For young women embarking on their education and career journeys, there is no greater inspiration than hearing from other women who have overcome obstacles and achieved success.
A group of young mentees in the Girls E-Mentorship (GEM) program experienced just that at an Ivey-sponsored GEMinar event at the Donald K. Johnson Centre on March 1. GEM, currently led by Sarah Morgenstern, MBA '93 and an Ivey Advisory Board member, pairs high school girls facing socioeconomic barriers with professional women who provide mentorship focused on skill development and career advancement.
The event, Circle of Connections: The Power of Relationships in Personal and Professional Growth, was in collaboration with Ivey’s John F. Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Education, which was created with goals to broaden access to business case learning to more high school students. Zoe Kinias, Chair of the Wood Centre, designed the event to inspire, give voice to, and build relationships for all participants. It brought together approximately 100 mentors and mentees – both in person and online – for a half-day of interaction. Professor Barnini Bhattacharyya, shined in facilitating the high school girls’ (and some mentors’) first case discussion on a forthcoming Ivey Publishing case, The Longest Job Interview, co-authored by Felicia Henderson of INSEAD and Kinias. The case explores the career journey of Yasmene McDaniel, who overcame systemic barriers to achieve success.
Women lifting women
Following the discussion, McDaniel, now CEO of HCA Houston Healthcare Southeast and the first Black hospital CEO appointed to serve in the Gulf Coast Division, joined the group via Zoom from Houston to share her story. She spoke about breaking barriers by balancing priorities, being authentic, and building meaningful relationships. Given she is herself a role model, McDaniel also aptly discussed the importance of role models, crediting her mother – a teenage mom who completed high school, college, and later earned a master’s degree – as her greatest inspiration.
“There is resilience and staying focused and being flexible – I learned all of those things from my mother and that just prepared me for life,” she said. “The world doesn’t go according to anyone’s plans, but you can still make the lemonade when you need it.”
On authenticity and building strong relationships, McDaniel shared, “I am a person of faith and within that, I believe that God doesn’t make mistakes – he didn’t make any mistakes in his creation of me – which means I have to bring my full self and be 100 per cent authentic. Being in that vulnerable state … opens up the opportunity for those real relationships – for those authentic relationships,” she said. “When I learned to embrace who I am, that’s when people were really invested in my success – people were more open to my strengths as well as some of my opportunities within my development.”
Yasmene McDaniel (onscreen) speaking to the group
Lessons in mentorship
As part of the case discussion, Bhattacharyya, who transitioned to academia with a research focus on inclusion after witnessing systemic barriers for women while working in banking in India, guided the group on how to be better mentors and allies. Her advice included:
- Centring on the mentee’s needs and aspirations;
- Being aware of your own privilege and power and how they affect the mentor-mentee dynamic; and,
- Translating good intentions into tangible, ongoing actions, such as sponsorship, nominations, coaching, and speaking up against discrimination.
“The majority of people, I’d like to believe, have good intentions and want the best for each other so we have to think about how we can translate those intentions into real, tangible, ongoing action – sponsorship, nominations, coaching, becoming a confidante, saying something when you witness mistreatment happen or witness discrimination happen,” she said. “Really taking calculated risks when you can to support your mentee or the beneficiary of your allyship.”
Kinias, whose research explores the benefits of identifiable role models for women’s professional well-being, emphasized that female protagonists are sadly lacking in business education. She said she was pleased the event highlighted McDaniel’s story, demonstrating the power of role models in creating change.
“She [McDaniel] is very identifiable. She has a socioeconomically disadvantaged background herself and she’s now the CEO of a company. The girls said, ‘Wow, women can be CEOs,’” she said. “Barnini [Bhattacharyya] really drew out their input and their interpretations of things and how their own experiences connected to the story in this case.”
Barnini Bhattacharyya leading the case discussion
Following the discussion, the group heard about Ivey’s programs from Havina Rajeswaran, HBA Recruiting Associate, and Kim Randall, an EMBA '25 candidate and Ivey EMBA Associate Director of Recruitment and Admissions.
The event closed with additional opportunities for mentors and mentees to connect. The event included a networking and authentic connection skills-building session led by Kinias.
“Hosting the Girls E-Mentorship community at Ivey's Toronto campus is truly a cause for celebration. Ivey’s mission to address critical societal issues, including gender inequality, was brought to the forefront during this event,” said Randall. “As a proud GEM Mentor and Ivey student/staff, the GEM x Ivey partnership is something I am deeply proud of, and it’s been a joy to watch it grow stronger year after year.”
View more photos below. Photography by Shlomi Amiga
Participants arriving at the Donald K. Johnson Centre
The Longest Job Interview case
Zoe Kinias leading the discussion with Yasmene McDaniel
Sarah Morgenstern addressing the group
Students at the event
Mentors and mentees had time to bond at the event
The full group of GEMinar participants
Related Articles
