Over the course of the past 10 days, Bennett Jones has hosted two International Women’s Day luncheons, one in Toronto and one in Calgary, featuring a panel of distinguished female leaders in the law, government, business, technology, energy and arts sectors. The firm also played a significant role as Champion Sponsor of the CEO Global Network’s Women’s Leadership Summit held in Toronto, last week.

A special thank you to the CEO Global Network's guest speakers, Sally Helgesen, Women’s Leadership Expert and co-author of the recent book How Women Rise, and The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Member of Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha, and Canada's Minister of Women and Gender Equality, and to the following Bennett Jones program panelists for sharing their experience and meaningful insights on the topics of leadership and gender balance:

• The Honourable Christy Clark, Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones and Former Premier of British Columbia
• The Honourable Anne McLellan, Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
• Christine Healy, President and CEO, Total E&P Canada
• Dominique Hussey, Partner and Lead Director, Bennett Jones
• Audrey Mascarenhas, P. Eng., FCAE., President and CEO, Questor Technology and ClearPower Systems
• Susan McArthur, Managing Partner, Greensoil Investments
• Weyni Mengesha, Artistic Director, Soulpepper Theatre Company
• Lorie-Ann Roxburgh, Executive Vice President, Volkswagen Group Canada
• Valerie Prather Q.C., Partner, Bennett Jones
• Susan Anderson, President and CEO, Cannonball Capital and Fellow, Creative Destruction Lab

What follows are some words of inspiration gathered from all the outstanding female leaders who made each of these programs a success.