How to break the glass ceiling
Recent growth in the mining industry means that more women need to get involved in exploration
Madeleine Champagne, lobbyist for AGC Communications, is helping women put their careers on the fast track. — Photo courtesy AGC Communications
Playing for a team isn’t just a reference to playing sports, it’s a goal that many executives strive for to move up the corporate ladder.
“Women have a chronic lack of confidence and I don’t know why—well, I do know why,” said Madeleine Champagne, a lobbyist for AGC Communications. “They didn’t do many team sports. Men do team sports and they push each other to get the puck in the field.”
Champagne has been conducting research on how to break the glass ceiling. She found that girls who started working in the year 2000 or later, a.k.a. millennium girls, lack self-confidence. Champagne noticed that women earned 60 per cent of Canadian university degrees in 2010, but only 40 per cent of women hold managerial positions and a mere 14 per cent are a part of professional boards.
“As you know, the stats are rather poor in the mining industry,” said Champagne. “Therefore, there is a need for this type of training. We give it in Montreal, but all I need is a conference room—the rest is in the head.”
Skills that meet the demands
Champagne said that some women work in the mining industry, but typically they’re working in labs or administration.
“There are three factors that contribute to the glass ceiling," said Champagne. "The first one is the boys clubs and there are ways to get around it. The second is your home situation, like how you manage your job and life. And the third is how you project yourself.”
Champagne recognizes that every industry is different, but she said there are ways to avoid these problems and put your career on the fast track.
AGC Communications has built a workshop for women that can be adapted to each industry. The workshop will show women how to identify and achieve career goals, communicate clearly and use simple techniques to break the glass ceiling.
“You don’t get ahead by working longer or harder,” said Champagne. “You get ahead by thinking.”
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