sure that all Canadians are actively engaged to contribute to our digital future.
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Mark: 15% representation of females at senior level is disgusting! As a technology focused female entrepeneur who grew up in tech companies within corporate Canada, it is very discouraging to see those numbers. More importantly, many of my peers who were in telecom sector at Director, VP, SVP & President levels have left the industry totally over the last three years. It would be interesting to find out why.
lastly, what is more worrisome is the declining enrollment in colleges/university of young women in ICT/engineering schools within Canada. We will not have enough educated staff if this continues.
Let’s all do our part as individuals to encourage young women to go into ICT and highlight the positives of our sector….good pay, exciting/interesting work, flex-work programs, benefits, opportunity for advancement, good employment, etc. Roberta J. Fox, FOX GROUP