2000-05-24 - By Elizabeth Church

By Elizabeth Church, The Globe and Mail

2000-07-13 - Helen McEvoy is eager to become part of the next generation of women in business.

Ms. McEvoy, 22, has just one more year in her undergraduate degree program at Queen's University in Kingston , where she also is head of the student Commerce Society.

This fall, she will start meeting recruiters and interviewing for that all-important first full-time job.

When she does, there is no doubt in her mind that she will be regarded as equal to her male counterparts.

"Now I feel that everyone is on a level playing field," she says during a break from her summer job at KPMG in Toronto. "I'm pretty confident in the education that I've got. Queen's in no way educated me less than any of my male peers."

Still, Ms. McEvoy says she will try to pick her employer wisely and will be scouting for signs that women in the company are treated fairly. "It is definitely more encouraging when you see women in senior positions at the place where you are going to be working. I also think it is really nice to have another women there who can be your mentor and help you out."

That's likely a good strategy, as many of the women who have made it to the top in Corporate Canada figure the field is still far away from being truly level.

According to a new poll, they also believe that some sectors will achieve that goal long before others and that, as a young female manager, having someone to look out for you is a big plus.

In the survey, sponsored by the Toronto-based Women's Executive Network, senior female executives predicted, for example, that women will fill half the top jobs in the federal public sector before Ms. McEvoy celebrates her 40th birthday.

On the other hand, the same group estimates that Ms. McEvoy will be pushing 50 before women are equally represented with men among senior ranks of private-sector companies.

These same women -- 350 of them in senior posts in the public and private sector -- believe Ms. McEvoy could be thinking about retirement before discrimination against women in the workplace is eliminated, and almost half of them think it will never go away.

"Wow," says Ms. McEvoy when she hears these results. "I guess it is realistic to say it will take that long, but I think it could happen sooner."

Ms. McEvoy says she is concerned about what will happen in 10 years or so when she has moved past entry-level jobs and might be thinking about starting a family.

"There are barriers when you get to a certain level," says Ms. McEvoy, who worries about how any time out of the work force to have children could affect her career.

Angela Marzolini, vice-chairman to the Toronto polling firm Pollara, which conducted the study, says given the views of senior female leaders on gender discrimination, she is surprised that the time-off topic is not discussed more. "It is like there is this big elephant in the workplace, yet no one is talking about it."

But Ms. Marzolini points out that there is some encouraging news in the results, especially in the progress that women see in the public sector. Only 3 per cent of women in the study, for instance, predicted that gender equality will never be achieved in senior federal public-sector jobs.

Many of the women who took part in the poll had difficulty naming model employers for women, but among those that did, the public sector topped the list, followed by financial institutions.

But financial institutions also led the list of industries identified by respondents as a difficult place for women to climb the ranks. Engineering, the oil and gas industry and manufacturing also were mentioned as areas where women had trouble advancing.

A majority of the women leaders also said they had a mentor during their career and almost all of them said it had helped them in their progress.

Pamela Jeffery, founder of the Women's Executive Network, says such relationships are key. "Women need to promote themselves and learn to network," she says. "When theysee an opportunity, it is important that they have the confidence to seize it and raise their profile."

As she gets ready to start her career, Ms. McEvoy says she has the confidence to take risks. She attributes that attitude to the example set by other women who have already become successful leaders.

"It just gives you the confidence to go for those jobs," she says. "I am going to go out there and do what I want to do and not put up with the barriers because there are other women who have done it, who have made it to the top."

Related Web site
The results of the survey sponsored by the Women's Executive Network are available through: www.wxnetwork.com