From Roadblock To Resilience

2020 has been devastating for the recreation, tourism and hospitality industries with women experiencing the greatest job losses and layoffs. The stress and uncertainty has been felt by us all, at times emotional and excruciating. At the start of the pandemic, I was unsure how our Association could live up to its mission to elevate, educate and empower women in leadership. 

We had been incorporated for a year and a half when the pandemic hit. We were just hitting our stride, celebrating women at sold-out events like Empower Her and Yes Shef! The Georgia Straight recognized WORTH in the 2019 Best of Vancouver edition, suggesting our little group is “girl power at its best”. We had big goals and ambitions when Covid seemingly crashed into our lives. It was hard not to feel deflated, exhausted and burned out.  

Despite these feelings, we persisted. I am blown away by the support shown by the women at WORTH over the past 7 months. Our volunteers have been working exceptionally hard to pivot. Like you, much of our team found themselves furloughed or with changing work conditions and extra time to devote to our cause. I am forever grateful for their leadership and commitment. 

We are proud to share that we are offering more events and opportunities than ever before. We added a new committee devoted to anti-racism advocacy. We have enhanced our free events in the virtual space and added a resources section to our website. We’ve expanded this newsletter and our social reach, while growing our board and following. We have connected you with coaches, consultants and business leaders across the globe who have shared their insight because they believe in women of WORTH. 

We believe in you too. We believe in your resilience, grit and grace as you face the future. We believe in your goals, your ambition and your leadership. We appreciate you for joining our community and taking a moment to read this newsletter. 

This month, you’ll read about the Colourful Conversations we are having with the BIPOC business community, including the remarkable Asha Wheeldon of Kula Kitchen. For those looking for work, we are sharing Winter hiring resources from go2HR. We have an editorial from our Director, Ros Herman, sharing her job search tips and Jenie Britto on finding gratitude in quarantine. If you just need to get away from it all, we’re sharing winter travel tips so you can help support the industry you love. 

We don’t have all the answers or know what tomorrow looks like, but we will keep advocating to support women of recreation, tourism and hospitality. We can only do this with your help. Let us know what you would like to see from WORTH Association in the year ahead and share how you would like to get involved. Follow us on Instagram @worth.association or email info@worthassociation.com to connect with us.

Thanks for joining us on this ride. Although it has been a bumpy one, we can’t imagine navigating it without you!