Annual International Women’s Day Breakfast highlights local and global accomplishments

Deanna Horton and Maryscott Greenwood during the Q-and-A fireside chat portion of CFUW Stratford’s International Women’s Day Breakfast on March 7.

The Stratford chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) held its annual International Women’s Day Breakfast at the Best Western Arden Park Hotel on March 7, a day before the annual international event celebrating women and their accomplishments.

"Being here this morning signals something powerful – the importance of championing a future for every girl and every woman has the opportunity, the support, and the environment to thrive. I really believe in the power of the sisterhood. I love the sisterhood in this room, and I love the allyship in this room," said keynote speaker Maryscott “Scottie” Greenwood.

Guests listened to Greenwood, Manulife’s global head of regulatory and public affairs, speak about her collaborative work with journalist Gloria Steinem and share statistics on women’s role in boosting the global economy and the longevity of peace agreements. The Boston Consulting Group said equal participation from men and women entrepreneurs could mean a $5 trillion boost in the global economy with a rise in six per cent global GDP, for example. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom reports that if a woman is involved in negotiating, peace agreements are 35 per cent more likely to last at least 15 years.

Greenwood also discussed the ways Manulife, whose global colleague base is made up of 56 per cent women, support women through initiatives like the Maven program, which connects individuals and their families to medical and wellness specialists for either maternity, parenting, midlife health, and/or family building. She praised Stratford and the CFUW often for its scholarship opportunities.

Retired diplomat Deanna Horton and Greenwood had a Q-and-A discussion where Horton asked questions from the audience. The pair discussed Canada-US relations, women in politics, financial literacy and the importance of staying assertive and confident.

Katie DeBlock Boersma, founder of KDB Law in Stratford, closed the event by sharing her own story starting and running an all-women law firm offering a flexible work schedule to accommodate a busy schedule taking kids to appointments and buying groceries, as well as offering paid house cleaning services for the team so they can take a break. DeBlock Boersma said that she received criticism for her idea before it came to fruition, but her supporters helped her.

"It was so hard to be brave and the way I could be brave was community. It was the women who decided to join my team, it was my family, it was my friends, it was my incredible husband saying to me 'You can do this,' and we did,” she said.

CFUW’s annual International Women’s Day Breakfast is a fundraiser for its scholarship program, awarding young women continuing their education.