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Early last month, I was quietly sipping my morning java while flipping through the newspaper when I came across an article that caught my attention. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) was calling for submissions from the public for a campaign they’d launched to help stop racist attacks against Asian Canadians. The “elimin8hate” program was initiated as a proactive measure to combat the rise in hate crimes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Vancouver Police Department, …

Okay, I’m just going to admit it. As the entire globe has come to a screeching halt over the past month or two (what day is it, anyway?!), I’m, once again, deep in the cocoon of transformation and emerging as someone I no longer recognize. It’s the beginning of May and I’ve changed so much in the past few weeks that my husband looked at me the other day with a big, playful grin and said he couldn’t wait to …

Mere weeks ago, much
like many of you, I was travelling from city to city living out my best life
without a care in the world. Who could have predicted that a disruption of any
significance was looming around the corner, closing in to pop the happy bubble
of our magical existence? But that’s precisely what happened. Today, like many
other people, I find myself tucked away inside my house, hunkered down with
nowhere to go and no one to see on a most eerily quiet, …

When the movie “Unicorn Store” came out last year, there was a
remarkable outpouring of friends and even distant acquaintances who reached out
to be sure that this movie was on my “must watch” radar. And I quickly found a
quiet night to turn on Netflix, grab the popcorn and settle in amongst my array
of fluffy, pink unicorn pillows for what could only be a magical movie!

Brie Larson’s sweet but tortured character was relatable to me in
more ways than one. A Fine …

We are all One – Happy New Year!

I always love the excitement that a New Year brings. And
every 10 years, I’m also overjoyed to experience the added bonus of rolling
into a new decade.

I have a tradition (or should I say, self-imposed “obligation”)
that I commit to at the end of every December. This is where I reluctantly force
myself to do the necessary cleaning out of the most enormous mess known to
mankind – my office space. Given that the end of …

It’s difficult
to wrap our minds around the fact that, in this day and age, domestic abuse can
still exist. But it does. It’s alive and well across all cultures, religions
and countries.

We still too
often hear too many stories about domestic violence against women from around
every corner of the world, and it’s one of the most common reasons for violent
deaths among women.

In Turkey,
there’s a haunting memorial that commemorates 440 women killed
by their own husbands last year alone. The art installation is set …

I received an email from a friend this week advising me that Tarana Burke was coming to Vancouver and would be speaking at the Orpheum Theatre in late November. I was reminded of how quickly time flies, as this month marks the two-year anniversary of when Tarana’s name first became known to me.

And, OH MY, what a memorable time it was! Her name may not be immediately recognizable for many still, but if I mentioned that she was …

Many women I talk to express frustration in their climb up the corporate
ladder in an all-too-often male-dominated business culture.

But it’s those women who continue onward, putting their best foot
forward despite the challenges that are the most inspiring to all of us!
Nothing is easy, but a positive attitude and a tribe of people who have your
back can go a long way in helping turn a potentially negative situation into a positive
learning experience.

But the challenges are even more extreme when you …

I was pulled into a discussion recently on a closed Facebook group for
women in the mortgage industry that sparked a lot of interesting reactions from
participants.

A mortgage broker had received a letter of employment from a client that
described his position as a “journeyPERSON” welder. She asked this question of
the group: “Is this a win for women looking for equality and a fight against
sexism? Or is this a Justin Trudeau ‘PEOPLEkind’ type of moment? As a woman,
are you offended by terms …

I recently had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at a Women’s
Empowerment event to raise money for the North York Women’s Shelter HER Campaign,
where a handout containing some disturbing statistics was distributed.

Did you know that every 2.5 days, a woman is killed by her intimate
partner? And an astounding one in three Canadian women has experienced abuse,
while only one in 10 has filed a report. Every night in Toronto, 185 women and
238 children sleep in women’s shelters because it’s …

Deciding that the unicorn would be the perfect symbol for the Magical Unicorn Project was a no-brainer. But that’s because I’m well aware of the symbolism behind the unicorn.

And ever since the
project came to be, I’ve come across even more awesome information about
unicorns.

For one, “uni” is Latin for “one”, which
refers to the mythical creature’s single horn. Most animals are equipped with
two horns. The nature of this project is inclusive and promotes unity. It’s
certainly not about men vs women but, rather, …

Diversity in the workplace is incredibly important. It
must, however, reach beyond age, gender, race and cultural background… and
include diversity of thought.

People who think in different ways boost innovation,
creativity and problem-solving within their companies. Studies show that the
more diverse a workplace is, the more success it achieves. As a result,
organizations are naturally looking to learn more about not only increasing
diversity, but also how to manage it.

One study
found that millennials, who will comprise nearly 75% of the workforce by 2025,
define diversity …

Happy International Women’s Day! This sparkly day has been
recognized for well over a century. It’s all about unity, celebration,
reflection, advocacy and action.  

World-renowned feminist,
journalist and activist Gloria Steinem
once said, “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to
no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of
all who care about human rights. I couldn’t agree more. Yet, whenever I think
about women’s struggle for equality, I can’t help but also think of human
rights in general, and how …

When men are deliberately engaged in gender inclusion programs, research
shows 96% of organizations see progress – compared to only 30% of companies
where men are not engaged. Now, that’s a huge difference!!

Still, many organizations today are missing the mark on gender
equality issues by focusing gender initiatives solely on changing women – from
the way we network to the way we lead. This approach reinforces the perception
that these are women’s issues – effectively telling men they don’t need to be
involved.

But, …

It’s nothing new to
have celebrities backing various causes and using their status to make their
messages known. But, it is a relatively unique experience when men like Bono – U2’s
lead singer – are standing up loud and clear to promote gender equality!

This is a HUGE deal!
As we know, celebrity power doesn’t make people immune to being openly judged
and questioned about their actions. After being honoured with Glamour
Magazine’s first ever Man of the Year award – as part of its …

If you’re a visible minority, you’re likely much more aware of the fact that it’s tough to find a role model who looks like you. And if you’re a visible minority AND a woman, chances are you really get it.

We need more women of every age, creed, colour, religion, sexual orientation… to put themselves out there to achieve their wildest dreams and aspirations so that our future little girls always have someone like them to look up to and aspire …

I’ve always believed men have an important role to play in establishing the kind of society where women can wholeheartedly thrive and be equal.

I came across this poignant article on HRDive about a recent conference in the United States where a lawyer held men in attendance accountable for supporting women who are victims of sexism and harassment. Below is a recap.

Men attending the Society for Human Resource Management’s conference in Chicago received a call to action June 19th, with attorney …