We are living in a world where words like feminism and gender equality have taken over social media by storm. But what good is it if there are no actions supporting the words? Toronto School of Management (TSoM) organised an event in their campus marking the International Women’s Day 2019 to celebrate diversity and promote gender equity.
The event was graced with the presence of three strong, successful female dignitaries – Glenda Schmidt (Financial Advisor at Edward Jones), Jean Chow (Entrepreneur and inventor of Asian DIY meal-kits) and Janni Hjorth Kristensen (Founder of HÄNGAR Travel).
The theme of the International Women’s Day 2019 Event at TSOM was “Balance for Better”, which was discussed in length by the guest speakers. The focus of the session was to understand how these female dignitaries balanced their entrepreneurial life while working a job as well as handling other aspects of their lives.
While speaking about the theme Glenda Schmidt said, “International Women’s Day is about inclusiveness. I work in finance, which is a male-dominated sector. However, working in the sector gives me pride. I feel like I’m the representative of the female population and I hope it inspires women all around the world to join this line of career”.
Another panellist, Janni Hjorth Kristensen, treaded along the same lines as Miss Schmidt. “We should take this opportunity to promote equality, irrespective of gender, race or religion. That is the true spirit of equality”, she was quoted as saying.
Jean Chow, who teaches networking skills to university students in Canada enlightened students with the five hacks of networking. At the same time, she emphasised on the need for women to speak up and own their space. She said, “You have to get out of your comfort zone and build trust in yourself”.
The session was extremely interactive and had a positive influence on students. A business student from the Philippines, Jeffrey Adaya, commented on the session saying, “As a student of TSoM, I am impressed that the school took the initiative to celebrate the International Women’s Day. One of the best things was that both male and female students participated in the session. The speakers shared insightful information based on their experiences that helps us build a broader perspective of the professional world”.
TSoM’s initiative to celebrate this Women’s Day with something meaningful is commendable. This is one of the reasons that TSoM, today, is considered one of the innovative and rapidly progressing universities in Canada. Their sheer acceptance of the social state and their efforts to make the world a better place is why they are at the top of their game today.
