MARYSTOWN, N.L. — Sheila Dolimount was eager to soak up what other women had to say about being leaders.
“Oh, there's a lot of things you can take away from here,” Dolimount said, sitting at a table in the main conference room at Marystown Hotel Tuesday, Feb. 18.
More than 200 participants had gathered for a women’s leadership event, hosted by Status of Women Minister Carol Anne Haley, MHA for Burin-Grand Bank.
Seating for the event was initially 120. It was expanded, however, due to interest in the forum.
Moving up into a leadership role as the new town clerk in Grand Bank recently, Dolimount was certain the event would be a learning experience.
“Working with a council of men, because we have no ladies on there, it’s nice to be able to bring a woman's perspective forward for that,” she said.
Dolimount expected the diversity of the women in the room to be informative.
“They have a lot of different insights, there’s a lot of different positions and people got a lot of different jobs here that, you know, they can express different things that you wouldn’t expect.”
On the other side of the room, Cindy Pope, was feeling the camaraderie, too.
“I think it’s a great opportunity just to get to hear other women that have been in leadership roles and see what they brought to the table, and what skills and advice they would give to women in leadership roles,” she said.
Pope retired from a leadership role in education, but said she may not be totally ready to leave the workforce yet.
“Opportunities like this, of course, could certainly be beneficial in future job employment,” she said.
Leading with purpose
Karen McCarthy, vice president of communications with Fortis Inc., said women are "starving" for the opportunity to get together.
McCarthy, who grew up in Marystown, was among the event’s presenters, speaking on leading with purpose.
“The truth is who we are today is really shaped by our families and how we grew up, our friends, our cousins, our teachers,” she said.
“You know there’s so many people when you grew up, and you think back on it here today, who helped to form you, who helped you, I guess, to develop the skill sets that you have, but also to develop your characteristics as a person, who you are, what kind of person you are today.”
McCarthy told the forum about the important role mothers play in inspiring their children to be leaders, using her own, Josephine Power, as an example.
Power left school behind in Grade 10 to help take care of her large family after her own mother fell ill, McCarthy said.
“I remember when we were very young as kids, Mom would be over at the kitchen table, and she’d be working on her math and Dad would be helping her. Then she’d be working on science,” she said.
McCarthy said it befuddled her and her siblings at the time.
“Anyway, she was bound and determined to get her Grade 11 because we know looking back on it now that she wanted to be the best leader that she could be for her children,” she said.
Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, McCarthy said.
“That for me … that is a definition of leading and leading with purpose,” she said of her mother’s tenacity.
Tuesday’s event was the third of its kind in the province. Two others were held last year in St. John’s and Corner Brook. Plans are in the works for others in central Newfoundland and Labrador.
They are part of a commitment Premier Dwight Ball made last year when he strengthened the mandate of the Office of the Status of Women.