When Ottawa Business Woman of the Year nominee Jennifer Cross graduated from Sheridan College with a degree in interior design, she had no idea she would be running a multimillion dollar company.
Cross is the managing partner for Premier Executive Suites and one of nine nominees in the Women’s Business Network of Ottawa’s (WBN) upcoming Business Woman of the Year Award.
But according to statistics that surfaced thanks to the hype of International Women’s Day, Cross represents a shrinking number of women who successfully take on the business world.
A recent World Bank report, titled Women, Business and the Law, highlights what many see as a growing problem. The report indicates that globally, women do 66 per cent of the work, produce 50 per cent of the food, earn 10 per cent of the income and own one per cent of the property.
In Canada, where the number of female adults in the work force is higher than any other G7 country, women in senior management roles are still far behind, sitting at 28 per cent this time last year according to research from Grant Thornton’s International Business Report. As of March 8, the number has fallen to 25 per cent.
“I’m not surprised,” says Erin Crotty, co-chair of the Awards and owner of a consulting firm.
Crotty explains that women in business often have to blaze trails in their communities and break through a “glass ceiling” of stereotypes in a field that is often seen as a man’s world.
But Crotty remains optimistic that with support from groups such as the BWN, the numbers can improve. “As long as we continue to persevere and challenge the status quo I think we can continue to change those statistics,” she says.
Crotty says the Business Women of the Year award is an important recognition of successful women in Ottawa.
“I think one of the biggest challenges we have (as women) – and I can speak from my own experiences – is that we don’t toot our own horn enough,” she says.
As an award nominee and Centretown resident, Cross is an excellent example of what it takes to be successful, says Crotty.
Sitting up straight at her white, glass-topped desk – the centrepiece in an office filled with subtle pink and floral details – Cross explains how she went from designing rooms to managing Premier Executive Suites in Ottawa.
Not one to take baby steps, she says her business career began when she started up an interior decorating store in Ottawa called Inside Out, fresh out of college.
“Sometimes not knowing the end result and just having some guts and going for it serves you better than weighing it all out, all of the options, all of the risks,” she says. “If I had known how hard it was going to be, I probably wouldn’t have done it!” she says, laughing.
For the next eight years, Cross built a clientele and rapport with suppliers in Ottawa. But life caught up with her, she says.
“The biggest challenge that women face, and specifically myself, is the balance between all of the roles that you play,” she says. “For me I am a mother of two, a single mother, and so the balance of building your career as well as being there for your children is an incredibly difficult balance.”
Raising the children and going through a divorce forced Cross to look for more stable employment. She says it was her experience and connections from developing her business that qualified her to become a business manager with Phillip Van Leeuwen – a furniture showroom in Byward Market.
After three years, she switched jobs again and became a managing partner, her current position with Premier Executive Suites.
According to Kim Grimes, VP of Sales at Premier Executive Suites, Cross has been a blessing to the Ottawa branch of the company. “When Jennifer came into the office and started here staff morale was quite low but she came in and kind of boosted the whole environment,” she says.
Grimes has worked under male management and says the difference between the two seems to be Cross’ team-centric attitude. “Women are mothering even if they don’t have kids, it is that nurturing instinct,” she says. “When Jennifer is faced with something everything is a team effort.”
The awards Gala will be held April 12, 2012 at the Hampton Inn and Conference Centre in Ottawa. Grimes says she will be at the ceremony to support her boss when the winners are announced.
For Cross, she says she is looking forward to hearing the stories of other women at the event.
“If you read about women who built themselves from nothing it is because they believed in themselves and they didn’t buy into their own circumstances,” Cross says. “I think that is a worldwide theme.”