Presenting the WBN's professional finalists

Although women continue to make gains in university enrolment, they continue to be underrepresented in high-level professional fields. For instance, women make up 50 to 60 per cent of the student body in law schools across Canada, but still represent only one-third of Canadian lawyers. As women who have excelled in male-dominated professions, the finalists in the professional category for the Women's Business Network's Business Woman of the Year awards are blazing trails for others to follow.

The first nominee is Janice Payne, senior partner at Nelligan O'Brien Payne. In 1974, Ms. Payne was the first woman to join the firm after earning her law degree from the University of Ottawa. In 1976, she was the first woman hired as a practising lawyer at the firm. She has represented her clients in cases that have strengthened the rights of employees in the public and private sectors and has helped to expand the firm.

The second nominee is Marie Fraser, a partner at Hendry Warren LLP. Ms. Fraser is a chartered accountant and certified financial planner with more than 17 years experience in public accounting. After attending Carleton University, she articled at a regional accounting firm, and joined her current partners as a staff accountant in 1994. She was admitted to partnership in 2004.

Finally, Judith Cane, president and financial adviser for the Antara Financial Group, was recently chosen by the Orleans Chamber of Commerce as both the Businessperson of the Year and the Professional Advisor of the Year. With a female client base, Ms. Cane enjoys educating women about investing and financial planning.

The OBJ spoke with these three busy women to get a sense of how they broke into their profession. The winners in all three categories (professional, corporate and entrepreneur) will be announced at a gala at the Ottawa Congress Centre on April 2.

OBJ: How did you decide to get into the profession you are in?

CANE: I had worked for an insurance company on the corporate side. I left that company and wasn't sure what I was going to do. My friend's brother was a sales manager with Canada Life and he convinced me that I would be really good with people because he had seen me in other positions. I went through the recruiting process, and at that time it took a long time, around three months.

Then in 1997, I worked as an insurance specialist for a financial planning company. That's how I got into financial planning. I realized how important financial planning was in my clients' lives and that I could help them with everything financial.

FRASER: After high school, I traveled a bit and then worked for two years before going to university. During that time, I discovered through various jobs that I really enjoyed working in an office, with the finances of a small business. This led me to enrol in the bachelor of commerce program at Carleton when I returned to school. After that, I decided to pursue my chartered accountant designation and did the required work experience and passed the various sets of post-secondary examinations required.

PAYNE: I had an interest in politics and I had heard that a law degree is useful for that. When I was in university doing my undergraduate degree, I saw a bursary ad for the University of Ottawa law program and thought I should do that. I got in, and I wasn't sure that I liked it for the first semester, but I eventually found that I enjoyed law school. The first year of practice was a time of self-doubt. I wasn't sure I had chosen the right path or could cope with the pressure. But after about a year I developed some skills and really enjoyed it.

I started out in a general practice with a focus in family law because as a woman – and there were so few of us then – that was the kind of work we attracted. Later in the 1990s I made the shift to employment law.

OBJ: Were there any barriers to your profession psychologically or physically? Has it gotten easier over the years?

CANE: No. But when I started in the business in 1992, I was one of the first women in the business.

I always joked that one of the reasons I got into the business is that when you go to a sales conference, you never have to wait in line for the washroom. And I still don't.

I don't know why more women don't get into this business. There are lots of female accountants. Maybe it's running your own business or depending on the commission. You're pretty much diving off the deep end. No one can tell you what the markets are going to do.

FRASER: My profession has historically been male-dominated, especially at the level at which I am now partner at a public accounting firm. There are, however, lots of opportunities for women and the graduating classes from the bachelor of commerce programs in Canada have been quite balanced in terms of gender over the last years.

PAYNE: There was only a token 10 per cent of female students in law school in those days. We had to be better than the guys in order to last. I didn't have a lot of difficulty with individuals, I found my male colleagues supportive. But I always felt that we really had to be better to survive. It was a man's world and we would put up with anything in order to be allowed the opportunity to prove we could do it. That's what it was like. Things have changed, of course.

OBJ: What are some of the challenges you have faced in your profession? What are the highlights?

CANE: The challenges I have faced have been on the business side. I didn't have any training on how to run a business. I think that's where a lot of people run into problems. So, HR, accounting, the technical stuff of running a business; those are the challenges.

The best part is being able to help women plan their futures. I deal with women exclusively and you would be amazed at how many smart, able women have no idea about their finances even today.

I recently helped a woman who wanted to buy a luxury car in cash because she had never bought a car with cash before. I called her and told her when she had enough. She then sent me a picture of the car with a note that said, "Thank you for helping me buy the car." I never gave her any money, I just steered her in the right direction.

FRASER: I was very fortunate in my first job after graduation. The partner that I worked for was an excellent teacher and trained me very well. He also had no issues with gender, and was focused on giving all of the staff who worked for him the best experience he could, while providing exemplary service to his clients.

PAYNE: In some ways, the challenge was being unusual as a woman in private practice. For many years there were just a few of us. Even though the number of women in law school increased over the years, the number of women lasting in practice didn't increase to the same extent. There were challenges around that. But as we lasted, we easily attracted recognition among colleagues and peers because we were noticed and remembered. The challenge turned into an advantage, at least some of the time.

OBJ: Why do you think it's important to have an award for women in business as a distinct category?

CANE: For years and years there have been awards for men. They aren't designated for men, but they have won all the awards. I think for us to catch up, we need to have awards that identify women as achieving these goals. It's very hard for women to pat themselves on the back. It took me five hours just to write an essay about myself for this award when it should have only taken 30 minutes. I just couldn't remember all the things I had done because I never really think about it.

FRASER: In my experience, women, as a general rule, do not celebrate their own accomplishments. The (Businesswoman of the Year Award) gives us an opportunity to showcase a group of women who have persevered in their chosen fields and who have found balance in their lives between work, family and community involvement. This is something that most people strive for and if we can set an example for the next generation of young women entering the workforce, perhaps they will be able to find that balance earlier, and without some of the pitfalls we experienced.

PAYNE: There are still tremendous challenges for women, not just in the professions but in business. We haven't solved all of that; there are still challenges. Women are different and it's important to acknowledge that and support women who have been successful in business. It's important to talk about the particular challenges that women face. And those of us who have done it should make ourselves available to teach others about our techniques for success.

By Julie Fortier

Special to the Ottawa Business Journal