On International Women’s Day, one of Canada’s most well-known entrepreneurs says she thinks things are far from equal in the workplace, especially in positions of power.
Star of TV’s Dragon’s Den and CEO of Venture Comunications, Arlene Dickinson, was on the NL Morning News and said companies need to show more public openness about how they fill executive positions.
“It’s going to take people acting, and for years we’ve talked about quotas but I think the real answer is transparency. Forcing businesses to be more transparent about their practices, asking people to go back and look at their internal practices and see if they’re reasonable and fair,” she says.
“Do they have an equal of women or black, indigenous, people of colour? Like are we doing the right thing to make sure there’s an equal playing field? So they have to go back and change policy and that require a will and that requires strong men.”
Dickinson says the culture won’t change until the men in power change their way of thinking. “Frankly, I’ve said this before but for women to succeed right now we need strong men to stand up and stop acting the way they’re acting and if you’re thinking of retiring, hey, retire from your job to a qualified female. I think that gives us all something to think about.”
Only 17 percent of executives for Canada’s top 100 corporations are women, up from just 15 percent in 2015.
The Dragon’s Den star also weighed in on how the retail world is changing for young female entrepreneurs.
Dickinson says while brick and mortar businesses will always be around, aspiring business people are looking beyond their own neighbourhoods. “Younger entrepreneurs are thinking about a digital world, thinking about how they can create businesses that are global in their reach and able to ship and export to other countries.”
She says while online business is ever increasing, those brick and mortar companies still serve a vital purpose. “A lot of them are entering into digital businesses but having said that, they also are very conscious of the social need they have as entrepreneurs to give back to the community which is a real shift in entrepreneurialism which is really great to see.”
Dickinson says believing in yourself is everything and if you are going into business, it’s important to not be afraid, saying not trying is the biggest risk of all.
(Photo: Twitter)
