The corporate climb
Women locked out of old boys’ club in misguided Me Too backlash
A lawyer is asked whether a male executive should leave the door open when meeting with a woman.
A consultant’s longtime male client will only take a meeting with her if someone else is in the room.
A public relations executive hears from senior business leaders who say they are shying away from mentoring young women.
The revelations relayed to The Canadian Press about being a woman in corporate Canada in recent months offer a glimpse into a male-dominated workforce that is quietly grappling with the unintended consequences of the Me Too movement.
The movement emerged late last year following a slew of sexual misconduct allegations against film industry heavyweight Harvey Weinstein and other high-profile American businessmen. Allegations of inappropriate behaviour have spread to a range of sectors north of the border, as well — from politics to theatre to sports — but leaders in corporate Canada has so far been left unscathed.
Still, women in business say they are facing a resulting “chilling effect” on their relationships with male colleagues and supervisors.
They reported a noticeable decline in invitations to meetings, business trips and dinners — gatherings considered invaluable for career advancement.
More importantly, they added, senior executives are increasingly hesitant to mentor female employees.
It is a development that poses a threat to women who aim to rise to the highest corporate roles at a time when two-thirds of the companies included on the TSX 60 index of Canada’s largest companies did not include a single woman among top earners last year, according to a Canadian Press analysis.
Most of the dozen women who spoke with The Canadian Press were hesitant to discuss the unintended consequences of Me Too because they didn’t want to detract from the progress they hope the movement will make toward improving opportunities for women.