“Young girls and women need representation if we truly want change” – Kelly Amaral

“Women in Canada face not one glass ceiling, but several, and not one broken rung on the promotion ladder, but many – all of which make it difficult for them to rise to full equality. The data shows that barriers for women persist most prominently in management positions and boardrooms.”

This statement by Marwa Abdou, Senior Director of Research at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab, says almost everything about the situation in Canada in this area of gender equality and opportunity. Although women have made gains in overall employment, rising from 43% of all jobs in 1987 to 48% in 2023, their performance is worse in senior positions. In 2023, the percentage of women in all management professions, including middle management, was only 35%; this percentage drops to 30% for senior management and to less than 25% in the boardrooms of Canadian companies. If current trends continue, national parity will not be achieved within this century.

In this issue of Milénio, we bring Kelly Amaral, a woman who goes against the statistics and has managed to assert herself professionally, despite having always worked in traditionally male-dominated environments. Businesswoman and entrepreneur Kelly Amaral attributes the imbalance that still exists between men and women in the business or political world to the stereotypes that are widely disseminated by the media, which do much to convey the image of women as more fragile and less capable of holding positions of power or leadership. From the height of her experience, Kelly Amaral stresses in this interview that it is important for women to be properly represented in all sectors in order to effectively change the current state of affairs.

Milénio Stadium: In Canada’s House of Commons, only 29% of members are women. In 2023, in Canada, the percentage of women in all management professions, including middle management, was only 35%; this percentage drops to 30% in the case of senior management and to less than 25% on the boards of Canadian companies. What do these figures (we could use others of the same type) mean from your perspective?

Kelly Amaral: Whether we are talking about the representation of women in politics or the corporate world; I strongly believe that stereotypes in the media perpetuate the idea that women are less legitimate and capable leaders than their male counterparts. We just witnessed this in the election of the United States.  The popular vote went to supporting someone with questionable business practices and moral track record.

MS: After so many years of talking about equality and parity, why do we still have a clear discrepancy between men and women in leadership positions?

KA: Again, the biggest barrier for women seeking leadership roles, is the persistent gender bias that exists in the media and in many organizations. The fact is, regardless of “Equity and Parity” and the policies we put in place to encourage this when young women and girls do not have role models or examples of successful women in powerful positions, this becomes something that seems impossible to attain. And this discourages women of pursuing such roles. The pursuit becomes futile when you feel you are constantly trying to prove your worth when your qualifications are the same as you male colleagues.

MS: Many women say that they feel they have to constantly demonstrate their skills/abilities, as if they were under constant scrutiny, and that this doesn’t happen as often and in the same way as men. In your professional life, have you felt this overload of demands just because you are a woman?

KA: In my professional life, I have always been in male dominated businesses.  I currently am the VP of an IT Tech company and I’m also a Co-owner of restaurants.  Both these industries are hard and still very much a “boys club”.  I feel very fortunate to have been raised by very forward thinking Portuguese parents.  I never felt I had to subscribe to traditional female roles.  My mom is a very strong woman.  My Dad was my biggest supporter in anything I wanted to do.  The IT Company I work for is Woman owned and my Restaurant business partners respect what I bring to the table. I have very successful and strong women in my life who are my friends and we encourage eachother.  So for me my journey has been to surround myself with strong role models both female and male who have allowed me to not be afraid to “go for it”.  However I recognize, this is not everyone’s reality. I am privileged in every sense.

MS: What responsibility do women themselves have for this reality? Are we going through a phase in which the fight for women’s causes is cooling down, as if it were no longer worthwhile?
KA: This is a systemic problem.  Period. Young girls and women NEED REPRESENTATION in the media, politics, education and business if we truly want change.

MS: In your opinion, what weight did the fact that one of the candidates was led by a woman have on the final result of the US elections?

KA: This is a complicated and layered situation.  Do I believe that Kamala Harris had to deal with media bias? Yes.  Do I believe that the USA was not ready for a woman President? Yes.  Do I think that Kamala Harris is an intelligent, capable, strong woman? Yes.  All these things are true in my opinion.

MS: How do you see the future regarding this issue of parity/equality between men and women?

KA: Again, not to sound like a broken record or repetitive.  Young girls need to see representation of successful women in the media, in the education system, in business and in their homes.  Women who are in positions of power need to stop pandering to their male counterparts and need to encourage and hire women.  Young girls need to have positive role models in their homes and friend groups.  Women need to support women in every possible way.  Women and young girls need to speak up, apply for the job they dream of, work hard and not let anyone tell them they can’t!!

MB/MS