The Pulse: Nov. 12, 2021

Edmonton-based Stantec made it onto Forbes' first list of the World's Top Female-Friendly Companies, but a new report suggests most publicly traded companies in Alberta are a ways off from reaching gender parity in the boardroom.

Seven Canadian companies were included on Forbes' ranking of 300 businesses "leading the way when it comes to trying to support women inside and outside their workforce." Research company Statista surveyed 85,000 women in 40 countries on a range of issues, including pay equity, parental leave, and promotion of gender equality.

Stantec, with 22,000 employees worldwide, ranked 164th. Calgary-based Enbridge was tops among Canadian firms at 44th. McCain Foods (102), RBC (150), Maple Leaf Foods (220), Fortis Utilities (251), and Scotiabank (264) also made the list.

"At Stantec, we strive to create a welcoming, accepting, safe, and supportive culture where everyone can bring their whole selves to work," Asifa Samji, Stantec's chief human resources officer, said in a news release. "This recognition inspires us to push even harder to foster a workplace based in respect and inclusivity."

Leadership was another metric Forbes used in its ranking. There are three women on Stantec's eight-person top executive team, and three female directors on its nine-member board.

In comparison, a study of 115 Alberta-based, TSX-listed businesses showed women held 21% of board positions in 2021, up from 18% in 2020. The Alberta Securities Commission's annual report for 2021 also found that the percentage of companies with at least one female board director climbed from 74% to 80%.

• Soccer star Alphonso Davies will play an international game in front of his parents for the first time tonight in Edmonton as Canada hosts Costa Rica in a qualifying match for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. "This means a lot," he said. "I'm excited to see the stadium full and I'm excited to play in my home town." Kick-off is at 7pm, with doors opening two hours in advance in anticipation of long lines. LRT will be running at full capacity every five minutes in both directions.
• According to a recent Avison Young study based on cell phone traffic, "average weekday foot traffic" in Edmonton's downtown is about half of what it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, good enough for the second-best recovery in Canada behind only Calgary.
• A roughly 65-foot-tall Christmas Tree has been set up in Churchill Square. This year's Downtown Holiday Light Up features entertainment and activities on Nov. 20, Dec. 4, and Dec. 18.
• The Edmonton Prospects baseball team announced May 27, 2023 as the opening date for the new Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove. The team had hoped to play in the facility next year, but will instead play most home games at Centennial Field in Sherwood Park.
• Alberta has administered over 625,000 flu shots in the last two weeks, bringing provincial coverage to 20.7%. While the total number of doses has tripled in the last two weeks, coverage is still down from 25.4% this time last year. There have been three lab-confirmed cases of influenza in Alberta so far this flu season. Last season, there were no lab-confirmed cases of influenza in the province despite increased testing.

If you missed LitFest last month, worry not! You can still get a little bit of Canada's original nonfiction festival on Glass Bookshop Radio, the podcast produced by indie bookstore Glass Bookshop.

Episode 27 features the LitFest conversation between Shima Robinson, the artistic director of the Edmonton Poetry Festival, and Ian Williams, author of Disorientation: Being Black in the World.

That's not the only literary deep dive you can uncover on Glass Bookshop Radio, hosted and produced by Makda Mulatu. Recent episodes feature writers Jordan Tannahill, David Demchuk, and Jen Sookfong Lee, with conversations spanning back to October 2020, when Glass Bookshop owners Jason Purcell and Matthew Stepanic kicked off the show.

Glass Bookshop itself is currently housed in The Garage space at Latitude 53. It will be in those temporary quarters until Dec. 24, with plans to be in the shop's permanent home in the Stovel Block across from the Royal Alberta Museum in the new year.

Episodes of Glass Bookshop Radio are available on its website, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

You can listen to podcast picks from Taproot on Listen Notes or Spotify.