President and CEO of TransAlta Dawn Farrell in her corporate headquarters in Calgary on April 5, 2019.
Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
With days left before she retires, Dawn Farrell has some advice she warns is controversial. Asked to reflect on the lack of women at the top rungs in corporate Canada, the chief executive of TransAlta Corp. says as a starting point women themselves have to choose to stay in difficult, high-pressure jobs – even when there’s fierce jockeying for positions, even when they would rather not deal with the fights and conflict.
“The first thing that has to change is the women,” she says. “They want to lead in politics, they want to lead companies, and they want to lead organizations. And they can’t cut out halfway through when it gets tough. The women have to stay in the game.”
Ms. Farrell, 61, has long been one of those rare CEOs who voices …