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In Toronto, there is no shortage of events geared toward women in business. We have cocktail hours, networking afternoons as well as meet and greet sessions. These all serve the greater purpose of bringing women together and supporting each other in the business world.

The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) is ULI Toronto’s internal committee that promotes the advancement of women in real estate and development, has been at the forefront of this movement. In particular, WLI is focused on increasing diversity across the spectrum by enticing women to join NFP boards, advisory boards, and related committees. However, WLI sees a growing problem at the Board of Directors level, as achieving gender diversity at this level has stalled. With new rules aimed at increasing gender diversity on these boards, many organizations will increasingly be looking for talented women to heed the call. This is the issue, and the opportunity, that WLI raised  on November 21^st, at a sold out members only lunch. The diverse audience allowed for an immediate sense of camaraderie between both sexes as they interacted with each other to achieve a common goal: getting more women on boards.

Women in power will benefit all, and those in the audience at the luncheon knew this. We heard both men and women speak to why getting women on these boards is integral to the continued growth of Toronto’s city building industry. What made this event so unique and interesting is that we heard from both private and public leaders on the issues and opportunities that both sectors provide for women in real estate. Aretha Phillips, Manager of Public Appointments at the City of Toronto, spoke candidly about the City of Toronto’s innovative initiative to entice women to take on leadership roles at the City. We also heard from Deborah Rosati, Corporate Director and Co-Founder of Women Get On Board, a member-based company that connects, promotes and empowers women to corporate boards.

As a female audience member, there were two things that resonated with me. The first was the ‘open-mic’ style that is becoming commonplace at ULI Toronto events. These unique and engaging chats give the audience an opportunity to hear the stories and ideas from industry leaders and speak openly with them. In particular, I was able to learn what actions I unconsciously take that may be limiting my ability to get on boards! The other big take-away was the time that the panelists volunteered after our lunch to sit with ULI members and hear their opinions, thoughts and stories and engage with us in a one-on-one manner. Event sponsor McCarthy Tetrault provided a great environment to take part in this annual event and the diverse audience was a testament to the desire of our industry to play a leading role in the development of women in business.

Other Panelists included:
Manisha Thacker, WLI Committee
Rahul Bhardwaj, Institute of Corporate Directors
Katherine Lee, Board Member, BCE Inc & Colliers International Group

Resources:

Building Your Board Profile, Women Get on Board
How to Prepare for Corporate Board Roles, Women Get on Board
Serve Your City, Mid-Term Public Appointments- City of Toronto
Federal Board Posititons, Government of Canada
Institute of Corporate Directors

 Thank you to our Event Sponsor: