By Agatha Emeadi
Tracy Folorunsho-Barry is a Nigerian-Canadian and Chief Executive/Founder, Grow Women Leaders as well as GROW Foundation.
She has been living and working in Canada in the last 20 years and through her foundation, she has used her experience and expertise to assist other immigrant women.
The challenges she faced in her quest to integrate into a foreign country inspired what she is doing today.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, she talks about the work of the foundation and related issues.
What does Grow Women Leaders do?
Grow Women Leaders is specialized in helping immigrant women in Canada. We focus on working with skilled immigrant women that come into the country for greener pastures. Basically, I grow women leaders as a result of the work we do. We are able to get women hired and advance their career through job matching, training and mentorship. I tell our partners that getting women hired is one thing and getting them retained in a position is another. So, we make sure that employers are able to retain women for a long time. Our mission at Grow Women Leaders Foundation therefore is to increase the participation of women in the workforce in Canada and other countries.
Why do you intend to get to other countries, especially in Nigeria?
Basically, I have been doing this in the last nine years. We started the project, Canada-150 in 2016. Being an immigrant in Canada and the circumstances of getting into the workforce in a foreign country is a big issue. Therefore, when most of us went there for greener pasture armed with full educational qualifications, the opportunities did not come easily for us. Just being a woman, especially an immigrant and woman of colour with children hinders most of us from participating fully in the economic empowerment or getting into the workforce. That exactly led me to start what I am doing right now. I faced that struggle when I relocated to Canada before I broke even. Whenever I have the opportunity to tell the stories of how women became successful with Canada-150’, it is always a joyful one. It was not easy to navigate the Canadian workforce. I see a lot of women come into Canada with high hopes, so we create awareness for them to listen to other women who broke into the workforce. In the same vein, we have seen a lot of women who graduate without knowing what their fate would be in the workforce. With our ‘SEED’ principle, which means to Support, Encourage, Empower to Develop, we are to help them. We need to spread awareness about the empowerment and support all women.
How then did you break the jinx in Canada?
Well, when I was not getting jobs, I had to start a business as a mother of five which was not easy at all. I just saw that looking for employment was not working. After I gave birth, the opportunity of what I do came to me and I decided to turn it into a business. I took up this challenge which was not easy initially and started working with the Canadian government; that was how I was able to have my breakthrough in entrepreneurship. My case is one of the few that happened in Canada.
In Canada where you reside, how many women have you been able to put through with Canada-150?
We have done it for several women. What we do is training, mentorship and job matching career support. Through our foundation, we have been able to train thousands of women. Again, we can boast of 70-80 percent getting hired after our successful training because of our contacts in the industry. Our strategy works coupled with this is the fact that we are signed up with government agencies; this has largely contributed to our huge success. This is the reason women sign up with ‘Grow Women Leaders.’ When we talk about immigrant women, they are in all walks of life and in various colours. Now, ‘Grow Women Leaders’ is like a global movement. Otherwise, in Nigeria, it will be Nigerian Women and workforce.
Do you also carry out a check on the women you support through Grow Women Leaders, to know if they are fulfilled with their jobs?
Yes, but before they get into our programme, we do a lot of assessment. When we do it, many of them need validation of their credentials. With this, we know who is who and where one can fit in. We do not reject anyone outright, but if you claim you are a doctor, you must validate yourself to be one, so we can work with you.
What challenges have confronted the foundation and how did you overcome them?
It is the intentionality of being a woman. The challenges go out to play that one is just a woman, an immigrant, black colour, religious differences, marriages and motherhood. These factors pose challenges coupled with women having difficulties to get the kind of job they want. My organization does not talk about racism or discrimination, even though it actually plays a big role, but it is not our focus. We actually focus on the best, and how we can actually make it work. In Canada, there is a language issue that people who come from various backgrounds face. We talk about family dynamics and these tie some women down. Unfortunately, women are the caregivers because everybody falls on them. Those are the things we see as challenges. Agreed, employers see that and that is why they say because of additional issues, they would prefer to hire their counterpart rather than hiring a woman because they feel some issues around a woman. But in ‘Grow Women Leaders, we tell them that is not the case, that there are additional amenities that help women succeed in workforce. In addition to the women getting trained, mentored and supported to get matched with the employer, getting an ongoing career, we operate in a big space, for those who are doing remote work, we have child minding, a small kitchen/Cafe that cares and supports women too.
Who sponsors these services?
To join the organization is free, but we have a lot of support that the government does pay for them. Depends on what one needs such as people trying to leave a job for another, looking for promotions, and getting started in a new job. For the training and preparation, there is a minimum cost that comes in together with a government support. Though that makes it basically free, even though it is not the focus. The Canadian government has been amazing to support the work we do and hence the women we are working with are currently receiving the services for free.
What has been your high point?
The high point in what I am doing is to see the potential that goes to the table as an immigrant woman. Doing what I do now is a testament to the fact that I am a powerful woman. If I didn’t push myself to discover that this is possible, I would have locked myself in the box thinking that I am a Nigerian, women are not allowed to do certain things. That narrative would have stopped me from going places. Again, when I see women getting hired into different fields, I am fulfilled. The narratives we have tried to change are high points for me.
Are planning to expand to other countries? Again, you said that even with higher education, most immigrants start with menial jobs. How can this be changed, to enable them get better jobs commensurate with their qualifications?
That is exactly what we want to do. This is a global movement. The platform we are working with is aligning us to do what we do. It is a real issue, but depends on the country one goes to. A lot of people go to other countries and are meant to start from the scratch and that is why we are doing what we do. Even Libya started from the scratch, so getting that support and guidance is very important. When one gets such guidance, it is easier to get where one wants to go. That was what kept me where I was for a long time, because no one was there to guide me. Therefore, I made a lot of mistakes, and it was so difficult for me. It took me two years to find myself as an immigrant in Canada because nobody guided me then. This is why my team and I are making sure that a woman must not spend 10 years before finding her grounds in Canada. When they come to us to verify their credentials and validations, we showcase them to employers.
Most of the time, getting into the workforce is not the employer’s fault. They come in and their works are dynamic, solely different from Canadian workforce and it does not make it easy for communications, interview preparations and all they have to do. We at Grow Women Leaders therefore step in to settle all that.
Looking back at International Women’s Day marked recently, what message do you have for the women?
I truly feel that women are the means from which all hands grow. When I was living in Nigeria, I saw how my mother and grandmother made us, the children, who we are today. Women should not limit themselves as caregivers. Instead, they should believe in themselves and be strong advocates. We should keep using our voice to make that difference. As women, we need ourselves, encourage ourselves and make a difference that can shape our community.