The Power Behind a Female Network: My Experience at Women in Nuclear’s 16th Annual Conference

Oct 10, 2019

By Kayla Huchenski

Mentorship has come into my life at different phases and in different forms. At home, I looked to my older brother to help me navigate the world. In school, I had teachers who were more than instructors: they cared about my well-being and success on a level that made me feel safe enough to ask for guidance with more than just my essays. Fast forward to my career: mentorship feels harder to come by, but more valuable than ever.

Starting out my career and joining my first workplace three years ago, I realized people are busy: raising kids, coaching sports, maintaining relationships and households, volunteering, and trying to advance their own careers. I also realized that those busy people are the ones I wanted as mentors. The people who are busy making themselves and the world a better place are the people who inspire me to be a better person and empower me to make the changes and improvements I need to succeed. These are the people I met at Women in Nuclear’s (WiN) 16th conference in Port Elgin, Ontario.

My expectations for the conference were that I would soak up new knowledge and perspectives from some incredible leaders and professionals in the electricity industry, but it greatly surpassed those expectations. We networked, exchanged business cards and heard different perspectives on why the nuclear sector is a viable solution to a more socially and environmentally responsible electricity industry. But more than that: we exchanged support, friendship, and mentorship.

The room that day provided a safe space for us to share our experiences and talk openly about our own struggles and challenges as female professionals. As Bruce Power CEO Mike Rencheck stated, the female network that we built at the conference that day would prove to be valuable later in our careers. Whether it’s the need for a reference, advice on a big career move, or even a simple question, having a strong network of likeminded women to lean on and share knowledge with is critical.

The first session of the day was “Gender Parity Wins,” and was panelled by Carla Carmichael from OPG, Cathy Sprague from Bruce Power, Laurie Swami from NWMO, and Rumina Velshi from CNSC. During the session these female leaders (and now, my role models) shared openly and honestly their own experiences with the barriers and challenges that women face in the sector.

Rumina from CNSC shared that she was encouraged to take on a very senior position because “she was a woman”. Her response? “Putting women in leadership positions is not gender parity. Women shouldn’t have to prove themselves in roles they earned. Gender is irrelevant. If you’re left-handed or right-handed, who cares. We all have something valuable to contribute.”

Carla Carmichael from OPG shared that she used to struggle with confidence herself (this was reassuring for me to hear) and that confidence is the number one differentiator between men and women when all else is equal. Her solution? “Don’t think you need to know it all before raising your hand for an opportunity. Ask for what you want. It will lead to some failures and that’s healthy. Failures build resilience, which is a key ingredient for success.”

Cathy Sprague from Bruce Power shared that she expected to become more “comfortable” as she gained more experience in her professional career, but that wasn’t the case. “Your comfort zone will only shrink as you get older. As females, we constant talk ourselves out of things. Diminish that negative self talk and ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ if you have to.”
Laurie Swami from NWMO addressed the need for female mentors. “Model other successful women. Talk about your career struggles—even your salary. There are female mentors all around you. Build a network of other like-minded women with high standards. These women will become advocates for you in different areas. You can find strengths in everyone.”

Later in the day I attended a session with four young female leaders from Bruce Power who gave the audience advice on how to navigate our professional careers. What they told me stuck with me. I repeated it to myself on my drive home from Port Elgin to Ottawa:

I am competent. I am capable. I am confident.

They reiterated the sentiments of many of the women who spoke earlier on in the day: we as women tend to doubt ourselves. We need to diminish that negative self talk, be an advocate for ourselves, and not be afraid to ask our peers how we can improve: we all have professional blind spots. These are opportunities, not failures.

In that room that day at the Unifor Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, I learned that a strong female network can propel you to reach your full potential—and it can even change the world. The Nuclear industry is looking promising, and so is my network of female role models.

If you are looking for access to female mentors or would like to become a mentor yourself, we encourage you to learn about our Connected Women program. This is a national mentorship program designed for women working in the electricity sector to learn from other women who are more advanced in their careers and willing to share their experiences and advice.

Learn more: https://electricityhr.ca/workplace/diversity/connected-women-mentorship-program-2/

Kayla Huchenski is Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Electricity Human Resources Canada.