These women had to quit to climb the corporate ladder. Plus, how to deal when you’re feeling intimidated at work

Content from The Globe’s weekly Women and Work newsletter, part of The Globe’s Women’s Collective. To subscribe, click here.

Female executives are showing Bay Street who’s boss.

Laura Dottori-Attanasio, head of personal and business banking at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, is the latest female executive to ascend to the CEO role – by quitting her current job.

Although she spent nearly a decade being groomed for the top job at CIBC, it appears the brass ring remained out of her reach. But instead of moping about her stunted succession at the bank, Ms. Dottori-Attanasio got a better offer.

She’ll become Element Fleet Management Corp.’s CEO in May. Women across corporate Canada, who are fed up with being passed over for promotions, should be inspired by her refusal to settle for anything less than a C-suite job.

Ms. Dottori-Attanasio is in good company. Other Bay Street women have also shown such gumption in recent years.

Read the full article for how Deborah Orida, Rania Llewellyn and more women are demanding more from their jobs and leaving their companies in order to get it.

Thinking about changing jobs? First, you should develop a career mindset

“Over the past 2½ years, people have changed. Work has changed,” says Candy Ho, assistant professor for integrative career and capstone learning at the University of the Fraser Valley and chair of the CERIC board.

“While just 4 per cent of Canadians worked remotely before the pandemic, one-third of workers who are contemplating changing jobs in 2022 cite the ability to work from home as a driving factor, according to a Robert Half survey. Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of younger workers say they would switch jobs to get better benefits, according to RBC Insurance – unsurprising given the immense impact of the pandemic on physical and mental health.

“Disruptive events lead people to reflect on where they are, what they want, and what is possible. Now is the time to consider, what is the life and career you want to reimagine for yourself and how do you get there?”

Read the full article for what a “career mindset” means, and how it can help women “exercise agency in crafting their preferred futures.”

Aligning with younger employees’ values is key for Canada’s Top Employers for Young People 2023

When it comes to choosing an employer, young people are asking important questions – about diversity and inclusion, transparency, flexibility, sustainability, community, continuous learning and career development. They want an organization that aligns with their own values, where they can grow in the job and feel welcome to bring their authentic selves to work – whether hybrid, remote or in-person. That’s why Canada’s Top Employers for Young People 2023, selected by Mediacorp Canada Inc., is a good place to start.

These organizations are ready with a huge range of programs and the structured support that young people need to succeed, from internships and co-ops to mentoring, tuition subsidies and networking.

For many, a deep investment in students and new graduates is foundational, such as BlackBerry in Waterloo, Ont., where 20 per cent of its open roles are targeted for new grads, with the company hiring hundreds of students each year in paid positions on four- to 12-month contracts.

Many of these employers have also acted to create opportunities for youth that make a real difference in their industry. For instance, Toronto’s Blake, Cassels & Graydon law firm recently partnered with the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, Ontario Bar Association and other professional service firms to develop the Avenue: Black Undergraduate Law Internship Program for Black students across Canada who may be interested in a legal career.

Read the full article to learn more about the winners of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People 2023 by Mediacorp.

In case you missed it

New year, new career goals. The most-read stories about women and work in 2022

As January closes and February kicks off, catch up on some of the hottest stories from the Globe Women’s Collective in 2022.

Women were reading about: Retirement-aged women coming up with creative ways to supplement their income; burnt-out Canadian nurses heading south of the border for better conditions and pay, mountain biking as stress relief, how long COVID is taking a toll on women’s careers and more.

Read the full article for the top seven GWC articles of 2022.

Want to be your own boss? Three business owners share their lessons learned

As the new year approaches, it can be a good time to assess past career achievements and make plans for the future. For many women, the idea of becoming an entrepreneur tops their aspirational wish list.

According to 2021 research by ISU Corp, there are 3.5 million entrepreneurs in Canada, and 72.4 per cent of Canadians “consider entrepreneurship a desirable career choice.”

But in this era of looming recession, it can be scary to take that leap into small business ownership.

Here, entrepreneurs Rumeet Billan, Amanda Schuler and Sue Henderson share their lessons learned and the secrets to their successes.

Ask Women and Work

Question: I recently took on a new position as a team leader. I work in a predominantly male work environment with an all-male team, most of whom I have not worked with before. I’m also younger than most of my team. How can I set the right tone with my team so they respect me and see me as an authority figure? I’m feeling a bit intimidated, but I know I can be a good leader if they give me the chance.

We asked Vancouver-based leadership coach and DEI strategy consultant Tara Robertson to tackle this one:

First, congratulations on the new position! That deserves celebrating.

I hear that you are feeling intimidated. I’d encourage you to take some time to figure out why you’re feeling this way. One way to do that is to get clear on what your values and goals are. If your goal is to continuing managing people and to manage bigger teams, this job is a great first step. When doing something for the first time, it’s new and different and you’re learning as you go, so it doesn’t always feel super-comfortable.

Also, it sounds like in your organization, most leaders are older men. Our society often says that’s what a leader looks like. Jodi-Ann Burey and Ruchika Tulshyan had a great article in the Harvard Business Review that says: Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome. When you feel like an outsider, it’s not an illusion. It’s the result of sexism and ageism in the workplace.

So, your feelings are legitimate and valid. To be successful, you’ll likely need to navigate systemic issues that an older, male manager wouldn’t.

As a new leader, doing a listening tour with your team in the first month is a great way to understand what’s really going on and to start to build a reputation as a leader who listens. Tell your team, ‘Hey, I’m new here. I want to meet with each of you one-on-one, understand what is important to you, what you’re excited about and what you think could be improved or done differently. My job here is to listen. I’m not making any changes over the next month. You can help me by being really frank with me. At the end of my listening tour, I’m going to synthesize and share back what I’ve heard. Then we’re going to talk about the next actions we’re going to take as a team.’

Finally, I want to offer the idea of building your own personal board of directors that you can rely on. Who is someone who has a skill, maybe a procedural or people skill, that you need to improve? Who can be a sponsor – someone with more organizational capital than you have – who will speak your name in rooms you’re not in? Who is someone you can trust to talk about problems? Who will celebrate your wins with you?

It can also be important to have someone who can give you a kick in the butt when you need it and say, ‘You got this job because you’ve been knocking it out of the park. You said you wanted to lead teams so here’s your chance. Go do it.’

Submit your own questions to Ask Women and Work by e-mailing us at GWC@globeandmail.com.

Interested in more perspectives about women in the workplace? Find all stories on the The Globe Women’s Collective hub here, and subscribe to the new Women and Work newsletter here. Have feedback? Email us at GWC@globeandmail.com.