Suzanne Muir – Partner at Capco

Capco-Partner-Suzanne-Muir

Website: https://www.capco.com/

“As it is for so many of my colleagues, International Women’s Day is an important event for me. For the last 11 years, I have led Woman@Capco in Canada. As we put together our event each year, it always strikes me as a great occasion when we truly make the effort to celebrate each other; however I wonder why we only do it once a year? We acknowledge what we have accomplished, both individually and as a team. We bring together women of diverse backgrounds and allow them to share their journey, to feel safe to express themselves openly and freely.”

“My message for #Choosetochallege is exactly that. We choose what we can do to support women, and we choose to challenge the status quo – so we need to continue to work on removing bias and to build a more gender inclusive workplace.”

“I continuously encourage women to put their hand up and to use their platform to find their voice. The more often that each of us do this, the more we are pushing forward, blazing the trails for other women to follow – because progress does not merely mean parity.”

“Having always had a career in a male dominated industry, one thing that really helped me was having a female mentor or coach, not only within the organisation I worked but outside of it as well.”

“Research has shown when women are around senior female role models they are more likely to support other women in their career. The experience and navigational skills I learned from my mentor years ago allowed me to feel more confident – not only in the role I held, but for the aspirations I had for myself as my career advanced. I felt I had a person who encouraged me, understood my struggle (perceived or real) and helped me to overcome obstacles.” 

“What is very interesting now as I speak to other female leaders in business is how, as organisations, we are talking out loud about Diversity and Inclusion and have more females in executive positions, and how they are now measuring and tracking the results.”

“When we talk about supporting girls who code, STEM for Girls, not only did those topics not come up previously, but they were not even a consideration. The conversation has changed. Today, supporting non-profit organisations that aim to increase the number of women in computer science that provides the foundation of skills to compete is at the forefront. Women are now being recognised and it is up to all of us to continue the progress for our future generations.”