Shades readers, we hope you are having an awesome March as we look forward to some nicer weather (in Toronto at least!) coming soon. 

We started off the month with a focus on the theme of interpersonal skills and how important they are both from a professional and  a personal standpoint, however, we decided that we will tackle that topic later on.  Given that we recently celebrated International Women’s Day, we are going to focus instead on influential women.  We know quite a few of them! 

The Canadian government recently launched an online gallery, celebrating women who have made an impact in Canada.  You can find this gallery at https://cfc-swc.gc.ca/commemoration/woi-fic/index-en.html and the description states that the gallery is “dedicated to women's achievements, featuring profiles of courageous women who have made an impact in politics, the arts and sciences, and countless other fields. By sharing their stories, we can cement their place in history and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.”

It really is quite amazing to look through the gallery and read the stories of all of these women who have made an impact (#MakeAnImpact) in their field.  What struck us was that there were not a lot of contemporary women or stories yet.  The good news is that the program allows you to nominate a woman of impact so we encourage you to nominate someone who you think has contributed to the landscape of our country in a pioneering and positive way. 

One Canadian woman who is blazing trails and who was in the headlines this week is Lilly Singh.  Also known by her online pseudonym, IISuperwomanII, Lilly started posting YouTube videos in 2010, chronicling her daily life, her feelings and her relationships.  Lilly’s videos are funny and almost always relatable in some way to everyone as she talks about everything from how to deal with her Indian parents to horrible bosses. She has steadily created a name for herself with her videos and her various social media channels and she now has well over 14 million subscribers to prove it!  But it doesn’t end there.  She has also written a book, she acts and she is a philanthropist.  Her message is always one of inclusion and positivity.   Now she can add ‘late night talk show host’ to her list of accomplishments as she recently announced that she will be launching her show, A Little Late With Lilly Singh, on NBC in the Fall.  Check out her video announcement at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RkJ-67xqwo.

An Indian-Canadian woman with a late night talk show…sounds pretty influential and impactful to us.  Congratulations Lilly! 

Have a great week, Shades readers!  Tell us about the influential women in your lives and don’t forget to share us on your social media channels!