2020 Constantine-Yorkville Virtual Run
2020 Constantine-Yorkville
Virtual Run
September 19th, 2020 (or 26th if raining)
GEM Voices

Women of Influence Luncheon: Tina Brown

Written By
Aaliyah, GEM Alumna
January 16, 2023

At GEM, we know that insight and inclusion from other women only makes us stronger. This is what makes mentorship so powerful.

Last month, GEM had the opportunity to attend the 25th anniversary of the Women of Influence Luncheon series. And what better way to celebrate mentorship than with women influencing other women?

The luncheon, which took place on May 21st, featured keynote speaker Tina Brown, former editor-in-chief of The New Yorker as well as Vanity Fair. Brown is something of a media mogul. Aside from increasing the readership of the two latter magazines, she is the author of the best selling Vanity Fair Diaries and The Diana Chronicles. Additionally, she launched the online newsite The Daily Beast in October of 2008, and is the founder of the annual Women in the World Summit.

Journalist Tina Brown has shown us, in her own words, that “women lead differently” and we hope that her idea of putting the spotlight on women who are resilient and successful in the face of adversity becomes far more widespread.

I left the luncheon with several take-aways from Brown.

Women have to be gold at a silver job.

In her onstage interview led by CTV’s Marcia MacMillan, Brown spoke about the many feats of her career, including how being a woman in a traditionally male practice shaped her. She was only 25 when she started as the first female editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair – which she said took some getting used to for the team around her. Brown said that she would often face harsher criticism on the job than her male peers. “Women have to be gold at a silver job,” she told the audience.

Women supporting women fosters team spirit.

Amongst other things, one of the things she said she is most proud of was bringing on more women for the team at The New Yorker. She said that having more women on the team helped many of them bond over things that created a better team spirit. “In those days women didn’t really talk about the struggle,” said Brown. For example, many of the women she worked with were working mothers side by side, which in turn helped them juggle all the things that came with it.

Unsung heroes have the best stories.

While at The Daily Beast, Brown knew she had to continue working.“It’s all about passion, and I’m someone who loves being in the arena,” she said. It was at this time she was also thinking about many of the “unforeseen forces” she says that she had seen many women face throughout the trajectory of their lives. This was when she launched the annual Women in the World Summit.

Brown said she modelled the summit after the structure of a magazine. Described as a ‘live journalism event’ the summit has a board that mentors women from developing countries. They bring their stories to the summit, focusing on global issues of equality ranging from education rights to women’s labour laws. “They were heroes as far as I could see,” Brown said.

Like a magazine, the story would be coupled with a celebrity element (i.e. celebrity guests like Hillary Clinton, Meryl Streep or Queen Rania of Jordan). But the main objective of the summit remains the same; to learn from other women.

I myself am a young woman trying to pursue journalism, and hearing from a veteran like Tina Brown inspires me to no end. Her story taught me that no matter what challenges you face, if you truly have a passion for your craft you can succeed.

Women of Influence is a North American based organization that focuses on the professional empowerment and advancement of women in the workplace. The Women of Influence Luncheon series aims to honour “the accomplishments of extraordinary professional women along their journey to success”, according to their website.

Support #TeamGEM at this year’s Yorkville Virtual Run!

This year, the Yorkville Run will be held virtually from September 13th to September 27th, 2020. Below are the different ways you can participate and support us this year.

1) REGISTER TO Run or Walk with #TEAMGEM

Together, from the safety and comfort of our own neighbourhoods (or anywhere you choose, as long as it abides social distancing rules) we will be RUNNING or WALKING for #TeamGEM on September 19th, 2020 (or on September 26th if it’s raining).

Click here to register

All registered participants will receive a Premium Race Kit and customized Starter's Medal.

To prove your participation, you must do one of the following:

  • Record your run by using our custom Starter's Medal and/or a GPS App such as STRAVA, ASICS RUN KEEPER, or NIKE PLUS and submit your time and a photo of your time to your Race Roster profile.
  • Post a selfie/run photo or video taken during or after your run on Facebook or Instagram and follow @YorkvilleRun and tag ​#TeamGEM, #YorkvilleRun, and #Constantine5K. There are several partner prizes to be won!
2) SPONSOR A GEMGIRL TO PARTICIPATE

We have a roster of GEMgirls who would like to run for #TeamGEM. Donate now to help them register!

SPONSOR A GEMGIRL
3) Donate to a #teamGEM runner

If you can't make it, you can also support a #TEAMGEM runner.

SPONSOR A RUNNER
Dates to Remember
Tuesday, September 8th
to Saturday, September 12th, 2020
Race Kit Pick-up. Participants will be notified via email where in Yorkville you can pick up your race kit.
Sunday, September 13th, 2020
at 9:00 AM
Virtual Event Kick-Off. Join the Constantine Yorkville Run’s Virtual Event Kick-Off by tuning into Facebook & Instagram Live.
Saturday, September 19th, 2020
Run or walk anytime, anywhere for #TeamGEM!
Saturday, September 26th, 2020
#TeamGEM's back up day should weather prevent the run on the 19th.
Saturday, September 26th, 2020
at 5:00 PM
Winners of the Constantine-Yorkville Run’s fundraising prizes will be determined.
Sunday, September 27th, 2020
at 9:00 AM
Join the Constantine-Yorkville Run’s Virtual Event Closing Ceremony by tuning into Facebook & Instagram Live. Hear from our partners and share in the run's exciting fundraising achievement! Fundraising prizes will also be rewarded.

Your support at the Constantine-Yorkville Run this year will raise awareness and funds for the GEM program, which directly impacts young women in our communities and gives them the skills and tools they need to succeed.

Thank you for supporting mentorship!

Questions? Contact us at info@girlsementorship.com

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Share your participation and support on social media! You can retweet/share GEM’s run postings or use our branded material for the run.

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