Women Leaders series: The view from Ottawa – Janice Charette in conversation with Melanie Dawes

Janice Charette was appointed Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet in the Canadian Government in October 2014, following a 15-year career in the civil service that included periods as Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). She worked in the private sector from 1996 to 1999, both as Principal at Ernst & Young and as Director of the Transition Team for the newly-formed Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Melanie Dawes is the recently-appointed Permanent Secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government and the civil service gender diversity champion. She was previously head of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat in the Cabinet Office, and Director General for Business Taxation in HMRC. She began her career in the Treasury, which she joined as an economist.   

At this event, Janice and Melanie discussed the position of women in the civil service in Canada and the UK, and consider how Canada prepares women for top roles.