The Globe & Mail: Diversity efforts paying off: Shell CFO By VIRGINIA GALT: “There has never been a better time for Canadian women in business, says Shell Canada chief financial officer Cathy Williams, who early in her career actually received coaching on how to deal with “male chauvinist pigs.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 2 March 05
There has never been a better time for Canadian women in business, says Shell Canada chief financial officer Cathy Williams, who early in her career actually received coaching on how to deal with “male chauvinist pigs.”
Taking issue with a recent report that women have not advanced much in the past two decades, Ms. Williams said “there has been tremendous change in the work environment in Canada” — to the benefit of both men and women.
In a speech to Women in Capital Markets, a non-profit association based in Toronto, Ms. Williams said Shell Canada Ltd. of Calgary now has more women than men on its list of potential senior managers.
“It didn't happen overnight,” she said, but the efforts by Shell and other corporations to diversify their work forces are starting to pay off.
Although Ms. Williams is Shell Canada's first female CFO, she told her audience she did not jump at every promotion opportunity that came along.
It is critical, she advised, to take charge of your own career — which, in some cases, means disappointing well-meaning supervisors who are trying to push a candidate up the ranks before he or she is ready.
One of her best career moves, Ms. Williams said, was to take a non-financial role in the supply and trade side of the business — “a development opportunity that was worth much more than the job [promotion] that was being offered.”
Ms. Williams said her own career has taken a circuitous route. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1971 with a bachelor of arts in political science, travelled in Europe for a year and a half and went to Queen's University for her master's of business administration in 1975. She worked for the Business Development Bank of Canada in Ottawa, the Bank of Canada and Nova Corp. before joining Shell in 1984 as a senior analyst in corporate finance. In the course of her career, Ms. Williams has had three children — daughters born in 1983 and 1985 and a son born in 1988 — and two overseas postings, in London.
It has not always been easy, she conceded. During her first posting to London in 1989, “the land of Mary Poppins,” it took the family six months to find a good, reliable nanny.
“For a woman to succeed in business, while having a family and children, she must be absolutely sure that the children are well cared for. This makes it possible for her to leave the house and focus on work.”
Behind every successful woman, she added, there is often a good man. Ms. Williams said she could not have advanced as far as she had without the support of her husband, Bruce, who is self-employed, involved with the children and proud of her career.
As a result of her work abroad, Ms. Williams said she has come to appreciate that Canada is more advanced than many European countries from the standpoint of promoting women.
In her view, Ms. Williams told her audience, there is nothing wrong with having a lot of travel and several job changes on a résumé.
Even at the entry level, Ms. Williams said “it resonates” with her if a candidate has taken a year off after university to teach English in Japan.
“To personalize it a little bit, I am happy to have my children not get into a full-time forever type of job until maybe their mid-twenties.”
Ms. Williams said she is glad that her eldest daughter, who recently graduated from the University of British Columbia, is taking a “gap year” and plans to travel before pursuing postgraduate studies.
Change is broadening and educational, Ms. Williams said, adding that within Shell, it is “totally standard” for all employees, men and women, to change positions every two to three years.
Those who did not gain international experience prior to joining the company can take advantage of the opportunity to move back and forth within the Shell group of companies, she said.
“In order to continue to grow and develop, you have to continue to change jobs.”
Ms. Williams said the workplace changes that have been introduced to help women over the past two decades “have actually made workplaces better for men as well.
“Flexible work arrangements are alive and well, at least in Shell Canada, meaning . . . we can get the best from everyone.”
The pressures of today's work environment affects everyone, she said, so it is important that changes be made for the benefit of all.
It is not only the soccer moms who want to get out at a decent time to coach their child's game, she said, adding that technology now enables either parent to leave in time to coach the game “and pick up their work requirements later.”
Women in Capital Markets, the group Ms. Williams addressed Tuesday, was established in 1995 “to advance the involvement and impact of women in the capital markets and to be a positive force for change in the industry.”
Ms. Williams acknowledged the work done by the organization. But when asked what she had done in the way of networking throughout her career, Ms. Williams replied: “From the standpoint of women's networks, women's networking, I didn't do it. I didn't want to do it because I wanted to be considered like everybody else.
“If I was going to network, I was going to network with both women and men ... which is interesting to say to a group like this,” she continued, provoking laughter from the audience.
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