POLLARA Survey
WXN: Women's Executive Network

POLLARA survey shows almost two-thirds (65%) of women executives say the culture and values of their workplace make it easier for men to succeed than women
Toronto, September 25, 2002 - According to the fourth annual POLLARA survey for the Women's TM Executive Network™ (WXN ), Canada's executive women don't feel fully accepted into executive-level culture. Sixty nine per cent cited men's lack of comfort in dealing with them on a professional level as a barrier to their advancement, and 66 per cent say their exclusion from "the boys' club" and the "meeting after the meeting" is holding them back.

quot;While women are present during formal meetings, they say they're not always part of the informal networks through which many decisions and deals are made,” said Angela Marzolini, Vice Chairman of POLLARA. “They say this is a highly significant barrier to their professional success, and a big component of the 'glass ceiling'.quot;

When asked to name the tools that have helped overcome or avoid the barriers to career advancement, some of Canada's most successful women executives cited their own persistence, determination, networking and contacts. “They said they've learned not to take 'no' for an answer, and to be highly pro-active. Some have even established 'alternate networks' of their own,”according to Marzolini.

The findings didn't surprise WXN Founder Pamela Jeffery whose solution was to create the Women's Executive Network in 1998. “WXN is made up of 7,500 highly successful women across Canada who learn a lot from each other. It's a group of women executives who have achieved considerable success already through sheer persistence and determination; who want to develop further professionally and at the same time meet others who are facing the same challenges,” said Ms. Jeffery.

quot;It is no secret that although women represent 46 per cent of the workforce in Canada they still are tremendously under-represented in the senior ranks of most corporations. There are things organizations can do to address these issues. For example, at Scotiabank, we offer both formal and informal leadership development programs aimed at providing women and men the opportunities to develop and build on their skills. Our approach to leadership ensures that our next generation of leaders is ready for tomorrow's challenges,quot; said Sylvia Chrominska, Executive Vice-President, Human Resources, Scotiabank.

Two-thirds of executive women also believe that the barriers to women's advancement onto corporate boards are either falling slowly (53%) or not at all (13%). Only 3% say these barriers are falling quickly, while 20% say change is occurring at a moderate pace.

quot;Executive women are frustrated by the lack of progress being made by corporate boards in appointing female directors," said Marzolini. " They flatly reject the notion that there aren't enough qualified women available to create a gender balance. Female executives attribute the current situation primarily to genderbased discrimination, but they also cite the fact that they are not part of the informal networks that lead to directorships. There's a good opportunity in the current climate, as part of reforms to corporate governance, to take steps to reduce the huge gender imbalances that exist on today's boards.

The results of Moving Forward 2002 are based upon 350 telephone interviews with executive women in seven Canadian urban centres, conducted by POLLARA between June 25 and July 5, 2002. It is accurate to within +/-5.3%, nineteen times out of twenty.
Angela Marzolini, Vice Chairman of POLLARA will be presenting these results to breakfast meetings of senior executive women hosted by Scotiabank in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Calgary. Marie Larose, Vice President of POLLARA will be presenting these results to breakfast meetings in Halifax and Montreal. Presentation of results begins at 8:15 a.m.

Toronto

• Date: Wednesday, September 25
• Time: 7:30 9:00 a.m.
• Location: The National Club, 303 Bay Street

• Date: Tuesday, October 1
• Time: 7:30 9:00 a.m.
• Location: The Halifax Club, 1682 Hollis Street

• Date: Wednesday, October 2
• Time: 7:30 9:00 a.m.
• Location: The Rideau Club, 99 Bank Street

• Date: Thursday, October 3
• Time: 7:30 9:00 a.m.
• Location: The St. James Club, 1145 Union Avenue

• Date: Wednesday, October 9
• Time: 7:30 9:00 a.m.
• Location: The Terminal City, 837 West Hastings Street

• Date: Wednesday September 25
• Time: 7:30 9:00 a.m.
• Location: The Petroleum Club, 319-5th Avenue S.W.

WXN is Canada's leading organization dedicated to the advancement and celebration of executive-minded women. Thanks to corporate sponsors, WXN invites over 7,500 professional, political and community leaders to come together through exclusive speakers series and events across Canada. This year's sponsors are Scotiabank, VIA Rail, GlaxoSmithKline, Dofasco, ClubLink, Mercedes-Benz, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Burntsand, Getronics, Minacs, and POLLARA.

POLLARA, the largest Canadian public opinion and market research firm, builds strategies based on leading-edge public opinion and market research. POLLARA has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Bathurst (N.B.).

Full results of this survey - Moving Forward 2002: Barriers and Opportunities for Executive Women in Canada and, the 1999-2001 surveys- are available at www.wxnetwork.com

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