Empowering
Women in Alberta’s
Power Industry

More than 30 years ago, and by the thinnest of margins, I came in as runner-up for my high school Class Valedictorian. Naturally, my 17-year-old self was emotionally devastated. To console my bruised ego and broken heart, the selection committee kindly invented a “consolation prize” – the privilege of making a speech in honour of the school. Even though I felt it provided little of the fame and glory that comes to the Class Valedictorian, I happily accepted.

While my campaign speech for Valedictorian may not have carried the day, it did give me the opportunity to share the following quote from cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."

While I can’t recall where I found it (likely somewhere in the annals of the school library since the internet was just becoming a “thing”), the message resonated with me then and still does today. And, it so appropriately captures the vision for Women+Power and the potential to create transformational change for women in the Alberta power industry at a pivotal moment in time.

Our goal is simple – to create a more inclusive and diverse power industry. Currently, women represent only one quarter of the workforce in Alberta’s power industry. Women+Power is striving to overcome the challenges that result from prevalent underrepresentation of women at all organizational levels by building a community to empower women to succeed both personally and professionally.

At the highest level, Women+Power is about supporting women. When women are provided opportunities to come together in a supportive environment to share their challenges and successes, when they are empowered to excel in their careers and are recognized and celebrated for their efforts and achievements, transformational change is the result.

My vision for this community is to create opportunities that will result in greater impact together than if we were to stand alone. Together, our community of “thoughtful, committed citizens” will strive to create transformational change – the kind I was talking about as I vied for Class Valedictorian all those years ago. I am truly excited about the potential for Women+Power to do just that.

I am thrilled with the momentum and support this initiative is gaining and cannot thank DLA Piper and our sponsors enough for their support. We have some amazing things planned for the year as we build and grow. We hope you will come along for the journey, it promises to be an exciting one!