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Pictured:
Haley Tibbets and Ashley Sambrook

In November 2015, Dalhousie commerce students Ashley Sambrook and Haley Tibbetts made a trip that influenced their lives and careers. They, and other female business students from across Canada, were invited to a conference to launch the BMO Millennial Leaders Advisory Council on Inclusion. Last week, the group returned to Toronto for a reunion.

When the Council formed, Tibbetts and Sambrook were obvious choices as members. They had recently formed the Rowe Women in Business Association in their own school. Both are passionate about abolishing barriers that hold women back from successful careers in business, and about standing up for inclusion and equality; the Millennial Leaders Advisory Council is a larger organization dedicated to these principles. It is the joint project of the Bank of Montreal and Catalyst Canada, a non-profit organization advancing women and inclusion in the workplace. The Council, per BMO, is premised partly on the fact that millennials are projected to be 50% of the workforce by 2020, and thus should be approached for ideas about business, leadership and innovation. There is still a gender gap in business, but BMO and Catalyst believe that the millennial generation could close it.

Sambrook, Tibbetts and the other Millennial Leaders were invited back to Toronto partly as thanks for their service on the council. They were encouraged to bring peers, and so Samantha Broomer and Mackenzie Baird, also commerce students, joined their classmates at the event.

The women attended a workshop organized for millennial women entering the workforce. “We learned what we could do outside the classroom to help us land a dream job,” says Sambrook, “how we can help prioritize diversity in the workplace, and how to get more women in senior executive roles.” The students also had the opportunity to speed network: in small groups, council members discussed issues around career growth and inclusiveness with BMO senior executives. Attendees included William Downe, CEO; Sonya Kunkel, Chief Inclusion Officer; and Mona Malone, Chief Talent Officer; as well as Deborah Gillis, CEO of Catalyst.

The students agreed that it was a valuable and inspiring event. “I’m always in awe of the passion and ambition that I see in my fellow female students,” says Broomer. “Throughout the day I learned about the differences they are making in their schools across Canada and it inspired me. I really want to drive positive change at the Rowe School.”

Tibbetts and Sambrook finish their terms on the council next month, and they plan to take lessons learned from the workshop, networking and council service back to the Women in Business Association. “Being on the council has been one of the most rewarding parts of my university experience,” says Sambrook, noting that she feels empowered to enact change in her school.

Tibbetts, Baird and Broomer all still sit on the WIBA executive, while Sambrook, who is now president of the Dalhousie Commerce Society, serves in the capacity of advisor. Tibbetts, who is now president of WIBA, sums up the motivation she and her peers feel to continue their work and their appreciation of Catalyst and BMO. “It’s fantastic to see organizations that are committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion, specifically by engaging millennials,” she says. “As the next generation of leaders, we have a huge role to play in driving diversity.”

Below: The Rowe students with other attendees of the Millennial Leaders Advisory Council reunion