Women In Manufacturing (WIM) Symposium: Celebrating Growth

Emily Nichols is an engineer who loved working in factories, but she didn’t always love being “one of the guys”. Earnest yet entertaining, Emily explains that words become habits, language evolves, and that we control them both. She shines a light on needlessly gendered language, shares more inclusive alternatives, and implores us to deliberately choose our own words. But she also contradicts herself, pokes fun at her own double-standards and makes it ok for the rest of us to make mistakes. You’ll feel inspired, relieved, and ready to create a gender-equal world, one conversation at a time.

This program is perfect for organizations:

• striving to be more welcoming and inclusive
• struggling to recruit and retain women
• engineering, manufacturing, agriculture, and related industries

In Canada, women account for 48 per cent of the labour force but only 29 per cent of the manufacturing workforce. For more than 30 years this job share rate has not changed. So – how did one company in The Pas manage to build a leadership team of predominantly women with decades of industry experience? Meet Canadian Kraft Paper Ltd. The pulp and paper mill, located in The Pas, is a producer of high performance unbleached extensible sack kraft paper, whose products are sold to converters throughout the world.

Don’t miss the chance to hear from their team to talk hiring practices, development opportunities, and management styles used in their town to attract and retain talent – including women, visual minorities, and members of The Pas’ Indigenous community. This panel session is not about women in manufacturing – it’s about the ability of one rural company to approach workplace diversity and inclusivity with an authentic and sustainable approach, which resulted in true inclusion at every level that goes beyond the basic diversity checkmarks. Celebrate these success stories alongside our panel, all of which are unique to industry and to each other.

MEET THE PANEL

What does it take to be mentally healthy? If you’re trying to answer this question, you probably come across new trend, solution, or piece of advice every week. And to be fair, there are so many things that can support your mental health. But what are the essentials? The basic building blocks that each of us can focus on in our daily lives at work and at home? In this interactive session, we’ll learn about the things each of us can do to build a solid foundation for our mental health every day. By distilling best practices from evidence and research, you’ll walk away with a solid understanding of the key practices and habits that support mental health – the essentials

• Understand terms like mental health, mental health problem, mental illness, and resilience.
• Identify 5 essential practices that support your mental health.
• Learn how connecting with others can support your well-being, and theirs.

It’s time to overcome your fear and build the confidence you need to negotiate a career you love. Negotiation is not just about negotiating your salary. It’s a skill you can use everyday to set effective boundaries, go after opportunities, and build your career to strategically support your goals. During this workshop, we will explore the blind spots that are currently holding you back from navigating the workplace relationships necessary to build the career you want. You’ll learn how to harness your natural strengths and begin leveraging your talents to negotiate for the opportunities, flexibility, and (when the time is right) salary that you deserve. You’ll learn negotiation as a step-by-step process that you can use every day to advocate for yourself, ask for what you need to be successful, and create new opportunities in your career.

Professional and relaxed? Yes! Networking is a professional activity, and we need a professional presence, but it doesn’t have to be awkward and stiff. Add some personality to your interactions and connect with confidence. In this workshop, you’ll spice up your introduction and put it into practice as we build community together with live, in-person networking. Not sure how to keep that human touch when you connect via LinkedIn? We’ll cover that too! Bring along your phone (with LinkedIn installed) and get ready to grow your professional network.

Led by our keynote speaker, Emily Nichols, enjoy this “low-stakes” chance to hone your networking skills.