GLOBAL CHAMPION FOR GENDER EQUALITY
Fighting the good fight can take on many forms. But a truly exemplary example of that is Caroline Riseboro, president and CEO of Plan International Canada (Plan) and a winner in the Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, CIBC Trailblazers & Trendsetters category.
Riseboro has made it her life’s mission to tackle gender inequality on the domestic and global fronts. “I believe it is the critical social and political issue of our time and requires everyone, regardless of where they live, to fight together for change,” she says.
When Riseboro was appointed president and CEO for Plan, she became the first woman in Canada under the age of 40 to lead a major charity. As a new voice on the scene, she has been forging a progressive approach to leadership in her sector that challenges the conventional roles and pushes others to better elevate women of all diversities and backgrounds.
Her peers say she has redefined and reimagined how traditional international development organizations work, as well as Canada’s role in addressing gender inequality here and around the world. Her approach has generated positive results. At a time when charitable giving in Canada is experiencing a steady decline, Plan’s donor base and revenue have been growing and diversifying in recent years.
In her role, Riseboro has travelled every corner of the world, and has seen firsthand how girls and young women are faced with seemingly insurmountable barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential and power as women. But her passion for gender equality is something that she has carried throughout her life.
“It was very obvious to me at an early age that women were much more vulnerable than men in society,” she says. “In separations, they tend to take the brunt economically and bear the family responsibilities. My parents divorced when I was young, and I would see my mother in one set of circumstances and my father in another. I learned very early that the world is not as fair to women.”
Her initial profession when she graduated from university was advertising, where she worked for large brand-name accounts. “On my way home I would see people living in the streets and women having a tough go in life. I began to think about how I could use my talents and marketing skills to do good in the world.”
She switched her career path, joining World Vision in the early 2000s in a junior role, and quickly rose through the ranks and became the most senior female leader in the organization, overseeing multi-milliondollar fundraising projects. Always the groundbreaker, Riseboro was the first woman to hold a senior role in the organization’s history.
She subsequently spent time with CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health), where she extended her exposure to mental health and social justice issues.
When she decided to join Plan, she says its focus on gender equality “aligned with every cell of my body.”
With Plan, Riseboro has taken upon herself to become the ‘Chief Dream Officer’ for young women in Canada and around the world. As such, she is calling on all Canadians to show everyone that regardless of their gender and age, it is possible to turn dreams into reality.
One of her most notable talents is her ability to build unlikely yet innovative partnerships that embolden young women. For example, she spearheaded a partnership with the Economic Club of Canada to host Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama for her first speaking appearance in Canada — an event that brought over 1,500 youth to participate in discussions on gender inequality.
When Riseboro was called upon to lead high-level panel discussions at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City and at International Development Week in Ottawa, she insisted adolescent girls be present and lead the discussions.
Recently, Plan helped lead more than 30 organizations in calling on the Canadian government to champion a G7 Declaration on Girls’ Education and Empowerment in Crisis. As a result of their efforts, G7 leaders and the World Bank adopted the declaration and supported it with a $3.8 billion global commitment, which has the potential to reach more than eight million children all over the world.
Another area of focus for Riseboro is Plan’s Champions of Change Clubs. The clubs are led by young people in schools from coast to coast to coast. They use educational tool kits developed by Plan to explore the local to global connection of social justice issues through the lens of girls’ rights. There are now over 2,385 members, across 66 clubs — the result of a 70 per cent increase since Riseboro became president and CEO.
Plan’s five-year strategic goal is to impact the lives of 20 million girls; one year into the strategy and the organization has already impacted 6.15 million children.
Riseboro believes that Canada’s bold leadership is bringing political attention and action to the issue of girls’ rights and providing a road map for gender equality for the world’s most excluded and vulnerable. “Canada’s leadership on gender equality is quite remarkable. Canadians have such a disproportionately positive effect on lives around the world. Our actions could have the power to change the course for millions of girls living in crisis and conflict. It’s things like that that keep me going.”
She also stresses that despite the fact the inequity story has changed somewhat in Canada, it is important to recognize the need for programs here. “We might think gender equality happens elsewhere and all women have equal rights here. That’s not the case. We know that girls and women still face significant barriers to equality here. A recent Plan survey conducted on International Day of the Girl showed that 75 per cent of girls in Canada between the ages of 14 to 24 reported facing gender-based discrimination.”
Looking globally, the situation for women can be absolutely untenable, she adds. “These are the things I want to change in my lifetime.”
CANADA’S LEADERSHIP ON GENDER EQUALITY IS QUITE REMARKABLE. CANADIANS HAVE SUCH A DISPROPORTIONATELY POSITIVE EFFECT ON LIVES AROUND THE WORLD. OUR ACTIONS COULD HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE COURSE FOR MILLIONS OF GIRLS LIVING IN CRISIS AND CONFLICT. IT’S THINGS LIKE THAT THAT KEEP ME GOING.
— CAROLINE RISEBORO, PRESIDENT/CEO, PLAN INTERNATIONAL CANADA WE MIGHT THINK GENDER INEQUALITY HAPPENS ELSEWHERE AND ALL WOMEN HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS HERE. THAT’S NOT THE CASE.