The room was filled with beautiful women, dressed to the nines in elegant formal wear, champagne was poured, heels clicked, and conversation was shared. Over all it initially appeared to be like most celebrations (albeit with a higher percentage of estrogen) however there was something distinctly different from this gathering. This congregation of ladies had one thing in common: the Women in Leadership foundation and their second annual Superwoman Gala. Assembled inside were mentors and mentees, mentors turned mentees and mentees turned mentors (try saying that 3 times)! There were also over 80 volunteers in the form of professionals and students alike, successful business women, and those in the pursuit of discovering how to be more successful in their own right. It seemed there was a woman in that room from every walk of life, in every sort of profession.

When I asked WIL founder Maya Kanigan what her what her ultimate outcome for the foundation with this event would be, I expected to hear to hear something along the lines of a great fundraising and awareness opportunity. I was moved and surprised when her eyes brimmed with tears and she responded, “For every woman to be entirely, unapologetically okay with who and how they are right now. Right at this moment.” This would prove to be the first time of many that night where I was stirred and inspired.

As we shuffled inside the gorgeous chandelier-lit dining room, decorated in WIL’s colors of chocolate brown and turquoise blue we sat down to a three course meal which proved to be only part of the nourishment for the evening ahead. Andrea Holmes; four time Canadian Paralympic Champion and 2010 Paralympic Hopeful was the keynote for the event and strutted up on stage to give a memorable speech that would kick off the night flawlessly. Andrea got the crowd’s attention immediately as she stated she is a superwoman because she was wearing 3 inch heels with one leg, and because received laser hair removal that day (insert empathetic sigh from crowd here).

Her message was that of believing in yourself no matter what (in her case even when her prosthetic leg, heavy with ski equipment flew ahead of her down a mountain and she had to chase after it). She shared sentiments of her struggles (being told she could not compete), her accomplishments (competing in Greece and holding the torch for Canada in the Beijing Olympics) and wise words (“when we wake up, we have two choices, chase your dreams, or keep dreaming”). Needless to say, Andrea has chased her dreams and continues to. By the end of the speech there was not a dry eye in the house and I was ready for the girl to tear off her shirt to reveal a Superwoman “S” underneath.

The night continued with multiple fashion shows, a silent auction including diamonds bid right off Maya herself and dessert (naturally). As the evening wrapped up I was reminded of what I think we already know, but forget to remind ourselves: we are exactly where we should be right at this moment and entirely perfect as we are. The “S” in Superwoman is the strength in each woman, whether they see it or not, it is there, and such a night had each woman dusting off their cape to be reminded of just that.

 Azita Ardakani is a social media enthusiast, relentless inspiration junkie and advocate of change. You can find her tweeting away and consulting on new media strategies for organizations, companies and super women alike.  www.twitter.com/lovesocial

The 2009 WIL mentorship program is more than half-way through and I am so lucky to have been paired up with such a fantastic mentor. And judging from the feedback received from other participants — mentees and mentors — they too, feel the same. You will also be pleasantly surprised at this year’s roster. Mentors and mentees hail from a wide range of industries, including Aboriginal education, accounting, events, finance, hospitality, IT, law, marketing, not-for-profit, public service, real estate, retail, small business, and students undertaking their undergraduate or graduate degree. It can’t get any better than this when you’re a mentee and you have this impressive line-up of women to learn from. I am in awe.

One of the perks of this program is the opportunity to participate in a variety of professional leadership training workshops. Mentors are shown how to hone and further their leadership skills while mentees are guided through topics such as self-esteem and courage, networking, public speaking and financials to increase confidence so that they too, can become women leaders.

When recently asked how the program is going so far, I was inspired by the commonality in responses. Mentors value the friendship that has blossomed, see the match as a two-way partnership of never-ending learning opportunities, and are simply enjoying the experience and gaining a lot of satisfaction from it.

“It’s a good partnership, and I think my mentee has as much life experience as me. There is so much to talk about that it’s not just about business. I’ve learned a lot from my mentee and am finding it very enriching.” — Rahima Shahban, Mentor

Mentees are grateful for their mentor’s guidance and resourcefulness, and for that someone who genuinely wants to see them succeed.

“It’s hard to find someone who wants to see you succeed, and my mentor helps me find the answers I seek.” — Gina Miller, Mentee

From the looks of it, I’m positive that many of these friendships will flourish beyond the 6-month program. And that’s something to smile about.

In addition, a number of mentees, including myself, have furthered our roles with WIL by volunteering on the Marketing-Communications team. This team was created to build awareness for WIL, deepen relationships with existing audiences, and increase participation in WIL programs and events. We look forward to meeting you at a future WIL event!

Sherel Loo is a mentee in the 2009 Mentorship program;  Editor of WIL’s monthly newsletter; and a volunteer member of WIL’s marketing & communications team.   Her day job is Assistant Director of Communications, Canadian Education Centre Network.