Catalyst is a 60 year Canadian based organization that supports gender inclusivity by providing research-based solutions. They focus on three core levels to achieve their goals: Advancing women, gender partnership, and improving collaboration. Since 1960s to 1990s, they have started building workplaces that work for women and after expanding globally, they are cultivating leaders that can navigate change and promote growth. Catalyst values inclusion. They work with private sectors which are pragmatic and action oriented.
We had the fantastic opportunity to interview Dr. Julie Cafley who works as the Executive Director of Catalyst. She holds an degree in education leadership and was selected as the Canadian delegation to the United Nations for the Commission on the Status of Women in 2023. She has dedicated her work to promote equality which includes advocating for women and leadership and being a constant ally for the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis.
She decided to work in this line of work when she focused her Phd on leadership and governance and her professor encouraged her to talk more about it. In her research, she found that women and leaders of colour are far less represented but overrepresented in finished mandates. She became heavily interested in advocating for these underrepresented groups and when a position at Catalyst opened, she applied for it. She explains how the work from Catalyst involves a lot of courage since there is backlash with people questioning whether or not it matters. However, she argues that especially in inclusion, it is important to ground the work in research. Research makes arguments much stronger. Many subconsciously have bias in the workplace to the extent that 72% of people support those who look like them. People will be naturally attracted to those who have a certain background which plays out in a tangible way.
As Dr. Cafley explains it "things are going a bit backwards/" At a time in the world there are a lot of concerns over finance, war, etc. people are prioritizing other social issues. A lot of the behaviour/barriers towards women are not fully understood. In Canada we promote equality so much that sometimes it's just broad concepts. This is where Catalyst comes in. People go to them because they have a lot of expertise and they ensure that supporters have the best ideas about what is currently afflicting them. Some people do work just to look good and wasn’t authentic but Catalyst supports companies who actually want to make a strong change in the world. A big contribution Catalyst made was creating the term “emotional tax.” This describes when people are afraid of bias. The bias is the burden employees from various marginalised racial, ethnic, and gender groups feel.
Dr. Cafley when asked about what makes her proud about her work responded by saying how the little wins and moments with people make a huge difference to her. It is those who experienced a change in their understanding that changes their perspective. It leads to a more open minded character which leads them to become better leaders and people by advancing their understanding to be more inclusive.
"Silence is the oxygen of exclusion, so step in and use your voice because you can be heard. Each and every one of us can make a difference if they have a voice."
-dddDr Julie Cafley