CORNWALL, Ontario – The NAV Centre in Cornwall hosted a High Tea Luncheon for International Women’s Day featuring a talk by Jackie King, Chief Operating Officer for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
The event was organized as a partnership between the Canadian Cancer Society and the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to the tea, King was also given a tour of the NAV Centre’s facilities including the air traffic control simulation room.
In an interview with Seaway News, King gave her advice on one issue that women still face today in the workplace, harassment.
“Make sure you speak up,” she said. “No woman should ever feel that they can’t speak up for themselves.”
She suggested that any woman who is experiencing harassment in the workplace should confide in someone close to them and keep a detailed record of the incident.
King explained that the central themes of her talk at the NAV Centre was around female empowerment and courage.
“Play a leading role in your empowerment,” said King when asked what she intended to tell the women gathered to hear her speak. “Lots of different entities play a role in that, but it is something that you have to lead yourself. If you want to stay at home and raise a family, then you should be empowered to do that.”
King herself was for a time a single mother, she eventually became an intern at the public relations firm Hill + Knowlton. She ended her career there in 2017 as a General Manager to take on her current job at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“What drove me was the example I wanted to set for my kids,” she said.
King also pointed out that courage can come in many forms, but that its impact can always make a difference.
“Little things make a difference,” she said. “Women are changing the world in different ways every single day.”
There were 150 tickets available for the event. Tickets were $50 each and $10 from each ticket sale went to the Canadian Cancer Society to help fund research into cancers that impact women.
