Status of Women committee  It was an amazing program. We've had one session so far. It lasted for a day and a half. We brought together very senior leaders from across the organization and some clients. That was different for us, because we brought some of our major clients into the session as well. It was

Status of Women committee  I think one of the best ways to encourage increased representation of women on boards is, first of all, to give women an opportunity to sit on boards. I would suggest that this starts at the not-for-profit level, where there's a real opportunity to develop some board experience.

Status of Women committee  We have numerous programs where we have more senior women mentor women just starting their career. I currently mentor about 10 women at much more junior levels who have no interest in being at my career line or taking the career path that I've taken but want to know how to deal w

Status of Women committee  I believe so, yes, and I've seen it in action.

Status of Women committee  Yes, not only with respect to gender issues, but all kinds of diversity issues and bringing products and services to clients in the way that they want them to be delivered and in what they want those products to deliver. There are several examples of that. We obviously have bra

Status of Women committee  A few things have been important. One is the leadership of Victor Dodig and his support of the advancement of capable women within the organization. We've also provided tools to help women succeed within the organization. I mentioned the CIBC@work model that allows for more flex

Status of Women committee  I think part of it is to show the successes of what happens when that sponsorship occurs. I don't think it's only men sponsoring women. It's women sponsoring men—

Status of Women committee  —men sponsoring women. It's vice versa. It's funny. I never really knew the difference between sponsorship and mentorship until a few years ago. I had a lot of mentors. To me, a mentor is somebody who provides you with advice on the sidelines, but doesn't have a vested interest

Status of Women committee  Yes, that has occurred, and we're very pleased with the results. We're continuing to encourage further advancement of women, so we're not sitting on our laurels or the successes of the past. We will continue to strive for equal representation of women at the executive levels.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee, for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today. I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person. My name is Andrea Nalyzyty. I'm vice-president and associate general counsel, governance and government relations, at CIBC. My team