Caitlin Salter MacDonald will officially take on the role of City Clerk on April 12, 2024.
With the hiring of Caitlin MacDonald as the incoming city clerk, the City of Ottawa's top leadership is now half female. CBC spoke with four veteran managers about the challenges they’ve overcome and how far the city still needs to go.Caitlin Salter MacDonald is on camera weekly sitting just in front of Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, but the spotlight is rarely on her — and that's just the way she likes it.
When Salter MacDonald was named successor to longtime clerk Rick O'Connor on Wednesday, she became a member of Ottawa's senior management and tipped the scales toward gender parity. On the occasion of International Women's Day, CBC spoke to four of those at the top about the gradual shift in culture that's allowed them to reach this milestone, and the challenges that remain.From harassment to imposter syndrome, managers tell CBC's Elyse Skura the culture for women at City Hall is changing.When looked at over the course of decades, Salter MacDonald says the changes at city hall are stark.
Her hard work and perseverance has led to a long tenure at the city, culminating in her current role overseeing the infrastructure and water services department — and $72 billion of municipal assets.Another engineer-turned-manager is Renée Amilcar, who moved to Ottawa from Montreal after the troubled opening for Ottawa's new light rail transit system.
The challenges have made her fiercely protective of her team, and toughened her skin. But that comes naturally to women in competitive fields, she said. "I've heard it's a common experience for women to not feel they're qualified to do something unless they tick every box," Salter MacDonald said. Take out emergency services personnel and the number jumps to above 40 per cent, well above the 25 per cent a half decade prior.
A different but equally impactful incident has been following Rose around for decades. Early in her career, she was in a meeting with two male colleagues who commented on her recent weight loss. Tammy Rose, seated, general manager of infrastructure and water services at the city of Ottawa, with employees Dylan Samuel and Lisa Petch. While Rose had to reach back more than 30 years to find that anecdote, the city has been no stranger to harassment in recent years — though the most public example happened within councillors' offices.The shocking revelations underscored the need to create an environment where women who face harassment feel comfortable enough to speak out.
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