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Question: We’re trying to get more men engaged in our discussions and activities around gender equity in our workplace. How can we get them more involved?

We asked Toronto-based hospitality industry recruiter and sommelier Val Upfold to tackle this one:

I spoke at an International Women’s Day event last year and out of the 100 or so people on the virtual call, just two were men. So this is a problem that comes up a lot.

First off, I think it’s important to personally invite men to these kinds of events instead of just sending an e-mail because I think some men may wonder if it’s an event just for women. Go for a coffee with a male colleague to invite him to take part as an ally. Also, consider rebranding so these are not just women’s groups or events, but women and allies.

When a man does show up to an event, positively reinforce it. Lean on him and say, ‘Hey, can you get some other men involved?’ Let him know that you need him to talk about these conversations with other men so it’s more normalized to be involved.

Another benefit of a one-on-one meeting is you can share stories about times that you’ve been spoken over in a meeting or passed over for a stretch assignment so he better understands the challenges. There have been studies that show men often think they are doing more than they are to advance gender equity. Once you’ve had that one-on-one discussion with him, he could become someone who will advocate and speak up for you in those meetings.

I’ve had this experience. Years ago, I was a restaurant manager who wanted to get into HR. There was a vice-president of operations for a large restaurant group who would advocate for me in meetings because I had made that connection with him. He would put my name forward for projects or promotions when they came up.

During the Women’s Day event I referenced earlier, we asked the two men who attended why they came and they both said, ‘Well, I have daughters.’ That connection might come up in a one-on-one too. Not everyone has a daughter, but they will have a mother, an aunt or a sister. That might be a way to help them understand why these sorts of events matter.

We still live in an era where men are usually the ones running the businesses. The workplace is run by men and designed by men, so they are the ones who need to speak up, take action and consciously pull women up.

Submit your own questions to Ask Women and Work by e-mailing us at GWC@globeandmail.com.

In a room lit up with neon lights, eager teens put on headsets, ready to dive into pixelated alternate realities where anything seems possible.

Welcome to Poptronic – a virtual reality (VR) business located on Cornwall Island in the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne.

After spending two years trying to expand their VR business in the city of Cornwall without success, owners Kelly Bergeron and Chatnie Herne decided to move to the neighbouring First Nation community.

“The difference is incredible,” Bergeron says. “We’ve been getting so much support.”

Businesses like Poptronic embody the Mohawk entrepreneurial spirit in Akwesasne, where more people are starting their own businesses and creating job opportunities for locals than average.

Meet more entrepreneurs setting up shop in Akwesasne.

Preparation for breakfast at Casa Maria Luigia, a boutique bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Modena, Italy, starts at dawn, when it is still dark and foggy, and a light sheen of moisture sits on everything.

The first act of the day is lighting the fire in the large outdoor oven. It requires a practised hand to get the damp wood to ignite, but soon smoke curls skyward; beechwood for a lovely flame, oak and hornbeam to maintain the heat and create a nice ember, and cherrywood for its delicate flavour.

Only then is the head chef, Montreal native and self-taught fire master Jessica Rosval, ready to start feeding a procession of food into the big black beast.

Here, in this quiet, oft-forgotten corner in the Emilia Romagna region, Rosval has found her niche and the accolades from Italian food publications have poured in, including best chef of the year and best brunch of the year.

Find out how this 38-year-old chef from Montreal ended up working for a three-star Michelin chef in Italy.

“In recent years, private sector sabbaticals have found traction with more and more Canadian companies,” says Dr. Seema Parmar, a leader in Advisory Services at Cleveland Clinic Canada. “Sabbaticals – which see employees take time off work with the company’s blessing to upskill, realize a lifelong dream or just rest and restore – have been a staple of the academic world for generations. They are now seen in the private sector as a strategic perk that can help attract, retain and re-energize valuable employees.

“In today’s stressful living and working environments, sabbaticals can offer space for personal growth and a renewed perspective on life. They can provide time for a healthy reset and to reconnect with one’s purpose and values. This might mean pursuing personal passions such as travelling or studying, building healthy habits such as cooking or exercising or strengthening relationships with loved ones including a partner, children, parents or friends.”

Read more on how to optimize sabbaticals for your personal life and career.

“Unfortunately, there is no strategy. It can be really, really hard to come out because it depends where you work and what the environment is there,” says Martine Roy, regional director for 2SLGBTQ+ business development in Quebec and Eastern Canada for TD Bank. “I was arrested, interrogated and fired from the Army for being gay. Often, we are waiting for those little cues, but your manager may not have a rainbow flag on their desk.

“If you feel like it won’t be a safe space, my advice is always to speak to someone in human resources or an equity, diversity and inclusion role. Also, is there a 2SLGBTQ+ employee resource group in that company? Sometimes there is not because it’s a small company, but there is always someone who manages staff and who can inform you about their policies.

“If you think your boss will be open [to the discussion] and you want to talk to them first, do it in person.”

Read the full article.

Liz McBeth had already been working for more than two decades and completed her MBA when her father, Ian Braff, asked her to oversee a project at the family business, Armour Valve in Scarborough, Ont.

“He said, ‘I’ve got a challenge for you, and I’m not sure you’re up to it,’” Ms. McBeth recalls. “I had to say yes,” she says, admitting her dad “knows how to push my buttons.”

She led the specialty valve and piping equipment sales and service company through an enterprise resource planning software transition. “The company had been around for decades without much change; then I arrive on the scene as a harbinger of change,” says Ms. McBeth of the project, which began in 2008.

Ms. McBeth and her three brothers worked at the company, which their parents founded in 1971, during school vacations as teens. But none of them ever spoke about taking over.

Read the full article.

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