Improve your Writing
October 20th, 2020I cry easily, whoop at the end of dance performances and am passionate about my work. My partner would tell you it’s not possible to have a conversation with me that does not involve me sharing my feelings. And I think the world would be a much better place if we raised men and boys […]
read more...When it is (and isn’t) useful to focus on your feelingsEffective Communication
May 24th, 2019These are just a few of the exchanges provoked by the Toronto Star’s recent publication of a commentary I wrote about the downside of filler phrases. Many of those who responded on Twitter took issue with my apparent ageism. (Although I referenced recent interaction with young people, I also mentioned that the habit isn’t confined to […]
read more...Clear speech advocate writes; Twitter sh*t storm erupts.Effective Communication
February 21st, 2017Once upon a time it was possible to claim with confidence: Nobody likes a braggart. Now you have to qualify the statement: “unless he’s a billionaire, promising to turn the clock back to the 1950s, and Russian hackers are spreading fake news stories about his female opponent.” It was crushing for many women to be […]
read more...How to get others to recognize your brilliance – without braggingOur Advocacy Work
February 15th, 2016Let’s say you’re an intelligent, confident and assertive woman who doesn’t shy away from expressing your opinion: chances are that at one time or another, a colleague may have decided you were “too aggressive.” Or maybe, by politely objecting to sexist behaviour in your workplace – the kind that expects the women present to serve […]
read more...How do you respond to charges of being too aggressive or sensitive?Our Advocacy Work
September 2nd, 2015“Thank God the world is not populated by people like me.” That was my overwhelming thought last week while participating in a symposium of women engineers. Unlike most of the rest of the attendees at the first ever Women of Impact in the Canadian Materials, Metallurgy and Mining Fields event, I dropped physics and […]
read more...Awe-struck by engineersOur Advocacy Work
May 2nd, 2014(The following op ed was published in the Globe and Mail‘s online edition yesterday to help launch #respectHER, a joint campaign of Equal Voice and Informed Opinions.) At least some of the audience’s weeping was laughter-induced. But it was hard to tell how much. At the front of the conference room, former B.C. cabinet minister, […]
read more...Parliament is still Mad Men territory for womenMaster Media Engagement
March 18th, 2014Don’t blame the messenger, folks: When Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda blogged and tweeted recently about the show’s difficulties in recruiting female guests, he elicited a firestorm of protest. But what he says rings true to me. Our experience is that women decline interviews much more often than their male counterparts. Many journalists have told us this, […]
read more...Why women decline interviews – and how we’re trying to change thatImprove your Writing
August 23rd, 2012Far too much research has already documented that when something goes wrong, women are highly inclined to blame the problem or setback on their own deficiencies. This tendency operates in stark contrast to men, who are more likely to blame external circumstances, regardless of the actual cause. There’s an upside to women’s default of accepting […]
read more...Most common errors made by aspiring op ed writers – part 2Our Advocacy Work
July 6th, 2012Don’t take my word for it… On the retrograde troll front, I defer to hip hop DJ and vlogger, Jay Smooth, who recently weighed in on the classic, cautionary Internet story involving media critic, Anita Sarkeesian. He offers a compelling and persuasive analysis of an issue I’ve tackled before— but does so from a distinctly male gamer perspective. […]
read more...Deferring to Jay Smooth on trollsOur Advocacy Work
June 30th, 2011Yesterday, sharing my Top 7 Reasons Smart Women Should Speak Up with a group of scholars at Carleton University in Ottawa, the conversation turned – as it often does – to the potential aftermath of gaining media profile. Many women worry about the fall-out from this, not wanting to be slagged – either by colleagues […]
read more...Implanted breasts and concerned scholars