Summary
Lessons from a Dragon:
a profile of Arlene Dickinson by Charlotte Herrold of Postcity in May,
2013. The only female remaining on the
panel of Dragon’s Den since the second season in 2002 is the sharp, confident
and keen eyed Arlene Dickinson, six seasons later which is reflective of the
amount of female senior executives in Canada- a mere 17 per cent. Arlene Dickinson believes that it is crucial
for women to be member on boards as our workplace becomes more than fifty per
cent women because women think differently, it is crucial to have a different
perspective to diversify these boards. Many
businesses that she has invested in while on Dragon’s Den are quite successful
mainly because the business owners have the drive, interesting products and
created a niche market. In the late
1980’s, in Canada’s Western economic hub (Calgary) is where Arlene Dickinson grew up and got her
start in the business world, back then there were not the same challenges
starting a business because it was still in the developmental stages. One of her main concerns is putting food on
the table for the rest of Canada’s children because she knows the struggles of
trying to provide food for her own four children when she was a single parent
and just starting out as an entrepreneur.
As the national spokesperson for the Breakfast Clubs of Canada, her most
recent fundraiser pulled in more than $ 3 million dollars, she believes it is a
wise investment to make sure our children are not going to school hungry
because they are our country’s economic future.
Dickinson advises other female entrepreneurs to stop judging themselves
by other people’s standards, to include your family in daily activities and not
to feel guilty about not always being there for them- you have to forge your
own path.Opinion
It is very
disappointing that a democratic society such as Canada would gender
discriminate in senior executive positions in the 21st century. We agree with Arlene Dickinson’s opinion that
women making up more than fifty per cent of the work force should be given
senior executive positions and that their input is crucial for today’s economic
growth. Arlene Dickinson has a keen
sense of who will be successful and who will not be successful therefore she
has a high success rate in investing in entrepreneurs. We believe, one of the reasons that Ms.
Dickinson became such a successful female entrepreneur is because of her
experiences in the 1980’s. It is not
surprising that she is the national spokesperson for the Breakfast Club of
Canada because as a single parent she personally knows the struggles of trying
to feed your children on a daily basis. It is inspirational that she raised
over $ 3 million dollars in just one fundraiser for the foundation. As entrepreneurs, we know first- hand the
sacrifices that must be made regarding family life and how important it is not
to let the judgement of others influence your family and business decision- you
have to forge your own path.
Questions/Feedback
1. What can employers
do to help increase the number of women in senior executive positions?
2. Why do you think that there are more men than
women in senior executive position?
Poll question do you
agree or disagree that women should be senior executives?
References
Herrold, C. (2013,
May). Lessons from a Dragon: a profile of Arlene Dickinson. The Postcity.
Retrieved from http://www.postcity.com/Eat-Shop-Do/Do/May-2013/Lessons-from-a-Dragon.
Photo Retrieved from http://www.postcity.com/Eat-Shop-Do/Do/May-2013/Lessons-from-a-Dragon.
1) I think businesses should implement more training programs for senior executive positions, once the program is completed senior positions should be easily accessible.
ReplyDelete2) I think there are more men in the senior positions rather than women because women are looked down upon in a way. There seems to be more road blocks and hurdles to obtain senior positions.
3) I definitely think there should be more women in senior positions. More power to us !!