Women in Media: Fireside chat
with Catherine Tait

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Past Event

Meet the first woman appointed President and CEO in the history of CBC/Radio-Canada!

Women in Governance (WiG) is proud to present a fireside chat with Catherine Tait, the first woman appointed President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada and Chair of the Global Task Force for Public Media, and Caroline Codsi, President and Chief Equality Officer of WiG and multiple board member.

During this wide-ranging conversation, they will examine Ms. Tait’s inspiring professional journey in the media field and discuss women’s essential role in the path towards producing and broadcasting gender-balanced images of society. They will also consider the importance of diversity and inclusion at CBC/Radio-Canada, as well as the positive impact of WiG’s Parity Certification on the organization (currently at the Platinum level).

Annick Robinson, Communications Lead at Alstom – Services Operations North America and President of WiG’s Communication and Media Relations Committee will moderate the public Q&A session.

This virtual event is free and open to the public.
You will receive a Zoom link via email with your registration confirmation for this event.
We look forward to your participation!

About our guests

Catherine Tait was appointed President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada on April 3, 2018, for a five-year term. She began her mandate on July 3, 2018. Catherine is also the Chair of the Global Task Force for Public Media, an initiative of the Public Media Alliance launched in September 2019. As President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, Catherine is responsible for overseeing the management to ensure that Canada’s national public broadcaster can deliver on the various aspects of its mandate and continue to offer Canadians a broad spectrum of high quality programming that informs, enlightens and entertains, and that is created by, for and about Canadians. Prior to her appointment, Catherine co-founded New York-based Duopoly Inc, an independent film, television and digital content company, which she led as President from 2002 to 2018. She also co-founded iThentic, a digital content company, in 2006 and Hollywood Suite in 2010, a broadcasting company in Canada. Catherine was also previously the President and COO of Salter Street Films from 1997 to 2001. She has experience working for the Government of Canada as Director and Cultural Attaché with the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, and as Manager of Policy and Planning for Telefilm Canada, where her passion for Canadian film and television content was ignited. She’s been a member of a number of industry-specific boards including Comweb Group, DHX Media LTD, Hollywood Suite (which she co-founded), iThentic Inc, eOne Entertainment, CHUM Ltd, Aliant Inc, Rogers Mobile Film Fund and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. Catherine holds a Diplôme d’Études Approfondies, Communications Theory from the University of Paris (1983), a Master of Science from Boston University’s School of Public Communication (1982) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hon) in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Toronto (1979). In 2019, Catherine Tait was named Playback’s Executive of the Year.

Caroline Codsi is the Founder & Chief Equality Officer of Women in Governance, Canada’s preeminent non-profit created in 2010 with mission to help women access decision-making bodies and male dominated fields through advocacy, major events, mentoring programs and governance training. In 2017, Women in Governance developed the first North American Parity Certification with the probono support of McKinsey&Company to close the gender gap in the workplace in corporate Canada and America. Accenture, Mercer and Willis Towers Watson support WiG’s team in the evaluation process and reporting that concretely impacted positively more than 400,00 employees. Adding an intersectionality lens recognizes added obstacles for women from under-represented groups. The organization is also well known for the important role men are given as allies of the cause. A Citizen of the world having lived on three continents, Caroline was born in Beirut and grew up through the civil war. A highly sought-after speaker, Caroline has addressed audiences across the globe, including two TEDx. Widely quoted in national and international media, she is the recipient of numerous awards from prestigious organizations such as the United Nations’ Women’s Committee, the Quebec Business Women Network, The Federation of Chambers of Commerce or the New Delhi Women’s Economic Forum, to name a few. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Caroline on Canada’s National Gender Equality Committee and Mayor Valérie Plante on the City of Montreal’s Business Committee. She was also recognized as a Top 20 Diversity Leading Figure in Quebec, Top 75 Canadian Immigrant, Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and Top 100 Entrepreneurs changing the world.

Annick Robinson has developed an expertise in Corporate Communications, working for several fortune-50 companies over the past 20 years. A consummate innovator, she has acquired a depth of experience in strategically improving employee and stakeholder engagement during times of change and transition. Annick is currently the Communications Lead for Alstom’s Services business unit in the Americas Region. An activist at heart, she is also the co-founder of the Cradles for Cuddles fund, dedicated to supporting bereaved families in our community, and President of the Communications and Media Relations Committee for Women in Governance, helping advance equity in corporate organizations in North America. She is perhaps best known though, as the author of a viral social media post on predatory marketing techniques aimed at women. Her impromptu post was shared millions of times around the world, and picked up by almost every major international TV, magazines and radio outlet. Annick Robinson is the mother to two perfect boys, one of whom is living with a rare debilitating disease, and is now expecting a baby girl this summer.

We encourage companies to show their support for parity. If you would like to become one of our prestigious sponsors or for any other information, contact us at info@womeningovernance.world.