As a friend of Dress for Success Toronto I would like to invite you to support our first annual "Make a Difference" campaign.
Our organization provides disadvantaged women support on many fronts, including professional dressing services, career development support through mock interviews and our career centre, participation in our Professional Women's Group and mentorship programs. Providing these important services requires more than clothing contributions. Your donation can make a profound difference in a woman’s life.
$50 provides one woman access to our suiting services
$100 provides one woman access to our suiting services & job search support through our career centre
$200 provides one woman access to the whole suite of Dress for Success Toronto programs
$400 provides two women access to the whole suite of Dress for Success Toronto programs
$1000 provides five women access to the whole suite of Dress for Success Toronto programs
I am humbled daily by the amazing women I meet that have benefitted from Dress for Success. I’d like to provide you with a quote from one of our successful Dress for Success participants…
“A suit will last a year or two but it’s the lessons and support we receive that will last a lifetime and help us become successful in our lives and career. Dress for Success was a driving force in my career development. This is about more than just suits; Dress for Success was a part of my survival.”
Helping even one woman means families & the community benefit directly!
Click here to join us in our Make a Difference campaign and make a meaningful difference in a disadvantaged woman’s life this holiday season. Any donation amount is welcome.
Thanks & warmest regards of the season,
Sheila Debly-Magnus
Executive Director
Dress for Success Toronto
Yes it is. I was talking to a client yesterday and she was complaining that men who state their point of view in a clear direct way are admired yet women who do the same are seen as pushy. You know what? She’s right. There have been lots of studies that prove this out. I can tell you from my own coaching experience that it is in fact true.
Now what? Not much. There is not much women can do about this except notice it and modify their behavior where necessary. I hope the men who read this will do the same. Sometimes things are just not fair and we learn to accept and "deal".
Many of you know that I have been a supporter of Dress for Success (DfS) Toronto and recently been appointed Chair of the board. DfS Toronto will be joining a world-wide celebration as part of International Women’s Day (IWD).
Celebrated annually on March 8th and globally recognized as a day of celebration of women’s achievements politically, economically and socially, it will be a day to raise visibility and raise funds for disadvantaged women – a powerful new way to put the spotlight on the economic independence of low income women. The first International Women’s Day event was in 1911 and 2011 marks the Global Centenary Year.
Please help us celebrate by matching the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s day with a $100 gift. Your donation will enable a woman to make the transition to empowerment and professional success. Here is just one example of how your gift can make a difference:
”I just got a job with St. Joseph’s (hospital) as a Medical Laboratory Technologist and I’d like to thank Dress for Success Toronto for providing me with nice attire for the interview. I appreciate all your help in choosing me a dress that would look professional on me.”
- Fatima, Feb. 7, 2011
A gift to support Dress for Success Toronto in honour of the Centenary Celebrations of IWD is an investment in women, equality and your community. I will be making my own donation. Please join me by making yours. Gifts of any amount are gratefully accepted! Donations can be made on-line at:
I just left a meeting with a talented young woman. She is about a year into her first real leadership role. She is passionate about her team and about what she wants to accomplish. She is bright and energetic. Any organization would be happy to have her. There is one small “hitch”. This woman is getting “hammered” (her words) by one of her colleagues. Her colleague is an older man. This man takes every opportunity to criticize her to anyone who will listen. She is tired and frustrated and is wondering if she is cut out for leadership. The problems with this colleague have gotten worse over the past few weeks. He has taken his criticism to the highest level in the organization. Her question to me, “Why doesn’t he just do his job and leave me alone?”
I have worked with a number of other women who have had some similar experiences—different people, different details but the same basic story—young woman leader feeling bullied by an older male colleague or boss.
I have been thinking about why. Each woman I have worked with has what I call a “big” personality. Each can be direct and outspoken. Each is a high achiever and each can be easily hurt through criticism. These traits make these women more of a “target” for the bad behaviour of others. The more successful they are, the more they are noticed. The more sensitive to criticism, the more likely they are to be bullied. What can these women do about it?
“Don’t let them hurt you”. (a quote from one of these women)
You can’t control them. You can only control you. Complaining about their behaviour in an organizational setting is risky and rarely works. Recognize that sometimes people are bullies and that life is not always fair. Don’t take the behaviour of others personally and don’t ever let someone else make you feel inadequate. If you are able to do that you will become more personally powerful and less of a target. The bullying will likely stop.
Our very own Claire Carver-Dias (and Canadian Olympian) writes about the growing number of women who are engaged in high-performance sport after they have become mothers.
“Ensuring that women move into leadership alongside men is not a women’s issue, nor is it a trivial concern compared with the massive problems we face on a national and global scale. Increasing women’s leadership is an imperative.”
A great article to help you recognize what might be holding your back (yourself) and how to fix it. It could be called, “Stop standing in your own way.”
Women are judged to be less visionary than men in 360-degree feedback. It may be a matter of perception, but it stops women from getting to the top.
In a study of thousands of 360-degree assessments collected by Insead’s executive education program over the past five years, the authors looked at whether women actually received lower ratings than men. To their surprise, they found the opposite: As a group, women outshone men in most of the leadership dimensions measured. There was one exception, however, and it was a big one: Women scored lower on “envisioning”—the ability to recognize new opportunities and trends in the environment and develop a new strategic direction for an enterprise.
Survey of moms across Canada highlights that women want more flexibility and supportive leadership at work.
Results suggest how employers can attract and retain key employees who are seeking work-life balance.
Higher education levels and established careers are the norm for the majority of working moms across the country and these valued employees are seeking more flexibility and supportive leadership at the office, according to a recent online member opinion survey conducted by Connect Moms, momcafé and Briefcase Moms, which have a combined membership of more than 10,000 professionally-minded moms across Canada.
