Winnipeg, MB – Qualico reaffirmed its commitment to supporting women in leadership with the Uplift Women’s Leadership Summit, a focused two-day gathering aimed at building connections, sparking honest conversations, and identifying meaningful ways to support women in the business and help them grow in their careers.

The concept for Uplift emerged from conversations with previous Katherine Friesen’s Trailblazer recipients, who envisioned an annual meeting to unite recognized women leaders within the organization. “It started as an idea for a meet-up, and we decided to go further with it. We wanted to create a meaningful experience, with focused outcomes while strengthening peer connections,” said Katie Doerksen, Director of Communications and Corporate Responsibility.

Strategic selection played a critical role in ensuring the summit reflected Qualico’s diversity, with Regional Vice Presidents tasked with nominating participants from their areas. Ultimately, women across each region and vertical were chosen, balancing inclusivity with the need to keep discussions focused during this first summit.

“We knew that we wanted a group representing a variety of functional roles, experiences, and locations,” said Katie. “Capturing diverse perspectives was crucial, but narrowing down the attendees was one of the toughest planning challenges as everyone’s ideas and experiences are highly valued.”

This thoughtful approach to participant selection created a forum where voices from across Qualico were heard and different perspectives were shared.

“This wasn’t about solving all the challenges overnight—it was about understanding different perspectives and from there, developing recommendations that considers shared needs and invites allies into the fold,” explained Katie.

The summit kicked off with a welcome lunch, offering attendees an informal environment to meet one another, followed by community tours of Qualico Communities and showhomes. The tours provided participants an opportunity to learn more about ongoing projects while fostering informal networking among the attendees.

Day two featured a series of engaging sessions facilitated by People & Culture Consultant Natalie Bell, focused on mentorship, representation, and career pathways—topics deemed vital to amplifying women’s voices and opportunities in leadership roles. The summit later transitioned into an impactful Executive Panel and Ask Me Anything (AMA) session featuring senior leaders. Participants posed hot-topic questions, learned insights from the executives’ personal leadership journeys, and explored how organizational priorities tie into empowering women leaders.

Mark Spearing, Chief Operations Officer, emphasized Qualico’s commitment to diverse leadership during the panel.

“We’ve been working towards developing the next generation of leaders through initiatives like the Qualico Leadership Program, improving our hiring practices and promoting from within. Within that framework, we’re fortunate to have such a dedicated and capable group of current and prospective women leaders whose contributions will continue to steer us toward a promising future. Ten years ago, I don’t think we could have filled this room like we have today.”

Now that the summit has concluded, survey data from participants revealed positive reception to the programming. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to connect across regions, share ideas during breakout sessions, and explore common challenges and solutions.

One participant noted, “The summit sparked valuable discussions and allowed me to hear how colleagues address similar challenges or working towards finding solutions. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to participate.”

Another shared, “It was inspiring to meet people outside my business area and share perspectives I found it very valuable to share ideas and perspectives in the breakout sessions.  Overall, I’m very happy I was chosen to attend and found the experience beneficial and uplifting.”

Looking ahead, the planning committee is focused on translating the insights, feedback, and ideas gathered at the summit into a comprehensive report for the Executive Committee.  “We want our leaders to understand the barriers, breakthroughs, and opportunities for Qualico’s talented women,” said Katie. “This is about starting an informed, sustained conversation that can lead to more progress.”

Katie added, “We hope relationships built during the summit continue to grow. We’ll be looking for ways to help sustain that support informally and through structured initiatives so we can keep the momentum going.”