Women can be ‘powerhouses’ in a competitive business world

For Mandy Rennehan, respect for women as human beings is long overdue. That is part of Rennehan’s message as the keynote speaker for this year’s International Women’s Day event at Pier 21 in Halifax today.

Not surprisingly, the #Metoo movement and the power of social media as a platform for the movement are on Rennehan’s mind as she prepared for her talk.

“The fact that women are now being recognized as the powerhouses they are is so incredibly exciting for me,” said Rennehan, founder and CEO of Freshco, a multi-million-dollar retail facilities maintenance, projects and reconstruction company.

Of note, Rennehan said the #MeToo movement has reset an etiquette back into the workplace that reminds people they can’t treat people anyway they want, without consequences.

“Whether men, or even women for that matter, this is a movement for everybody about how we treat other human beings. And, that’s what I’m seeing. There’s an outlet now for people to say ‘I’m not ok with this anymore. It’s wrong.’”

Rennehan, also known as the Blue Collar CEO, grew up in Yarmouth. The selftaught trades person who built log cabins left home at 18. In 1995, she launched the company based in Oakville, Ont., which now has 81 employees and 400 technicians in Canada and the U.S. Sixty per cent of the employees are women.

Tanya Priske, executive director of Centre for Women in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University which is hosting the event, said the centre’s programs or funding haven’t changed in light of the #MeToo movement, largely because the centre works with women entrepreneurs and business owners rather than female employees.

Even so, she noted the movement has been valuable for creating a culture that places gender equity in the workplace at the forefront. Also, the #MeToo movement has people thinking more about inclusion in the workplace.

Whether men, or even women for that matter, this is a movement for everybody about how we treat other human beings. – Mandy Rennehan, CEO of Freshco, a multi-national company based in Ontario

Billie Jean King, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have unique strokes that propelled them to 12, 23 and 5 Grand Slam singles victories, respectively. Unfortunately, ischemic strokes are not that unique and slam a lot more women than men. Every year in the U.S. 55,000 more women than men experience those cranial vascular events.

That discrepancy caught the attention of researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Their research, published in Stroke, uncovered women’s unique risk factors and highlighted their need to take aggressive steps to avoid a stroke.

After looking at hormone levels, hormone therapy, hormonal birth control, pregnancy and time of menarche and menopause, they found that the following were all associated with an increased risk of stroke:

• Getting your period before age

10.

• Experiencing menopause before age 45.

• Having low levels of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS).

• Taking oral estrogen (without aspirin), or a combined oral contraceptive (again, without aspirin).

True, only a fraction of women who have one or more of those risk factors will have a stroke. But, if any of them apply to you, you should embrace healthy behaviors that will reduce your risk of high blood pressure and stroke. That means seven to eight hours of sleep nightly; 10,000 steps daily; seven to nine servings of fruits and veggies daily; no red or processed meat or highly processed foods, and only 100 percent whole grains. And always ask your doc about taking an 81-mg aspirin twice daily if you take hormone therapy. Even men taking hormones should do this.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www. sharecare.com.