Sherry Cooper has risen through the corporate ranks quickly. As executive vice-president and chief economist of one of Canada’s major banks, she says women in the corporate world still experience the glass ceiling. For women just starting out, she advises they spend a lot of time in school and only a short time on mat leave.
In a chat this week with the CBC’s Anna Maria Tremonti on The Current, Cooper discussed the problems she experienced in the workplace and how women today are still burdened: “It is very clear that in large corporations in Canada, more so than in small business, or than the public sector, women are still only a very small minority of executives and board members,” she said.
As we know, it’s the same story in law. Our winter 2011 issue discussed how women are leaving private practice at a higher rate than men; leading to fewer women landing the firm’s top positions.
However, there is good news. Cooper says women today are earning more money than their male counterparts, which she credits to better education. The glass ceiling may still exist in both law and finance, but that doesn’t mean it will always be a barrier. And Sherry Cooper herself has proven that.
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