Blog - Page 79 of 93 - Maureen F. Fitzgerald

People think that Boards are Diverse when they are not

I guess it should come as no surprise that if you ask a whole bunch of board members (mostly men) if they think that their board is diverse, they will say yes. This is now backed up by research from the Canadian Board Diversity Council’s second annual report released on November 15. Of the

How students can support Penn coach criminal actions

I was surprised to see the rallies in favour of Penn State Coach Joe Paterno after he was fired from the university for sex-abuse. I guess it shows how patriotism can trump even the law. People are willing to forgive even the most horrible crimes when they have more pressing strong deeply held beliefs. Like Nazis who loved Hitler

Short skirts don’t harm girls, rules do

School principals who introduce dress codes for girls are causing long-term harm without even realizing it. A recent article in the Vancouver Sun (by Byrony Gordon, 26 Oct 11) titled “Skirts haven’t been dangerous for 6,000 years” almost gets this important point. It is true that most teen girls wake up one day and

New CBA President says women lawyers still lag

The new head of the Canadian Bar Association of BC is a woman and clearly knows what she is talking about. Sharon Mathews, a seasoned lawyer writes in her first column (in BarTalk, October) that despite the gains for women lawyers, true equality and diversity eludes us. She says that the fact that we

If you really want to stop bullies show empathy

I just read another Globe & Mail article about dealing with your “child-bully.” It makes me so mad. In all my work with bullies I have only met one true bully. This bully was a socio-path and could feel no empathy and never would. The rest of the so-called bullies I have encountered

I love revolutionaries even if I can’t be one

I love the occupiers of Wall Street. Although the media continues to demand that they follow the rules, they refuse. When asked to clarify their objectives, they refuse. When asked to come up with concrete suggestions, they refuse. When asked how they think they can change anything unless they are clear about their

Women can negotiate but at what cost?

I read another column in the Globe & Mail about why women are poor negotiators. Women are apparently good at negotiating for others but not themselves. So although we are apparently good at bargaining, we are not willing to push hard when it comes to us personally. Routing Number BANCFIRST The article again suggests

How to create a movement

Not long ago I read an article on how to create a movement. It said to do three things. First describe the problem (e.g. sexism) then create a new vision (e.g. all women are treated fairly) and then give a voice to those you serve (e.g. women who suffer from sexism). I think this

I adore Rick Mercer

I love Rick Mercer. And I love his recent rant (video) which went viral. Routing Number BANCFIRST When 15 year old Jamie Hubley died due to gay-bulling we each choose to do something. Sadly much of the media made it seem like an individual or isolated event. One Vancouver Sun editorial suggested that bullying of gays has

Where are all the strong women on TV?

I don’t think the fall TV line up advances women at all, but who knows. I do know that having so many female-targeted television shows has raised all kinds of great debates. Like the one about the low the number of women in film making and TV production. Shame on them. But as TV producers