Daedra

May I just say as a Canadian woman who has lived in the UK for the past 3 years... BOLLOCKS! Women's rights in the UK are laughingly exonerated, women in the workplace are constantly backbiting and trying to climb each other on the executive ladder... the office jobs I worked in Canada had far more genuinely friendly and NOT for competition women working together then I have experienced in 3 years working in England.

Oh and no offense, but what about the large amount of young mothers and middle aged mothers "on the dole" I see everyday pushing prams or walking kids to school everyday around me... I don't think it's in any way less then what I saw living in Canada... if anything, I felt more expectation of women to be part of the income into a family household there then I do here!
So no offense DB but your spouting rubbish

Canada2006

Please do remember that these are all generalisations! There are differences from company to company and region to region. I for one, as a male, would quit a macho company - it'd be going down the plughole anyway.

dingbat

Why were they NOT for competition women? Too much baking on the go to bother? I experience the very opposite of your description as a British woman in Canada. dbd33's assessment of how women are treated here is remarkably accurate, for a man.

Daedra

I agree, but the I don't agree with the generalisations, in that case, the same generlisations apply to the UK and is not answering the original poster's questions & can be construed as misleading.

I'm just speaking up for the femmes out there... hey, its your own bloody fault exporting the Spice Girls to the Canadian market in the first place! GIRL POWER

Daedra

In that case I hesitate to mention that perhaps it is a casualty of being foreign and nowt to do with the sex you were born due to the fact that I experience the same as a Canadian in the UK as you do the reverse

dingbat

Most likely. Still, attitudes toward women in Canada do seem somewhat dated. The c*** I got for returning to work early from Mat leave last time was really quite unbelievable and the push and expectation for women to stay at home with the sprogs is very strong. A lawyer friend of mine is married to another lawyer. They had a baby. She earns way more than him - he took the Mat leave. Career suicide has been mentioned more than once in the court room hallways.

Alberta_Rose

Did you really mean exonerated?

dingbat

Maybe the poster meant that wimmin can do whatever they like in the UK and not be held accountable....

Cowtown

What part of walking your kids to school gives you the impression that they are all "on the dole"? Ever consider the fact that they might have a husband who is out working and earning enough to allow the mother to stay home with the children?

In case you wondered - it was highly offensive.

Daedra

Oops, no I didn't, that would be "cleared of wrong doing" which makes no sense haha.. good spot Mor, that was me last night after 2 glasses of chardonay

and to dingbat YEAH spot on, so if I WANNA use the wrong word in a sentance, I bloody well WILL use the wrong word... so THERE nyah nyah *lol*

Daedra

Wasnt meant as an attack, it's the same women who drop their kids off and I see half an hour later in the town square/ nearby park chatting with their girlfriends who also have babies in prams.

Of course not all women are on the dole because they walk their kids to school or drop them off in the car, but I think you are missing the point. I believe you call the women I am describing "chavs" or similar over here, not sure what the equivalent name would be in Canada, only thing I can think of is "Welfare mum" but thats not really appropriate.

hudd

I found that I treated my staff in Canada the same away is I did back in the UK, with respect. I can remember an operator who came up to me and said I was the first manager he trusted in 25 years working at our site.

I found in the the companies I worked for in Canada had very traditional management style(1950's English style) such as the Boss and staff. That may not have been in all companies, just my experience.

I found being honest and keeping your staff involved of the business. Making them part of the business and letting them know where and why they are performing their duties, helps develop a good business culture.

To answer you question is that the Labour Laws in Canada is some areas of business are not strongly enforced. In Alberta in my first job I was working 70-90 hrs a week for a Safety Consultancy and my wife was worried about the effect on me work long hours. She phoned up the Labour department for advice. Their comment was that you could put in a formal complaint, but your husband mostly would lose his job. I did find another job after 8 month of working horrendous unpaid hours.
North America is know for a hire & fire culture, which I supposed being a Brit I was not used too. Thats why I think there are strong unions in Canada to protect employees.
Its hard to fire a unionised employee and even if a "brother" has done misconduct the union will back him. I had an employee who messed me around for 2 years, even his union reps told me that they disapproved of his conduct. But being a member they had to support/protect him.

From the other side non union companies may feel that they have the right to fire at will. Low skill jobs I noticed where I last lived in Canada would hire & fire and then rehire when they wanted staff. I meet a fabricator who told me he had been "let go" and rehired 17 times with them same company because work into the company was not steady.

If you have good business ethics, you do well running a business anywhere.
As for the 25 days holidays a year will be very attractive to an employee starting a new job. What is your business?

chinnybloke

I'm in software. Mainly applications on handhelds, back office stuff (SQL Server) and integration of different systems. I am hoping to support existing customers in the UK and sell into North America too.

Very helpful post. Thank you

dbd33

You're writing about the attitude of women in the workplace toward other women in the workplace, I can't know about that. What I do know about is the attitude of men in the workplace here (Toronto, software industry) toward women and it is, generally, that they have no place cluttering the office where men are trying to work.

dbd33

Not much of a man, of course.