International Women's Day
March 8th is International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day has occurred for well over a century and dates to origins in 1911. It is a global day to recognize and celebrate the many achievements of women. It is also marks an opportunity to bring awareness about gender inequality and bias.
This year’s theme is Break the Bias. As such, we want to highlight and celebrate some of the women in the organization working in leadership roles, specifically those who are in more male-dominated fields to demonstrate how women continue to break down stereotypes and bias in the workplace.
Worldwide, women continue to push the status quo everyday towards a more inclusive, gender equal world. But more importantly, women in our community are breaking the bias, as they step into male dominated fields and roles and become leaders in our city. Today, we celebrate leading women in the organization who play an integral part in keeping our city going.
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Stefany Mussen, Manager of Corporate Security and By-Law Services
How their work impacts the community:
"Responsibility for assessment and maintenance of safe City spaces for residents, visitors and City of Greater Sudbury staff. While having oversight of animal control and By-Law services I ensure safer communities and adequate care for our lost and homeless animals. My team promotes property safety and the wellbeing of community members through the protection of community standards. Management of Downtown parking while balancing enforcement, and accessibility of safe parking spaces for businesses and residents visiting the downtown."
The passion behind the work and why are they work in this field:
"I have a passion for helping people. It is a joy to have a career that is equally challenging and rewarding. Working collaboratively with partners within the city to solve problems and create safe spaces for the community where I am raising my family is the best part of my job."
Advice to share:
"Find work that energizes you. Loving your job is a legitimate career goal. Don’t be afraid of change. Never stop learning."
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Renée Higgins, Project Director - COMPASS / IT Client Services Manager
How their work impacts the community:
"In my current position as Project Director, I am responsible for leading the implementation of an enterprise-wide transformation project called COMPASS (Comprehensive Organizational Management, Productivity, Activity and Service System). We are working to develop technology and processes that will introduce regular time and activity reporting for staff through a self-service online portal. The project will get us more data about the effort required to deliver all City services, while also replacing numerous manual and semi-manual work processes across the organization. Ultimately, the new data and outcomes obtained through this project will further increase operational efficiency and improve service delivery to residents.
In my permanent position with the Client Services section in the City’s IT department, I am responsible for managing and coordinating activities to ensure timely resolution to IT issues and service requests. The team exists as the first point of contact for all IT requests, which helps to ensure other business units in the organization are able to take full advantage of technology to support their processes or improve their customer service outcomes."
The passion behind the work and why are they work in this field:
"I first discovered computer programming in university by accidentally registering for the wrong course, which turned out to be the best mistake of my life! I knew that I wanted to become a female leader in the often male-dominated field and experienced a surprising amount of positive support from my classmates and peers. I found incredible passion in a career of lifelong learning and in the use of technology to increase efficiency and improve outcomes. In school and work, I have always been most interested in working on projects, which is why I am very excited to be working with the COMPASS Project right now! I also do volunteer work in the community teaching women, girls and kids how to code."
Advice to share:
"Accept and actively seek out opportunities that expand your skills, knowledge or experience (paid or volunteer). Ask your supervisor to be assigned to projects or teams that “stretch” you and help to show what you can do, which is a form of professional development. Connect with like-minded individuals, build connections and learn from others. Find a mentor - preferably someone in a field or job that you are interested in pursuing yourself. You would be surprised how many people would be interested in taking you up on a mentorship request and how much this type of arrangement can help to guide you on your own unique path! Also, never underestimate the importance of a well-prepared resume."
Cheryl Beam, Program Lead, Water and Wastewater Task Force
How their work impacts the community:
"Many of the projects that I have the privilege of working on will help make our community services more sustainable, whether it’s by helping to gather more condition information about our assets so that we can make more informed decisions when planning out our capital program, or by finding areas that our water and wastewater pipes are leaking. I get to work alongside some very talented female colleagues who are making great strides in advancing our GIS and increasing our community engagement and awareness on these important topics."
The passion behind the work and why are they work in this field:
"I’ve always been passionate about making a positive impact on the environment, and specifically water. I find it meaningful to be able to help make meaningful progressive changes in how we deliver our municipal services to the community. Having problems with water is very frustrating as a resident, and it brings me great personal satisfaction when I can effect changes that reduce the frequency or severity of what people will go through the devastating loss of a flood, sewer back up or loss of water service. I enjoy making our services more reliable and cost effective."
Advice to share:
"Find a job that fits your passion. Figure out what experiences can contribute to help you succeed at the next goal you are working towards, and find the lesson in experiences that didn’t go quite as planned."