March 5, 2021
Celebrating International Women’s Day at Teekay
Every year on March 8th, we celebrate International Women’s Day. It is a day of reflection that empowers us to critically think about how to promote gender equality in our cultures, workplaces, and lives.
At Teekay, we celebrate this day by engaging with the annual theme presented by the Official International Women’s Day campaign. This year’s theme is “Choose To Challenge” (#ChooseToChallenge).
What does #ChooseToChallenge mean? Individually, we are all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day. Why not use these thoughts and actions to raise awareness against bias, take action for equality and seek out and celebrate women’s achievements?
We know that the maritime industry has work to do to achieve gender equality in the workforce. To take a step forward in promoting gender equality in our organization, Teekay has piloted the PromoteHer program with a group of female Directors. The program helps organizations build strategies to promote a gender equal workforce, build leadership paths for women within an organization, and build on promotable skills that allow women to advance in the workplace.
For the Teekay colleagues that participated in the pilot, the program showcased global challenges preventing a gender equal workforce, highlighted work we can do within the organization to make a difference, and inspired reflection on moments in their own careers that propelled them forward:
- Reena Badesha, Director of Digital Transformation: “Whether you’re new to Teekay or a Teekay “lifer”, everyone can take their careers into their own hands to make opportunities to learn and broaden your experience. There were so many key principles from the PromoteHer program that highlighted nuances and challenges for women that I’m excited to share with others.”
- Kristy-Lynn Lechner, Director of Human Resources: “On a worldwide scale, it will take more than 200 years to reach gender parity and with Covid-19, it’s predicted the timeline will be even longer. I feel even more compelled to do what I can to make a difference. Whether this be through the development of targeted programs at Teekay or helping my teenaged daughter become a strong confident woman for a successful future.”
- Cindy Yu, Director of Taxation: “Gender equality in the workplace is not just an issue for females to face and solve alone. It impacts everyone. When everyone has the equal opportunity to succeed, all will benefit. Participating in the pilot program prompted me to use my voice as an influencing tool to make a difference and to engage in conversations about the benefits of gender balance at the workplace. It’s extremely encouraging for me to see that Teekay is committed to taking gender equity, diversity and inclusion seriously. I am proud to be part of that process and look forward to doing what I can to help achieve gender equity and balance at Teekay.”
- Krista Kivisild, Director of Risks and Audit Services: “Teekay supporting this initiative means we collectively want to step up and challenge ourselves to do better. I feel the only way we change the world is by making a change in ourselves – by turning up everyday as the best you, observing ways to include everyone in the conversation, and being brave enough to challenge when that doesn’t happen. Each time we do so, we inspire others to speak up and we start to change the tone of our culture to be more inclusive.”
To further highlight the incredible women we work with and celebrate their achievements, we wanted to share excerpts from a recent leadership panel held during our ‘Future Of’ Summit. Watch their stories below to learn how Maria achieved her dream of sailing on an Arc 7 Icebreaker, what positive mantras helped Edicyne lead her team through the challenges of 2020, and what Katty believes are essential qualities for any leader.
