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Women of Influence Evening Series – Catherine Reitman

On May 3rd, 2017, we hosted the Women of Influence Evening Series in downtown Toronto, featuring Catherine Reitman: comedian, producer and actor of Workin’ Moms. We sat down with Catherine to hear the candid truth about the challenges of being a working mother, and how she juggles it all.   

What we learned:

  • Catherine’s early career in Television: Catherine never really identified with the roles she was going after, and once her first child was born she became worried about losing herself, and the things that made her special.  After encouragement from her husband she wrote down her feelings and Workin’ Moms was created.
  • The most important thing to Catherine when she created Workin’ Moms was that the characters be authentic, three dimensional women over 30.
  • What is the best thing that can happen when talking about the struggles of being a mother?“The more we talk about it, the more we promote this conversation as common, which it is. There will be better structures in place and a better understanding so that it is not seen as a stigma, it won’t be something that’s wrong with us, it’ll become an asset that makes our work richer and more sophisticated.”
  • How important was it to have diversity represented in the cast? Since there is no other show on television like Workin’ Moms, it was important to be diverse so that viewers could identify with the characters.
  • The biggest lesson Catherine learned was how important it is to forgive yourself. The moment that you can begin to forgive yourself for feeling guilty about working long hours is the moment you maintain a healthy identity for yourself.

 

Congratulations to Rachel Gervais!  Concluding the evening events, we announced the winner of our VIP Membership Experience Giveaway. Thanks to the generous contributions from our sponsors, Rachel has access to a spot in the short-format executive education program offered by the Smith School of Business, a spa basket courtesy of Captivate, a full wardrobe makeover from Handled and back-up child care from Kids & Company.

 

Photography by Clix Visions Photography