Women Who Lead: Ageism is bad for business webinar

Kate de Medeiros, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal. Her research is broadly focused on understanding the experience of later life using narratives and other qualitative and mix-methods approaches. Research topics include what makes a good life in later life, the importance of everyday risks in later life; home, place, and identity; ageism; and friendships and social connectivity in older age. She has authored or co-authored more than 60 research articles and book chapters. She is the author of Narrative Gerontology in Theory, Research and Practice and The Short Guide to Aging and Gerontology, co-author of Aging in a Global Context, and co-editor of the Critical Humanities and Ageing: Forging Interdisciplinary Dialogues. She is the editor of the open-access journal Narrative Works, the series editor for the Bloomsbury series on aging and medical humanities, an associate editor for the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, as well as a member of several journal editorial boards.

Linda Dyer, PhD, studies the organizational impact of demographic diversity, specifically in age, ethnicity, and gender. A second stream of research focuses on interpersonal the owners of small firms and their employees, and owner-managers interactions with professional business advisors. One current project explores age stereotypes and how they might affect the self-efficacy of mid-career and late-career employees. Another project involves aging business owners who continue to lead their enterprises, with a focus on motivation, identity, and performance. Her research draws on theories of individual cognition, cognitive biases, learning, and the interplay between emotions and performance.

For the past 19 years Gillian Leithman, PhD, has spent her time in corporate Canada teaching soft skills and managerial training to employees, and at Concordia University where she is an Adjunct Professor in the John Molson School of Business. Much of her work centres on teaching employees and students how to develop interpersonal skills in and out of the boardroom. She has conducted seminars for companies such as SAP, ServiceNow, BDC, The RCMP, Distech, Bell Canada, among others.

The focus of her research is on aging workers, knowledge sharing cultures, age friendly organizations and the retirement transition. Her commentary has been featured in the Montreal Gazette, CBC's Cross-Country Check-up, The Wall Street Journal, The National Post, The Canadian HR Reporter, The Financial Post, Forbes, Next Avenue, and the Conversation Canada.

Gillian holds degrees in Psychology, Management, and a PhD focusing on aging workers and retirement transition. Gillian is the founder of Rewire to Retire and Life Skills Toolbox.

Kim Sawchuk, PhD, is the Director of engAGE: Centre for Research on Aging Montreal and the ACTLab (Aging + Communication + Technology), Concordia University. She holds a Concordia University Research Chair in Mobile Media Studies, which focuses on how older adults engage with digital technologies in their everyday lives. This work intersects with Critical Disability Studies. Kim was the Editor of the Canadian Journal of Communication and has written numerous articles, book chapters, and policy reports on aging with technology. Her research often involves participatory action methods, and finding creative collaborative solutions to shared social issues, in the name of social justice. She has served on the Board of RECAA (Respecting Elders: Communities Against Abuse) since 2013 and is also a member of the RECAA Choir.