#MeToo’s ‘chilling effect’ hits corporate Canada
Women face consequences of shift in relations
TORONTO • 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 maledominated workforce that is quietly grappling with the unintended consequences of the #MeToo 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 have so far been 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 — 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 #MeToo because they didn’t want to detract from the progress they hope the movement will make towards improving opportunities for women.
They fear the misguided actions of some male leaders could instead reinforce the door to the old boys’ club.
Lori McIntosh flew to Miami in early spring to meet with a client of 12 years, only to be told the company no longer allows its executives to take meetings alone, including with her.
The founder of business consulting and executive search company Vim and Vixin said she agreed to the new terms because “business is business” and she was determined not to let the policy stand in the way of her company or career.
“It is the new reality, but why should having someone in the room with me and the CEO hold me back?”
Toronto employment lawyer Sunira Chaudhri has fielded calls from corporate clients worried about sexual harassment in their workplace — mostly wondering if they need to change policies around co-ed one-on-one meetings, mentorship, office parties, business trips and dinners.
“Some asked, ‘Should we be having the boardroom door open if it is just me and a female alone in a room?”’ Chaudhri said.
While Chaudhri has seen some workplaces show concern around how they should be handling business travel or dinners, she said many small- and mediumsized workplaces don’t have the resources to formally train workers and managers around handling sexual harassment or office dynamics.
Others, she said, simply don’t have the nerve.
Lisa Kimmel, the Torontobased president and chief executive officer of public relations and consultancy company Edelman, said she has had conversations with “a number of senior male business leaders in Canada,” who told her they were shying away from providing mentorship to female subordinates “out of fear of what might potentially happen” and in an effort to “reduce their risk profile to zero.”
SHOULD WE BE HAVING THE BOARDROOM DOOR OPEN?