Daphne Taras is this years Women of Distinction Award recipient for education. She has been a trailblazer for women in male-dominated fields.
On June 8, you will be recognized with a YWCA Toronto’s Women of Distinction Award. Can you share what this award means to you?
When I told my adult children that I received this honour, they pointed out that I am neither Young or Christian, and that clearly YWCA Toronto embraces diversity! (YWCA Toronto is a secular organization and works with women, girls and gender diverse people of all faiths, backgrounds and ages).
This recognition comes at a time when my formal leadership role as Dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management is ending. After feeling the responsibility of stewarding 14,000 humans – students, faculty and staff – through the pandemic, I was depleted, running on empty. I knew I had to model resilience, honesty, and confidence. I loved “my” Ted Rogers School of Management, and brought my real self to my job. My integrity demonstrates that a woman can be hard-driving, and laser-focused on positive change while maintaining morale. To be nominated by my team in recognition of my work is a rare show of solidarity, and I am grateful.
What do you envision for the future in your sector?
My sector, higher education, needs a shakeup. Often students are more tech-savvy than the people teaching them and are facing uncertainties that their job-secure professors have rarely faced. The first thing that I hope to see grow in the future of higher education is co-op jobs, which are already popular in the education space, but need to be scaled up. In five years, including throughout the pandemic, the Ted Rogers School co-op grew from 300 to 2,400 placements of business students in good career-building jobs and brought about $110 million into the hands of students to help with the costs of education.
Second, our sector has to put more emphasis on retaining the students we accept. It is not okay with me that over 20 percent of our students do not graduate. Many students leave due to financial pressures, family issues, the need for tutoring, or even simple boredom. That is a massive loss of talent. Every student is an individual, and we need to do better with proactive advising, noticing effort or the lack thereof, and building relationships.
Third, colleges and universities ought to be working more harmoniously. In tough budget times, it is natural to compete for students, qualified staff, and for talented professors; but there are so many things we could do together if we start embracing the idea that we exist for positive social impact. I am proud to be an educator, a researcher, and a mentor within a sector that is larger than any one school, province or country. I want us to grow paths, build bridges, and move away from old bureaucracies.
What advice do you wish you could share with your younger self?
My dear, it will all be okay in the end if you just keep going. All the confusion will fall away, and when you are in your 50s, all of your different personas will integrate. Everything you do, every hurdle you miss, every tear you shed, every decision you make culminates into who you will become. Teenage you wants to be a ballet dancer, and you have talent, but not enough. It will break your heart, but you have to pivot from that dream. Your brain is your future. Keep getting an education; you are on the track that is meant for you. You will have an impact on many lives through your academic leadership. You are meant to be an academic talent spotter. Someday, a few words of guidance from you will change people's lives for the better. You will find love, have a family, and do it all; but not at the same time. For you, the dream of a "balanced lifestyle" is ridiculous. In the end, it will be your resilience that is your superpower.
Who are some women that inspire you, including WOD Alumni (past and present)?
I have two degrees in political science from different universities, and in all of those years of study, I only had one female professor, Dr. Naomi Black, at York University. I did not recognize how important it was at the time, but now I see clearly that students need to see role models who are like them. Dr. Black was female, had children, was Jewish, married, and also a professor. This resonated in my brain. And I cannot count how many times my young female faculty have told me what it means to them to have a female dean of business.
Today, I am inspired by Dr. Wendy Cukier, who was honoured as a Woman of Distinction by YWCA Toronto in 1996. Wendy is resilient and indefatigable, and her Diversity Institute makes such a profound difference to thousands of people.
Finally, every day, I am inspired by the younger generation of women who are emerging leaders.
February 22 was #YWCATorontoDay, proclaimed by the City of Toronto to recognize YWCA Toronto’s 150th anniversary. From your perspective, what would you say are YWCA Toronto’s greatest accomplishments over the years?
YWCA Toronto has built a network of support for girls, women, gender diverse people and families that is robust and changes with the times. We should never take for granted how difficult it must have been for YWCA leaders to locate housing, retrofit buildings, raise funds, and provide direct services. Advocacy matters, of course, but my goodness, the concrete services and housing are marvels.