International Women鈥檚 Day was first celebrated on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The United Nations later started celebrating on March 8.
The theme for International Women鈥檚 Day this year is Choose to Challenge.
鈥淲e can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality,鈥� reads the IWD website. 鈥淲e can all choose to seek out and celebrate women鈥檚 achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.鈥�
For more information see internationalwomensday.com.
Thirty-two years before she became the first female chief administrative officer for the city, Dawn Low was a high school student sitting behind Marlene Blayney taking notes on a stenotype.
Low studied office administration in Grade 12 and worked with Blayney, who was the executive assistant to Revelstoke鈥檚 corporate administrator at the time.
鈥淪he was a really hard, strong lady, but I looked up to her,鈥� Low said.
But it wasn鈥檛 there that Low鈥檚 career started with the city.
After high school she got her business degree in 91大黄鸭.
Soon Low got married and had kids.
She had to balance work as a stay at home mom by owning a road building business with her husband. Low was in charge of payroll and accounting.
When the marriage crumbled, she was thrown back into the workforce.
鈥淚t was exciting,鈥� she recalled.
She was working at CIBC and taking courses at Okanagan College when a job opened up in the city鈥檚 finance department.
Thinking it was a good opportunity to provide for her children, she applied.
鈥淥ne of the payroll clerks remembered me from my high school days with the city.鈥�
From the finance department she moved to a planning assistant role
At the time, the planning department was growing, Low recalled, so she went back to school to be a level one building inspector. But then the 2008 recession hit and the position she was vying for was cut.
鈥淭here was a lot going on. I look back at that now and think, 鈥楬ow did I do that? How did I go that hard that long?,鈥欌�� she said.
鈥淏ut it is amazing what you can do when you are motivated and determined.鈥�
In 2009 Low moved 鈥渦pstairs鈥� to the corporate administration department. While there had been a couple of staff leave and though everyone was doing their best, Dawn said there was a lot of work to be done. She remembers feeling like she was in over her head.
鈥淭here was just so much responsibility up there and I felt I needed to do a deep dive into the technical aspect of the job,鈥� she said.
So, while she moved through ranks from administrative assistant, to executive assistant to director, she studied local government administration and leadership development at Capilano University.
During her studies she nurtured an interest in the CAO role, so when Allan Chabot resigned and council asked if she was ready, she stepped up to the plate.
She filled in as interim and then acting CAO before officially appointed in December 2019.She is the city鈥檚 first female CAO since Revelstoke鈥檚 establishment in 1899.
A quick survey of 30 municipalities in the Interior shows there are just three other women holding a top job in a city.
Of the seven regional districts in the area it appears there are no female CAOs.
In the team photos from her high school days Low can be found as a coach, in full getup, rather than a player. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of neat to be in this position, it is very similar to coaching. You see the big picture, you have a vision and you try and take all these talented well meaning people and guide them to become champions for the community.鈥�
editor@revelstoketimesreview.com
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