Cheers To The Weekend!!

As spring is ramping into full swing in Vancouver I wanted to take this beautiful Friday to wish you a wonderful weekend filled with relaxation and much needed down time.  This time of year tends to be the busiest for most.  Whether you're  a student completing another semester of exams (yay!), an accountant winding down from a busy (and stressful) tax season (Yay!), or an employee recovering from year-end budget deadlines (New budgets. Double Yay!) it can be an extremely hectic time of year. Some stress saving tips from me to you:

- Maintain perspective and try not to let the 'small things' get you down.  It may be playoffs but don't let the intensity rocket launch your bloodpressure - it is afterall just a game :p - Take the time to smell the roses (or cherry blossoms before they wilt) and while your at it, take advantage of the sunshine and stroll our beautiful seawall - Do one thing this weekend that is for YOU! Get yourself a pretty cupcake or a puppy, the skies the limit - And ALWAYS do as Ellen would and "Be Kind to One Another"

Cheers to the freakin' weekend!

xoxo ~ Megan

chatting with...sally parrott

Getting in touch with Aritzia's Sally Parrott for a YWiB chat was easy.  I only had to email once, and she replied within a couple hours.  Sally's efficient and innovative, and I'm guessing that's how she moved her way up the ladder at one of Canada's best-selling clothing retailers for women.  Here we talked about her journey to the top. name three people you'd like to have a dinner party with. That’s funny, I just had this conversation with someone the other day.  I have so many but I think three that are top of mind for me now are Maya Angelou (every woman should know her name), Anais Nin (I just find her life fascinating) and Mick Jagger (I know, he’s not the most intellectual choice but I bet he has some amazing stories).

you’ve been with aritzia for seven years, starting as a one-person department and now overseeing both marketing and creative services as vice-president of marketing.  what’s the biggest change or shift you’ve seen in marketing strategy during your time at aritzia? I think the biggest shift, and the most obvious, has been in the emergence of social media.  We now have both the opportunity and challenge of interacting with our customers on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis.  Gone are the days of developing a campaign for a season and then leveraging it across three or four key mediums.  Now we have to be very clear about our brand and key messaging and then develop a content strategy and plan that can be leveraged across a host of mediums that are multiplying by the month.

after working at proctor and gamble for four years, you had an “early-life crisis” and travelled in southeast asia for 18 months.  what kind of influence did your overseas adventures have on your career?  I think the time away forced me to take a step back and identify what I really wanted out of my work and my life.  Ultimately I identified that I did like my chosen career (at that point I was open to anything from being a mountain guide to a travelling nomad) but that it was important to me to work in an industry I cared about and was fun.  Life is too short to be unhappy – we spend a lot of time at work so we’d better enjoy it.

That time also taught me to trust my gut and my instincts.  I don’t always succeed in this regard but it’s a lesson all of us should learn.

Finally, that adventure and the many I’ve had since have taught me that life is all about lessons and my career will grow and evolve as I do.  Taking a step away every now and again helps me to evaluate with a clear head.  To take the path less travelled means that I will make mistakes and sometimes find myself in a place I didn’t envision – and that’s ok…sometimes even great.   To walk this path takes courage and multiple life crisis and I’m convinced it’s all worth it.

what makes aritzia a great place to work? Aritzia is full of young, extraordinarily bright, motivated individuals (the majority of whom are women) who are all passionate about what they do.  I also think there is an enormous amount of trust in the leadership of the organization.  It’s difficult to maintain a successful company for over 25 years and Aritzia has done just that.  It’s confidence inspiring. Having respect for the leadership, right from the very top, is something I think is extremely important.

why do you think YWiB and the YWiB philosophy is important for young women in the community?  Regardless of our age, gender or career status I think having both a strong foundation of peers AND mentors is essential in becoming our best versions of ourselves.  I don’t think it’s wise to sit back and expect our educational institutions or employers to own our career development.  We need to own our owns paths and I think one of the best ways to do that is to reach out into the community and connect with people who are aligned in values and can help us to grow and learn.  YWIB gives young women that opportunity.  I’ve been so impressed and, frankly, awestruck by the talent and motivation of the young women (and mentors) I’ve met through the group.

knowing your worth – i know mine, thanks to my dad

I’m a writer.  I always have been.  I get to do a lot of writing for a living, which is pretty cool.  I get to be creative almost every day, and I get paid for it.  I’m very lucky. As a child, I would show my work to my parents.  They would read it, and laugh, or say, “that’s very good.”  i come from a humble family, so it usually didn’t go much further than that.  In fact, sometimes my dad would say, “Did you actually write this?  From your own head?  You didn’t copy it from somewhere?”  And I would say, “Yes, Dad, it’s from my own head.”  I think he was mostly joking about that, but he just didn’t want me to think i was better than i was, or something.  But his next question would always be, for as long as i can remember, “where’s your name?  where does it say that you did this?”

Not a lot of my work has my name on it for some reason.  I’m not really sure why.  It could be that i never asked for a byline.  Like I said, I was raised to know that although I am talented, someone else is always going to be more so.  Besides, I work in the charitable sector, where the majority of things come together collaboratively and bylines are simply not part of the culture.  and I’ve always felt that asking to be credited would be pretentious.  Even now, when I get recognized in a meeting for something i’ve done, my first reaction is “it was a team effort, don’t look at me, we collaborated on this!”  Anyway, I’ve explained as much to my dad, and he just shakes his head. “You should get credit for what you’ve done,” he always says.  ”You should ask for it.  You should know your worth.”

I wrote a rather large novella of sorts last year and for the first time, upon recommendation from another colleague and my dad’s advice, I asked for my name to included in the document as the writer.  I received copies of this project and sure enough, in the back, in rather small type, it says i wrote it.  and i have to admit, it feels pretty good whenever i look at it.  It’s a good piece of work.  I know it is.

So I guess the point I’m trying to make with this post is that my dad, in addition to driving me insane, up the wall and crazy (sometimes all at once), wants me to be proud of the things i create. He's proud, in his own way, and now I know that whenever he asked why my name isn’t on something, it’s because he wants me to know my worth.  He wants me to know i’m good.  And now i do.

Why do you think women feel like taking all the credit is wrong or inaccurate?  Why are men so quick to ask for it?  Do you “know your worth”?  

my {YWiB} story – member highlight: Megan Rendell

name| Megan Rendellsocial| twitter: @meganrendell web| Linked In: Megan Rendell email| meganrendell@ywib.ca

why YWiB |  i joined YWiB’s new Marketing team in December 2011 because I wanted to get more involved with the team!  i had helped out with YWiB events in the past but wanted to commit to something for longer than a day at a time.  i love sharing my experience with others and YWiB lets me do that while meeting and learning about other fabulous women in Vancouver.  i studied Commerce at UVIC grading in summer 2009 and quickly moved to Vancouver without having much of a network base here.  shortly after settling in Van I heard of YWiB and its mission and begged to volunteer at Beyond Pink 2009!  where I got to meet some of the inspiring members.  fast-forward a couple years later, I just completed SFU's intensive Public Relations program and am looking for a career I'm passionate about in PR & communications.  you can never underestimate the wealth of knowledge you gain in working with like-minded, passionate women all while building a solid network via YWiB!!

childhood ambition|  marine Biologist (the interest is definitely still there)

my home|  Kitimat, BC, as much as I love Vancouver nothing beats Northern BC!

wildest dream|  travel the world learning about people and cultures all while changing the lives of others daily.  if you are doing this and want my help, please contact me!!

proudest moment|   being awarded an appreciation award for my work at the Department of National Defence.  it was humbling to be awarded something from such inspiring people that have devoted their lives for the everyday freedoms we have in our country.

biggest challenge|  balancing my personal needs with the demands of my professional development.  this is something that will probably take a lifetime to master!!

favorite quote| “And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” ~ Marianne Williamson

inspiration|  my parents – they have always prioritized their children’s needs before their own and that sort of love should never be taken for granted.

chatting with...azita ardakani

When we first launched this series of YWiB stories, I knew I wanted to get my foot in the door of Lovesocial.  See, when I’m not chatting up women of influence for YWiB consumption, I spend my days as a communications and social media coordinator, and the work of Lovesocial and its founder, Azita Ardakani, is a daily source of inspiration for me.  I approached Azita about sharing her story with the YWiB faithful, and she happily obliged.  I was ecstatic.  We talked conscious communication and “making it” over a chai latte (me) and piping hot green tea (Azita) in the very new Lovesocial headquarters, housed in Gastown, Vancouver. Name three people you’d like to have a dinner party with. Wayne Dyer [internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development], Eckhart Tolle [author of The Power of Now and A New Earth], and Jay-Z.  Jay-Z is so cool.  And can I invite one more?  Maya Angelou.  That would be a very interesting dinner party.

Describe yourself in five words. Creative, stubborn, hopeful, nostalgic and quirky.  Not necessarily in that order.

You started Lovesocial three years ago, and in such a short time, you’ve acquired some pretty amazing partnerships and projects in its portfolio: documentaries like Miss Representation and Gasland, Zooey Deschanel and Sophia Rossi’s hellogiggles.com, Summit on the Summit, Oprah Magazine...tons more.  Which project crystallized the “ah-ha” moment for you?  Was there a specific experience that really told you that you made it? I actually don’t ever like to think that I’ve “made it.”  That kind of thought results in almost a complacency, or it makes you stop trying.  But having said that, there have been a few moments for me over the past three years where I’ve stopped and gone, “Hey, we’re really doing something here.”  One moment was probably after HBO launched Gasland, a documentary that sheds light on the process of hydraulic fracturing or fracking, and the local stories of the many lives affected by that.  The impact of this process is devastating, both on the environment and on people.  After airing, gas companies activated their PR powerhouses, notably with automated social media operations called astroturfing.  We got under the skin of gas companies.  That was a turning point.  Between that and our flagship project, Summit on the Summit (a campaign focusing on the global clean water crisis) I got to see how immediate and how impactful this beast known as social media was.  We created a business for an ever-evolving industry.  It’s like building a boat on an ocean.  The landscape is always changing, and so our goals and benchmarks.

Is there a project that you’ve worked on that’s very close to your heart? I’m really proud of everything that we’ve done and the people we’ve connected with, because many were the result of an organic, natural partnership.  Recently working on Miss Representation has been fulfilling as there is a desperate need for alternative mainstream media targeted at women.  Optimizing social platforms to promote messages of worth, and campaigns like #notbuyingit help consumers take the power back into their own hands.

You speak about “conscious communication” and “sharing with intention” – so the opposite of many companies trying to leave an indelible footprint in the social media landscape by throwing anything and everything at it and hoping it sticks.  Were you always so enlightened about conveying messages in the most authentic way possible?  How did you develop the Lovesocial philosophy of connecting people with things that matter? Sharing with intention and communicating consciously – these are the human components of all things business.  I have a degree in sociology, not business or marketing, so that is the lens out of which I tend to see things.  I think people want to connect with what’s real and what’s valuable to them.  Cluttering up Twitter and Facebook feeds with too much of anything – charities to support, TV shows to watch, food to eat, politicians to follow – creates a climate of apathy and over saturation.  Why should we create or contribute to such a convoluted space?  Share things in a way that matters.  Be innovative.  Add value.  That’s when you’ll affect change.

Why do you think YWiB and the YWiB philosophy is important for young women in the community? A network, a support system, a community – those things are so important for young women who have all these thoughts and ideas swirling in their heads.  Ideas can be scary.  YWiB offers that pillar of support and connection that can help breathe life and direction into those ideas.  Organizations like YWiB build confidence so that young women learn earlier that there is absolutely no reason why you can’t reach out for something you want today.  To me, boundaries aren’t real – they are by-products of our society and culture.  People create their own walls and they invent these notions of needing permission to go out and live their best lives.  Why?  Give yourself permission.  That’s enough.

Can't get enough of Lovesocial?  Stalk 'em on Twitter at @lovesocial.  Get on Azita's radar at @Azita.

Elevate Women, Elevate the World: A Book Review by Christina Low

A review of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide  by Nicholas D. Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn 

“Women hold up half the sky.” – Chinese Proverb

As YWiB’s resident bookworm, I read a lot of books.  Many of them are good.  A few have been not so good.  And every once in a while, a book will find its way to my bedside table and stay with me long after I’ve put it down.  Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide is one of those books.

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist couple Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky is a startling, no-holds-barred look at what the authors cite as “the paramount moral challenge of the 21^st century” – the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.  Have you ever read a book and actually cringed, or furrowed your brow, or wrinkled your nose in bewilderment, indignation or plain disgust?  That’s what I did, several times, while paging through the incredible stories told by Kristof and WuDunn, weaved from firsthand interviews and visits with women all over Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, among other places.  This book is not for the faint at heart – the anecdotes are grim, describing in graphic detail the plight of girls as young as ten (!) sold into sexual slavery and prostitution, women who suffer horrible, life-threatening injuries from childbirth, and the consequences imposed on those who choose to speak up or offer support.  It was almost an assault on my mind and my heart, because I’m female, and the only difference between me and the twentysomething victim from India is where we live.  If I came away with anything from reading this book, it’s that I am so, so thankful for the opportunities, the laws and the life I’ve been given simply by being born, raised and educated in Canada.

By the same token, that twenty-something victim who survived a gang rape in Pakistan also did something unheard of for someone of her status.  Her name is Muhktar Mai, and she fought back, applying for redress for the crime inflicted upon her, and soon afterward catching the attention of the country’s then-president, who compensated her with $8,300.  She used that money to open the first school for girls in her Muslim village, which is still thriving today.  She was named one of Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year in 2005, and has since started a women’s crisis centre in Meerwala, Pakistan.  So that’s another lesson I took with me – it’s that some of these stories do not have to end hopelessly or in despair.  Some of these appalling problems can not only be solved, but done so by the very women who endured the torture in the first place.  Inspiring, yes?

This book, while brutal and harsh and violent, is probably one of the most important books I’ve read.  It opened my eyes to issues that I didn’t know much about; it is at once an awareness builder, and a call to action.  It is living testimony that opportunity can, and does, arise from tragedy.  It also shows us that when women and girls are given the chance to reach their full potential, amazing things can happen for their children, their partners and their communities.  The key ingredient to achieving this “girl effect” is empowering girls with education, which teaches them that “femininity does not equal docility.”  Education nurtures assertiveness.  When girls learn what they are capable of, everyone around her benefits.  Elevate women, and you elevate the world.  Go read this book now.

Channeling Wonder Woman

Happy Friday everyone! Aside from TGIF, nothing sparked more excitement for me growing up then superheroes. Growing up with a younger brother, there was never a lack of comic books lying around or a Sunday morning superhero cartoon missed. I watched them all, you name it; Batman, Spiderman, X-men, etc. However, even at a young age, I noticed the lack of female leads, super heroines I could play out in the backyard. Sure there were the Bat Girls, the Jean Greys and the Storms and Rogues of the comic book world, but all were part of a bigger team or a side kick to stronger male lead. The notion was disappointing until I discovered Wonder Women.

Wonder Woman was all kinds of special. She was strong, intelligent, assertive, independent, beautiful and kicked major butt all while sporting some killer red boots. To top it off, she had her own show and managed to inspire many girls (and boys) out there to take action during playtime, even throughout their lives. Wonder Woman may not be a breathing role model but she’s become a symbol synonymous with all the adjectives mentioned above and above all, female empowerment. It’s strong female leads like Wonder Woman that make an impact in our early lives, make us question societal norms, makes us push for something more out of life. It’s thought provoking characters like these that made stories like “The Paper Bag Princess” such a big part of my childhood too.

But, at the end of the day it doesn’t take super powers to inspire others or the next generation. Before my discovery of Wonder Woman or the Paper Bag Princess, my role model, the person I pretended to be, was my mom. The fact is we all have the potential to be a Wonder Woman to someone. We all have a lady in our lives that seems to be otherworldly and don’t be surprised if others believe the same thing of you. The good thing is, due to the progression of time, positive examples and the strides made by those before us, the next generation of girls doesn’t have to wait for new super heroines to be drawn since we already exist. :)