11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,M arch 4,2021 insidehalton.comwww.shoppersdrugmart.ca 2501 Third Line905-465-3000 478 Dundas Street West905-257-9737NOW OPEN24 HRS EVERY DAY • Patient Counselling • Complete Diabetic Care• Home Visits • Consultations • Free RX Delivery• Free Nutrition Counselling • Vaccinations• Cholesterol, A1C, AFib and DNA Screening ays Here toelp You! DE RANGO PHARMACY INC. 2501 T905-465-3000 • P• H • C AlwaHelp Pharmacist -Fabio De Rango Drug Store/Pharmacy1276 Cornwall Road, Unit C, Oakville Ontario, L6J 7W5T: 905-845-0767 • F: 905-845-5552 •www.haxelllaw.com • lawyers@haxelllaw.com Personal Professional Service at Competitive Rates Buying? Selling? Re Call us for a quote at 905-845-0767 ext. 223Jameson Glas GOLDGOLD 905-845-0767 ext. 223Jameson Glas in their personal lives as well," she noted. It's safe to say that Oakville en- trepreneur Janet Lawlor has re- quired a lot of flexibility since the pandemic began a year ago. The mother of two opened a franchise location of Qwench Juice Bar last March, during the week businesses began closing due to COVID-19 restrictions. "After two years of planning and building, the entire world shut down. It was a complete di- saster," she recalled. "We were open for five days, but then we ac- tually closed for about a month." While persevering through provincial restrictions and shut- downs, the dentist-turned-busi- ness leader has also been busy supporting her two daughters in their virtual learning, often jug- gling this responsibility from the to demonstrate this opportunity of equality," said Maria Locker, founder and CEO of Milton-based RevolutionHER, formerly known as the Mompreneurs Organiza- tion. "We still have to talk about the glass ceiling, we still have to talk about pay equity, and in 2021, that just seems absurd." Locker pointed to the signifi- cance of IWD's hashtag #choose- tochallenge, which aims to call out gender bias and inequality and help create an inclusive world. One local company that's long challenged gender stereotypes in a male-dominated industry is Fra- ser Direct, a warehousing and dis- tribution business in Milton and Halton Hills that's largely run by women. As company president Lois Fraser says, the statistics tell the story. Fraser Direct's total work- force is 70 per cent women, with 75 per cent of office management and 66 per cent of warehouse man- agement being female. "There aren't that many wom- en out there who are running warehouses," said Fraser. "We didn't necessarily say 'let's hire women' -- we just did it, and pro- moted from within. So if you have a lot of females at the bottom, you're going to have a lot of fe- males at the top." With child care and home- schooling duties during the pan- demic often falling on women, Fraser said her company has been flexible with its staff members that need to work from home, switch their shifts to evenings, etc. "If you want happy employees, you're going to help them succeed back room of Qwench. But Lawlor said she feels lucky in that she's never been held back from opportunities because of her gender and ultimately plans to open franchise locations of Qwench across the country. In the meantime, she wants to make sure young women feel empow- ered to be their own bosses or climb the corporate ladder. "It's important for women to know that there's nothing we can't do. We're just as capable as men, we're just as smart, and we can be just as aggressive or passive," she said. "It shouldn't be an outlier for a woman to succeed in business -- it should the norm." Being surrounded by success- ful females is certainly the norm at She's Got Leggz, a Burlington- based leggings business that was founded in 2015 as a side hustle by Laura Youngs, with Donna Pin- sonneault joining soon after as a partner. The company's goal is to em- power women as entrepreneurs, operating in a similar fashion to other direct sales businesses like Tupperware, with She's Got Leggz independent stylists across Cana- da connecting with customers via social media and online parties in a COVID-19 world. And it appears the virtual method is working, as Youngs and Pinsonneault report that their business has grown from a $250,000 company to a $1-million empire over the past year. In speaking about women in leadership, Pinsonneault said, "It's important for women to be recognized for the different skill sets they bring to the table. There are a lot of years that you devote to motherhood, so it's that balance of work and home. You can run a corporation and still be a good mom." STORY BEHIND THE STO- RY: With International Women's Day recognizing the importance of women in leadership, we want- ed to take a closer look at the experiences of female business leaders in Halton. NEWS Continued from page 3 PANDEMIC PRESENTS NEW CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN Lois Fraser (centre) - alongside (from left) employees Victoria Fraser, Christine Bennett, Laurie Hartman and Joanna Fraser - runs Fraser Direct, a largely female-run logistics company in a male-dominated industry. Graham Paine/Metroland INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY EVENTS IN HALTON • RevolutionHER IWD 2021 with Meena Harris (U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris' niece), March 7, 2 p.m.: A virtual conversation with Meena Harris, founder and CEO of Phenomenal, who will talk about family, justice, women's rights, making history and challenging norms. Free general admission. Tickets at revolutionher.com. • The "Un" Dinner Party by Women of Halton Action Movement, March 8: A virtual event raising funds for SAVIS and Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Videos from guest speakers and a hall of honour for local women will be available on March 8 at thedinnerpartyiwd.ca, where ticket donations can also be made. • #HerHalton Women's Day Social by Haltech Regional Innovation Centre, March 10, 9:30 a.m. to noon: A free cyber celebration with inspirational talks, networking, raffles and more. Tickets at eventbrite.ca. • Women Who Inspire with Oakville MP Anita Anand, hosted by Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Councillor Pavan Parmar, March 11, 7 to 8 p.m. Register for the Zoom link at zoom.us/webinar/ register/WN_-USqTlDtT--5QI0-3A6t-Q. SCAN FOR MORE Scan this code for more local news