Even with all of the advances women have made in business, executive level positions are still dominated by men.
“We have come a long way,” said Cheryl Eason, Royal Roads University’s newly appointed chief financial officer and vice president. But unfortunately, from what she’s seen in the business world, women are still a minority in upper level positions and that continues to surprise her. “Studies have shown that organizations that have women as part of their executives do better … companies are really recognizing the value of that.”
Royal Roads is the fourth organization Eason has work for at the executive level.
“Having woman in higher level positions is the diversity that businesses should be looking at … It’s been a bit slower than we’d like but I think we shouldn’t give up hope.”
While originally from the Prairies – mostly Manitoba – Eason found herself landing in Langford back in 2006 after accepting a position with the B.C. Pension Corporation. Even though she had already been working at the executive level for roughly a decade, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to fulfill her personal dream of getting a master’s of business administration. “I just thought something seemed to be missing from my career,” she noted. “I could see how complex the business world was becoming.”
However, scheduling was tricky with her professional and personal requirements. That’s how Eason first found her place at Royal Roads, the university’s MBA program offered her the flexibility to continue working full time. What also intrigued her was how the cohorts worked together to share the lessons they had learned so they could be practiced in the real world. “It’s a life changing experience,” she said. “That’s probably what opened the door to California.”
Eason returned to Royal Roads University this February after leaving her position with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). She was the first CFO in CalPERS’ 85-year history, and was responsible for financial accounting and reporting for a pension fund of more than $300 billion, an operating capital budget of roughly $1.8 billion and approximately 2,800 employees. It is the largest public pension fund in the United States and is one of the largest in the world.
But Eason wasn’t looking for a career change when she was approached for the position. In fact, she had every intention of retiring with the B.C. Pension Corp. “They found me on LinkedIn – so there’s a plug for social media – and they took an interest,” Eason said, noting the opportunity intrigued her and she soon found herself down in California as one of three Canadians on the executive team.
She went with the intention of only staying for about three years. Roughly four and half years later when she heard about the position at Royal Roads, she jumped. “I thought this was just a great opportunity … just to be able to give back to an organization that changed my life,” she said.
While she credits Royal Roads’ MBA program for giving her the confidence to tackle new professional roles, she noted having some guidance is also key. “Having a mentor for your career is really important … woman should reach out to each other.” While Eason noted some of her best mentors have been men, finding someone in the business world that can share some of their personal experiences just furthers your depth of education.
“We never stop learning. I always say don’t stop being curious … and getting enjoyment out of what you’re doing.”
