Ep 6: The GR Playbook - Navigating Public Affairs & Communications

This week on #FEMPIRE, I’m joined by Rita Rahmati, an absolute force in government relations and communications. From early days writing for the Western Gazette to leading national advocacy for Canada's building trades unions, she's been at the heart of policy and influence across multiple sectors. Now, as the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, she's tackling industry advocacy head-on, especially in the face of U.S. tariff uncertainty.

In this episode, we dive into the highs, lows, and complexities of government relations while tackling the unique barriers women face at work—especially in the trades. From workplace discrimination to childcare struggles and even access to proper gear, we’re not holding back.

But it's not just about the challenges! Hear the incredible story of how a dedicated, multi-year campaign secured the Skilled Labour Mobility Tax Deduction – a policy win that brought all major political parties on board to support tradespeople. It’s proof that strategic advocacy and perseverance can pay off, big time!

Beyond the policy talk, we dive into invaluable career advice (hint: network like your career depends on it!), overcoming imposter syndrome, the unique pressures faced by women and daughters of immigrants aiming high, and why feminism, at its core, is about choice. Get ready for an engaging conversation filled with practical wisdom, personal insights, and maybe even a Taylor Swift reference!

Transcript

#FEMPIRE - Rita Rahmati

00:00:00 Julia Pennella: Welcome back to Hashtag Fempire. Today we're sitting down with Rita Rahmati, an absolute force in government relations and communications. From early days writing for the Western Gazette to leading national advocacy for Canada's building trades unions, she's been at the heart of policy and influence across multiple sectors. Now, as the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, she's tackling industry advocacy head-on, especially in the face of U.S. tariff uncertainty. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on what it's really like working in government relations, public affairs, and politics. We're talking about the wins, the challenges, and what it takes to navigate the high-stakes world of policy. Plus, we get real about the challenges women face in the trades, navigating male-dominated spaces, and the power of mentorship.

00:00:55 Julia Pennella: And you know, it wouldn't be a hashtag FEMPIRE episode without diving into feminism, community, and the fight for women's rights. So, let's get into it.

00:01:13 Unknown: Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of hashtag #FEMPIRE Today I have Rita Rahmati here. And I'm really excited for this conversation. So Rita, thank you so much for being here. Thanks so much for having me, Julia. It's great to reconnect with you after a little while. Yes, and I think one of the first questions I want to get out the gate is You've spent a lot of time in politics, which is where we've met, and government relations, so I'd love to get your take on how you're feeling about the current political climate in Canada and the US. there's so much happening on both sides of the border, from policy shifts to election talk What's standing out to you the most in this time, and how do you think these developments are shaping the work Being done in the government relations space. To be honest, my initial reaction to that question is just I'm really disheartened by everything that's going on right now it's a really tough time for anyone and anyone working in politics and. Sometimes I'll hop on calls with some of our senior government officials and they look sad and I'm sad and we're all trying to navigate these really unchartered Waters and it's really difficult and then we go on social media and it's just makes everything worse too you read negative comments you see people disagreeing and. the media can be disheartening as well, too. I compare it almost to what we went through when the pandemic happened. It's just a really tough, challenging time in, politics and with the tariffs and everything, sometimes it feels like a bit of a dystopian novel, like an episode out of The Handmaid's Tale or something. I just sometimes can't believe the things that we're hearing elected officials, the highest levels of government in the most powerful countries. Saying and that's why I think more than ever before it's important for any of us who sort of work in politics and government relations to. Take your weekends off if you can, although sometimes these announcements come out on weekends and take a step back and whatnot in your evenings if you can, because it is really challenging and worrisome right now. Absolutely. I totally agree with you. And it's overwhelming, especially we have that social media element where we're always plugged in, like it's inevitable to escape or you're walking around and you hear a news headline or hearing other people talking about it's definitely forefront for a lot of Canadians. as you said, overwhelming, upsetting, but it's interesting to see how much patriotism has also come from this. You know, the booing at different sports games and it's not booing to Americans or those athletes, but it's everything that's happening and that impact on Canadians. So it's really interesting dynamics and we're both younger and in this space. I'm sure this is just going to be something for the history books that we're going to look back to in twenty years. Even just to your point about COVID, looking back at that five years ago, like, holy cow, we didn't think we would be where we are today, right? Yeah, and it is great to see everyone rallying behind Canada in Canada. we do see some of those sentiments coming from our counterparts in The US or just everyday citizens in America being like, this person doesn't speak for me. And we live in Ontario. So the LCBO taking. Down all the American alcohol and then Canadians really rallying behind it. Like I was at a friend's house over the weekend and we're all checking, is the beer you're drinking Canadian? Is that wine Canadian? And everyone's really to support. The team Canada approach. It's really, really nice to see. Absolutely. And yeah, the team Canada approach is huge and it's great that we've. Taking this big scary thing of government and policy and it's in our homes now and really taking that patriotic initiative and nationalism kind of tied to it with our food and our purchasing

00:04:48 Unknown: I want to dive into your diverse professional background. we'll be getting into more specifics of your career, but I wanted to start at the very beginning with your time as a political science student and a journalist. Can you take us back to that time in school? I know it's a bit some time ago, but I wanted you to share to our audience how those early experiences maybe shaped the trajectory of your career. Like, did you ever think you would end up where you are now? Yeah, I actually always love talking about my time back at university and my time at the student newspaper because it is completely shaped where I am in my career and it might not seem on paper that it did it might seem you know you're a student journalist how did that get you. To do the other things that you've done, but it absolutely did. I wouldn't be where I am without it. I was a student journalist most of my time at university and it was a very intense environment. It was almost a forty hour work week. In the student newspaper every day. It was really fun and energizing and great to be around so many other people who were so passionate about journalism and politics and just the community that we had at our university, so I went to Western and It's about 30,000 people and our newspaper actually when I first started I think they were publishing four times a week so that's pretty much a daily newspaper but it was a lot of work, but it was super rewarding. And, you know, you got to learn how to work on your toes. I made my copy editing skills really, really good. but teaches you a lot of valuable skills that I think transfer to a lot of different sectors. I would say that I got more value out of being involved in the student newsroom than I did out of even my classes. I think that sounds crazy. It's like I paid however much money I paid to go to university, but I got more out of essentially a volunteer position than I did. Out of university and it directly led to my first big internship, which was in the prime minister's office, because actually the director of communications at the time he had been a student journalist, but he saw that I had had. And even more senior position than he had at his student newspaper. So he's like, oh, great. Like, you know, let's hire her. I think that was a big part of it, too. So absolutely wouldn't be where I am without it. that's great and talking about those incredible skills you learn and it's funny you say that because I find a lot of the theme when I have these conversations is either I went to school and never used any of the education because I ended up in a completely different space. Or it was from those hands-on volunteer experiences where you have that opportunity to explore your passion. And then expand on those skills and then build from there. So that's really great that you had that experience and then it led to that, opportunity at PMO, uh, which we'll get into. And, and I think that's actually a great segue of. You also hold a master's in political management from Carleton University and later worked in the prime minister's office. So how do you feel that program prepared you for the realities of working in government and navigating the political landscape? You and I have both been in the thick of it. It's not something you can necessarily learn in a classroom. There's a lot of unique intricacies of managing a minister and their schedule and their personality quirks and. Dealing with the bureaucracy, like there's only so much you can learn in the classroom, but that practical hands-on really makes a huge difference. So yeah, I'd just love to hear about your experience. Of translating those skills, did you find there was a gap or, or what did you learn on the job that really stood out for you? of the two, programs that I have degrees in the one that I definitely found more valuable in my career was the master's of political management, at Carleton university, not because it was a master's per se, but because. Undergraduate programs, especially in the social sciences or the liberal arts, they're really theory based you're writing a lot of essays you're doing thesis papers but you're not doing a lot of that practical. Hands on learning there were a few courses that I took actually my undergrad that were really helpful in that sense. For example, a polling course that I took it really made you understand the practical. Side of things when it comes to polling, but do I talk about Aristotle or Plato in my day-to-day life As a government relations staffer, no, absolutely not. But what I did learn in my master's of political management, it was all practical. It's an applied master's. So, it's less academic. Our professors were all, folks who had actually had hands-on government experience. So former chiefs of staffs to prime ministers and directors of policies and They're all people that we really looked up to and, you know, would love to emulate their careers and some of my colleagues, my classmates have gone on to emulate their careers as well. And it would be fun you have a professor who you just saw on the news talking about something and then you come into the classroom and they're there teaching you and it's really neat because you get to talk to them about things that are happening. In the real world at that moment, sometimes I think now that I'm. Not in school anymore, I wish I could pop back into that classroom just because there's so many chaotic things going on and like what does happen when a prime minister resigns and then you get a new. Leader does an election get called or how does that work and I just know that those are the types of conversations I would have had with that class and they're really practical helpful conversations to have and. Fruitful debates and everything. And a lot of what we did in that program as well, was preparing to be a staffer for MP. Your MP does not have time to read A ten page report on something they want in one page, tell them what they need to know. So it was super valuable from that perspective. And whether you're working in government or other roles, I think that's all. Very helpful to know to be concise and get your point across without going on and 100% like those are critical skills that it's great to hear that you've learned that in the classroom and then again that practical on the ground experience because you need those elevator pitches News breaks and you got to tell your minister within thirty seconds before he hops on a camera or a hot mic of what's going on because he needs to know how to respond and there's a lot of pressure associated with that But it's fun. It's an adrenaline rush. At least I experienced it that way because the stakes are so high. Any fun Experiences or memories that stick out to you of working as a political staffer that you wanted to share or that you can share. I should preface that as well. So my term as a political staffer was technically pretty short. It was one internship that I did over a summer and then I went into my master's program. I think just what I learned was people in political offices are real people. Like they come in tired and hangry or, you know, they're sick of what they're seeing on the news too. They're regular people because coming from the outside, not having actually worked in politics at all before going straight to the prime minister's office. I didn't know how things run. And I think I just had this image of everyone. In those high level offices wears these suits that are super serious all the time and you know they're either trying to make life better or make life worse for you it's like no they're they're regular people and a lot of them are young and just trying to move ahead in their careers and they do care and they have passions but they're. They're normal people. they're no different than anybody else. It was just fun to sort of see that perspective of everything.

00:11:49 Unknown: you worked and represented Canada's building trade unions, With your role there, you're advocating for a huge range of skilled trades from plumbers, electricians, painters, bricklayers, you name it. it's a big umbrella. And all of these are such critical roles, especially now as Canada's working to build more homes and infrastructure. When you were working there, what gaps did you notice in government policy when it came to supporting. These workers and these trades and what kind of advocacy did you do that led to help strengthen and support the industry? I will say I do feel that the government was largely supportive of us like everyone was looking to help us maybe not every policy was the right policy or needs improvements but everyone we spoke with across the political aisle was always willing to listen to us because. they did understand the importance of these essential jobs in society and these are the people building our infrastructure. So I, I really appreciated that perspective of it and help make my job a little bit easier because it wasn't Such a struggle to convince people to at least have a meeting with us or discuss these issues they were open to it was more getting when you get into the details where some of the the challenges and disagreements might arise so that was very nice and that's not always the case for all industries as i've learned. Policy wise, I think one area that I flag that maybe still is a challenge but has come a good chunk of the way is Supports for women in the building trades, women in sort of those hands on labor jobs. We spoke with a lot of women who talked about challenges with child care, for example. Childcare, a lot of those programs, they start at 8am and end at 5pm or nine to four sort of those regular working hours, but tradespeople might have to get on the job at six in the morning. Or stay on the job till eight p.m. at night. And with all the shortages we had, this is going back maybe four years ago across Canada when it comes to daycare facilities and whatnot, it was really hard for these women to stay. In the building trades, given some of the responsibilities, unfortunately, we all know childcare is the responsibility of both parents, but a lot of times it does fall on the woman and the mother at the end of the day, and that would make some of them have to leave. The building trades and these are really good paying jobs that are, can help them stay in the middle class and even go above the middle class, you know? So that was always really disheartening to hear those stories, but it was also inspirational because I would hear about how these women would overcome. These obstacles and it was good to see $10 a day childcare come into place. I left the industry. So, you know, probably a year or two after being introduced I haven't really seen how that's fully been implemented but policies like that help woman get into these really good positions and jobs and another example of challenges that woman face on. Job sites is, the discrimination and, I've heard stories of women who are older and have been in the industry for a long time. And from what I've heard, it's gotten a lot better. societal views have changed companies and leaders have, put in measures and policies to try to support women. But of course there's always. More improvements to be made. And then, there's challenges that I think people wouldn't even think of, like, woman not having proper sanitary washrooms on job sites, you know? People don't love going in the porta potties and using urinals and whatnot. And there's been, a couple of really good campaigns run in different provinces to. To improve, those standards on job sites. I know, BC had run a really great campaign called, get flushed. And it was you do like a quiz and what kind of toilet are you or something like that and really fun visuals and like a silly way to get people engaged on something that's actually a really important issue. And unfortunately, those are realities that women in these spaces, feel maybe discouraged to go into because they are so male dominated. And I'm sure there has been progress, but there's always still more work to be to be done. A few things actually kind of perk up in my mind is, have you watched the show Shameless? I've seen clips but I've never fully watched it. one of the characters, she's a single mom and she ends up getting into welding because it's good money. And Found out she was being paid less than her colleagues and her manager gave the excuse that it's because she goes and does so many bathroom breaks. So she actually in this episode, like it's, it's a dark comedy show, but she wears a diaper the whole day and say, see, you can't charge me less now So it's a comical way, but it also is a reality but a way to get people engaged in talking about these Issues because, it might be ignorance and not being aware of these realities on the ground or like, you know, even just having your period and being in a port-a-potty.

00:16:18 Unknown: when I was at the building trades, didn't oversee it, but my, colleague ran, The Office to Advance Women Apprentices. So that was a program that was set up to support, women apprentices as they're entering the trades because that's another issue. A lot of women enter the trades, but they leave the trades quite quickly after because it's just not the right conditions and right fit for them. But, It can be if they have the right access to resources and support. It was a program that was in place to help these women navigate some of the challenges that they're facing. And sometimes it's enough just to be able to talk with another woman who's gone through the same experiences as you and know that, you're not crazy, you're not alone, or here's some. tools that they implemented to overcome it or that it can get better and whatnot. Just having those conversations is really important. Absolutely. Having that community is also a big theme like the power of community and our voices. And that's part of what inspired me to start this podcast and I want to uplift other women's voices because. Like you said, we're living in a dystopic time. We're seeing scary, scary policies that are pulling back women's rights, whether it be in DEI and having, women being able to work in different spaces, reproductive rights, you know, all, all these things, not to go through the long laundry list, but yeah, and the retention piece is also really important and it comes to these conversations and that's really critical. you've worked in diverse industries from, as you mentioned, construction, government, finance, and you're dealing with a lot of different stakeholders. And different elements as we just kind of talked about, all with their own priorities and opinions. How do you juggle diverse interests when it comes to advocacy and communications? That's a really interesting question, because as anyone who's worked in any sort of stakeholder relations role knows, it can be very challenging sometimes to navigate the diversity of opinions. I'll say it's much easier when you are working for one client, one association, one company. Then when you're, for example, a consultant lobbyist or a consultant person in public affairs, because there you have many different clients and they may quite frankly be advocating actively for different policies or policies that Do not, weld well together at all. but when you're at an association or company, and I've worked for a couple of associations now and companies, It's much easier to find a unifying voice, but even then, like even with right now we're going through with the tariffs right now, my members do have slightly different opinions on what Canada's response should be or what approach we should take and it's. My job to bring together all of those different perspectives and advocate for the policies that I think can serve the most amount of. People that I represent and that are also practical and doable it's not just about shooting for the stars for me it's always about what can I actually get done in the next six months what can I get done in the next two years and. I listen to everybody, but then it's our job and our roles to synthesize that information and help make it actually a reality and bring together all of those diverse views. And what kind of strategies do you go through and I asked this as someone maybe who's interested in getting into that communications field and might feel overwhelmed with coming from these different ideas you mentioned you know you listen What majority are bringing up different issues, but how do you yourself synthesize that information and pick out what's important or what should we be focusing on and what kind of strategy are you coming at it because you mentioned as well, you've got to be realistic. you can go to government and say, I want this, this, and this, but you as the expert also can say, this is not what government's going to sign up for. So I'm just curious from a strategy point, how do you usually dissect these pieces and work through them with your. Company, your stakeholders. Yeah. I'd say we implement a bunch of different tools. There's the obviously directly setting up meetings and calls, and I kind of always have an open door policy. If a member wants to speak with me, they have my cell phone number. And so I'm always happy to chat with people one-on-one and hear their perspectives and then take it back to my team We'll also do surveys to our membership to gauge a wider amount of views, And then it's having those conversations with your direct team. So I have a really great relationship with my boss right now, our president CEO, and we'll sit down and talk through, okay, well, so-and-so wants this and so-and-so wants that. And then we read this in the news and we're talking with our GR consultant and this is what they say and then we have to synthesize it all and Sometimes then we'll come up with our proposed strategy and what we think it should be, but then taking it back to maybe some of our board members or other members on the team to gauge their views, There's no one right way to do any of that, but I think for me it's I always want to be a good listener, especially when I'm new in a sector or there's other people who are more experienced and you and I are still young and I don't pretend to be an expert really. So I'm always open to hear different opinions and then I'll come to them with another suggestion. But I like to litmus test a lot of things with my members directly. If I can. Very well said. So the skills would be being open and not pigeonholing because I think that's what happens sometimes a lot when it comes to policy is being open to listening to those perspectives and another podcast I did where we talked about the importance of getting those firsthand on the ground perspectives because it really changed trajectory of again going back to women's experience on job sites. Without that, you can't build strategy. You can't build communication. So that's really great to hear that you're able to Take all this information thrown at you because it's also not just the voices of what your membership saying but you have to do the realities of like you said the news and also what's our budget and there's all these different elements so really interesting to hear how you juggle that and bring it all together so that's amazing. Just further to what you just said, you have to be really nimble and versatile in politics and government relations and public affairs. Things pop up that you have no control over, you know. Six months ago, we didn't know that there would be a provincial election or a federal election. We didn't know that tariffs would be in place. We had a whole different set of priorities and We have that as a national art association, but our members also had different priorities and then things change and you have to be willing to adjust and keep it moving. Yeah, adaptability is a huge skill and you've clearly honed in on that skill, And shifting a little bit, talking more about policy changes, I'd love to hear about Some significant policy changes you've maybe contributed to throughout your career and what did you learn from those experiences? when I was a consultant lobbyist, I got to have my hand in a lot of different pots and contribute a little bit to a lot of different policies. But the one that I'm probably the most proud of is when I was at the building trades, I got to dedicate almost a full two years of. My life and my career to it was the skilled labor mobility tax deduction. So for those who don't know, skilled trades workers often have to travel because it depends on where the infrastructure projects are going to be. The projects don't come to us. You have to go to the projects, right? And, it ebbs and floats different regions, we'll have different needs over time. Every few years, there's different cycles and, different types of investments in different areas. And, the skilled trades people will have to travel there To support those projects, that can be really taxing on them. Like, I'd say to anyone who's not in the skilled trades, can you imagine if, you know, every year you have to pick up and move yourself and your family and sort of start Your life all over or if there's a big project that comes up and it's really lucrative and it may only be for three months or six months and everyone knows here in Canada we have winter so then that takes away a couple months where we're able to really do work out there but. it's hard to pick up and move your lives. So we had heard that this is something that the industry had been advocating for at least twenty years from what I've heard was to implement a, Skilled labor mobility tax deduction the name changed a couple times but put some sort of incentive and support forward for these workers who have to move around to be able to provide an income for their families and to build our critical. Infrastructure and there weren't really any tax supports in place for them. So we advocated for about two years to be like this is something the industry had advocated for. Many years for decades, but we really decided this was going to be our top advocacy priority because it was something tangible, something we thought we could actually get done. It would have A real benefit to our members sometimes policies they're nice to have and they're more on that philosophical level, but this is a policy that people you're going to get money back when you file your taxes that is tangible and On the more philosophical side, you're going to feel more appreciated by your government because you're going to know that they recognize the hard work and the sacrifices that you and your family are making and they're going to support you with it. We put all of our energy and of course we're balancing other priorities and things came up but we put a lot of our energy into getting that policy introduced that was a change to the income tax act. And, we ran a letter writing campaign, launched a microsite, social media campaign, press releases, news conferences, lots of meetings with individual MPs on all, sides of the political spectrum. The thing that I'm most proud of with this, and I think it just it's a hopeful part of politics and politics. A lot of times everyone is constantly disagreeing and fighting, but this is a policy actually all of the major parties got behind. We had it in the NDP platform. We got the conservatives to commit to it during the election. we got the liberals to commit to it as well. And then finally introduced it. And we actually even got into a bit of a. Bidding war, it was the liberals introduced the policy, but then the conservatives introduced a policy that was even stronger, a legislation that would have made even more benefits for the workers. And I thought these are the best problems ever to have in government relations, to have Sort of all of the parties recognizing how important your shoes and actually the NDP who had first put forward legislation. So everyone had tried to make movement on this file, but it was just So heartwarming and kind of complete opposite of how I'm feeling right now about politics, but it was really nice in that moment to just see support from across the board for our members who work really, really hard jobs they're out there when it's. thirty-five degrees and so hot and sunny but they're also out there sometimes when it's minus twenty degrees working to build up our infrastructure and I think absolutely they deserve all of the support from government but from everyone else in Canada as well so it was just. A really proud campaign and accomplishment of mine, personally. Absolutely, and I just want to congratulate you on that success because that's where we met when I was working on The Labour File at a CBTU event and You could feel the energy from it and you said the word it was interesting you said it's very taxing to move both for your wallet and for that emotional of picking up your family and going across the country or. You know, being away from your family for three weeks at a time or, whatnot. So, that's an amazing story and I'm glad you have that on your resume because I know it still wasn't easy despite the collective approach because there's also. The bureaucracy, and committee and all these other government layers. So that's so amazing. And I'm so glad that it was something that you can carry as like a medal of honor in the trade sector, because I think as government relations people, we're always looking at how can we make the better good. I used to think that it was only you could do that through government, but. As I've been going through my career realizing you can do the good from the outside and put the pressure on the government to get that change done. Yeah, and I don't want to sugarcoat it. It wasn't easy. It was a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of money went into it. And there were people I remember when I first started who told me, don't even bother. You're never going to get that done. People have been advocating for that for decades. And I'm really, really glad and proud that we didn't listen to them and we forged and had a great team. It wasn't like I did it by myself. my executive director was all behind it. a great team of colleagues and we got a lot of grassroots supports from our members as well, which is, I think such an important part of. Advocacy is to get your local members on board and doing the advocating for you as well, so it was a team effort we ended up being successful and sometimes you run the best campaigns, as you know, and you might not be successful, but it's so amazing when you, are able to get that concrete win. I was gonna say, maybe they weren't successful before because they didn't have you on your team. Oh yeah, it's all me. But, you know, it comes back to, like, bringing those perspectives and that perseverance because, yeah, you can be hitting a wall but maybe it was just a matter of those past people didn't frame it the right way to make government engaged with it like there's so many elements that people don't realize when it comes to government affairs of framing the narrative and speaking the language of whatever Person you're speaking to because you got to speak to a politician different than you speak to a bureaucrat, but people don't know that and you need that that expertise. And you speak to every party a little bit differently. I think probably the documents I sent to each party were a little bit different because they all speak different languages. They have different audiences that they're curtailing too. So you want to position it in the right way for them. Absolutely and there's also that local perspective you have to bring like Hamilton's a huge union trades town and there's just there's so many elements that it's not as black and white as I think people think government and policy making is there's so many different elements behind and it's a long team effort as well so. It's also about just finding that right mixture of you have the right team to be able to work towards it, you have the right political conditions, you have the right parties or political players in place. The right economic conditions. There are just so many different factors that go into it. You may have done the same campaign and everything two years before but not have been successful because you just had to wait for those right conditions and it's sort of that perfect storm. Yeah, very well said. And as we're talking about this and the government relations landscape, what advice would you give to any young professionals looking to build a career in government relations and public affairs or communications? Is there anything that... We talked to obviously about your experience, but anything that stood out to you that you would want to kind of fair warn anybody coming into this space? Well, it's not for the faint of heart. you have to want to be on your toes. You have to want to be passionate about it. I've worked with some people who weren't so passionate and they didn't make it as far. They just sort of wanted a nine to five. It's not a nine to five working in these spaces. You, you, Have to be nimble. Sometimes you have to give up a weekend or an evening. So you have to really be passionate about what you're doing and it's so important to find the right clients or groups or associations that you're working for that. Match somewhat at least your personal beliefs because otherwise your heart's not going to be in and it's going to be a lot harder for you to to move ahead in that regard and it'll come across if you don't really care about the issues that you're advocating for. And then my biggest piece of advice to everyone young wanting to enter this field is network, network, network, network. Like, it's great if you have a good resume or good grades. No one's once ever asked me what my grades were. And university that's never, ever come up in an interview or at a meeting or anything, but you know, it does come up. I know so-and-so, you know, them as well, You know, I've applied for positions on LinkedIn. I've rarely ever gotten interviews through that. I get the interviews through saying, hey, I saw that, you know, so-and-so and they're hiring. Could you, put in a good word for me or do an introduction or. Even just attending events and speaking with different people and they'll say, Hey, I'm actually hiring. Do you know someone interested or are you interested in that position? So really putting yourself out there. And I know a lot of people are introverts and they don't like to do it, but. You know, take yourself out of your comfort zone and build your networks and, like you were saying earlier, your community around that front and that's going to be the key to success in government relations, public affairs, communications. Very well said and a few things I want to build on there like also being open to opportunities like I'm sure at no point you thought when you were in undergrad that you're going to be working in the trade space or with the steel construction space like so being open to opportunities and You said don't be of the faint of heart and I would expand on that as well as you have to be okay with people saying no to you because government is easier for them to say no or. complain to you why it can't work and you have to be confident enough in your skills and finding your research to go back to the drawing board. Because I think that's another piece that people don't consider when it comes to policy making, especially as an outsider. and trying to make your case and being catchy, but also what's the relevance here going back to the labor mobility tax credit, like there was a relevance here, but there's a story you had to tell. Was there ever a time in your career where you were told no and like you persevered through that issue? when I was a consultant I worked with the Hotel Association of Canada and for those who don't know for a long time when Airbnb was first introduced. you didn't have to pay taxes on your Airbnb, but you did have to pay taxes when you stayed at a hotel. And so we ran campaigns around Fair tax, if the hotels have to do it, the Airbnb should have to do it as well because then it makes the hotels not really as competitive. There's a lot of mom and pop hotels across Canada. So that was a campaign that ran for a couple years until it finally was successful. And I can't take credit for it. It was after I left working with the association, but. it's fun to be a small part of a campaign like that and a policy change and know that, it took time. To get there, it didn't happen overnight and people had to keep persevering and moving the needle and even governments change sometimes and elected officials change. That can be hard because they need to restart those conversations with new officials, but you just keep at it until you see that change and same thing, for example, I worked with the. CCPA, the Canadian Counselors and Psychotherapists Association of Canada, and they had been advocating for a long time for Psychotherapists to, you don't have to pay taxes on your psychotherapy bill, just like when you go visit a psychologist, you don't have to, but for a long time, you did have to pay taxes when you would visit your psychotherapist. So we ran campaigns with them as well, calling for that sort of support. For mental health to help make it more affordable for Canadians to be able to access that vital mental health service and it was a long time coming a lot of work a lot of campaigning and until that change happened. you beat me to the punch. I was going to say the same thing, like having to go back to the drawing board just because there's a new government that's in place or whatever the dynamics are at the time. Like, We knew tariffs were coming but not to this extent and the flip-flopping of one day they're on, one day they're off. I didn't know that about the mental health psychologist piece. It makes sense though, like, When it comes to that advocacy for associations, it's like, we look at the other industry and why aren't we equal? Because that's the weird thing I've personally seen as well when it comes to like policymaking. Like, why is it okay for one industry to like get away with something and not the other? We haven't talked about it too much, but a lot of public affairs also is doing your research and your homework and knowing, maybe one jurisdiction does already have a policy in place and you don't have it federally or you don't have it in your province, but you can use that for inspiration to say, well, they're doing it. You should be doing it too. You know, you're doing this for X sector. Why aren't you doing it for my sector or looking at even what's being done in other countries around the world also can be helpful. Yeah, and that's what it comes down to good policymaking and doing that comparative analysis which you clearly have those skills for so and you've had that success through your career and in different aspects so that's really amazing to to hear and even going back to the connections piece and networking is, I'm sure you've got friends in related. Industries and hearing what are they doing and what how can we piggyback on it or work together to have that collective voice when it comes to government because the more folks you can show this is an important issue for the more likely governments going to hear you and listen to you right. Yeah, going back to my advice around networking, networking can help you get a job, but it also helps you be successful in your career like I have group chats going with different people I met along the way who work in politics or government. Affairs, some are on the hill, some aren't on the hill, and we share resources and information with one another and update each other on what's going on, especially during these times when things are constantly changing. It's nice to have those sort of groups of people where you can Bounce things off of and get information from and support each other's initiatives. And that, like, your resume obviously stands for itself, but coming with that network is also like a huge, I feel like we're seeing that now more and more when it comes to employment because our younger generation, millennial, Gen Zs, We're not loyal to companies because we've seen how companies, um, fire people out of the blue and do mass layoffs around the holidays and we jump around and have those experiences and we bring the people we've met and engaged with along the way with us to those other jobs so there's also that like investing in person elements when it comes to jobs so really interesting stuff. And as we're wrapping up a little bit here, you know, looking back, what advice would you give your younger self just starting out in your career and knowing what you know now and all these experiences you've had? Is there anything you wish you would have done differently or something you'd tell yourself to keep in mind as you're going through this crazy journey of life that we're all going through? There's so many things I would say and maybe change but at the same time you just I don't like to live that way and think that way you can't change what's happened and. I think everything's meant to take you to wherever you're supposed to go at the end of the day and I've always just tried to be really open in my career and take opportunities as they come up yeah I didn't think I would be working for steel construction or the building trades and whatnot when I was. In university, watching Real Housewives and stuff, but here I am, you know? so I would tell myself to continue to be open, but And I would tell myself, relax a little bit more. Sometimes it's not the end of the world. I was talking with, someone at another steel association actually, and he's older than me and pretty senior and been around for a while. And he's like, Rita. We're not going to solve this issue today or tomorrow. Like take vacation time, take care of yourself. Like it's a hard time, but there's only so much we as individuals can do. And I think I would. Encourage my younger self to, relax a little bit more. Sometimes I am really passionate about my career and I care a lot it doesn't matter what file I'm working on. If I'm working on it, I'm gonna somehow get really, really wrapped up. Into it, but it's important to have those boundaries and especially pandemic was really challenging because we're all working from home and not leaving our houses right so you might start at 9am and work till 9pm and then you lose your sense of self versus your work self so. I would encourage everyone just to take care of their, mental health and set some boundaries in place for work and I think nowadays with phones and technology and everything it's so hard to disconnect but it really is important to try to do that sometimes. Absolutely. Very well said. And I was going to say, I feel personally, I've had to take that step back and be like, myself and my career are two separate things. I go to work and like you said, put your all into it, but you also have to take that step back sometimes and be like, if something doesn't work out, it's not a reflection on yourself or. Whatever the situation there's obviously things that are also out of our hands and there's only so much we can do so very well said

00:39:06 Unknown: What's the best piece of advice you've ever received and how did it shape your personal or professional career So it's hard to narrow it down to just one piece of advice, but a conversation that I often look back on is a conversation I had with two of my Female colleagues, one was around my age, one was a little bit older than us, and she was talking to us about what our career aspirations are and how much we want to be making. In the future. And I remember saying a really, really low figure just because it was a little bit more than what I was making at that time. And that was kind of it. I didn't think that I could ever even aim to make any more or even have a much higher title or position, especially. being the daughter of immigrants who didn't get to go to school, didn't get to, have careers that, paid that well like I remember being twenty-five and making more than my mom ever made in her life because she only ever worked minimum wage jobs not because she's not smart or talented or anything but just because of. Life, circumstances. So I had just kind of thought that, I'd make a little bit more than her. That's good enough. Maybe I'll make a little bit more than what I'm making now and that'll be fine. I always go back to that one conversation I had with my colleague who said you can aim for more absolutely like that's preposterous that that's all. You're, aiming for. And I think I read about it a lot online to that woman, especially, and I bring it up, you know, this is the FEMPIRE podcast, but, woman, oftentimes we just. accept the salaries that were offered and we don't ask for more or we don't want to negotiate or women actually don't apply for certain positions because. Unless you meet every single criteria, you feel like you're just not good enough, but a man with half your skills will apply for it anyway. So I kind of always say to myself, or I did for many years there, think like a man, you know. I want to wake up today and have the confidence of a man. I'm going to ask for that raise. I'm going to ask for that promotion and being the daughter of immigrants again and being a woman, I think I always have this guilt, like I don't deserve to make this much or I don't deserve to have that position, but it's Trying to really push yourself to get out of that sort of headspace and I'm lucky to have had some really really kind colleagues along the way who have. You know, motivated me and told me that I am worth more and deserve more and, supported me with do you want to chat about, how to go about asking for that. Promotion or that raise or, do you want to prep for your next interview and whatnot and I'm so appreciative to anyone who's ever offered help like that along the way. Very well said and I'm actually getting like a little teary-eyed because. it hurts me sometimes when, you know, I feel like I'm a pretty confident person and I've unlocking different levels of confidence that I never thought before, but when I see women Who are just so skilled and so smart and then they have that imposter syndrome or they feel like they're not at that level. It hurts me because I personally try to, find those women and help uplift them. Like, the amount of women I've reached out to to come on this podcast and they're like, but what would I talk about? Or like, I'm not that important or cool. I'm like, no, everybody has a story to tell. And, you know, you might not think it's cool. We're our harshest critics, but I think it's amazing. And I wouldn't have reached out to you otherwise. And, I think that's amazing that you've had that. Opportunity to have those mentors and leaders in your life, but also, reflecting back, I'm also a child of immigrants and I 100% resonate with you on that point of looking back at like what our parents and our grandparents made. To we're still just starting out in our careers, we still have like light years away and that guilt piece is really strong and I don't think people talk about that as much and. Another interesting point, I'm sure you've seen it on social media, but, we're the first generation of, women who have careers, making money, living on our own, and it's like, what do we do with this power because we didn't necessarily see Those types of women in our lives, like the sacrifices they made was maybe coming to another country, but being that independence and thriving on those sacrifices, it's kind of a weird, Time to try to adapt and absorb all this. I don't know if you feel the same way. Overwhelmed with all of that on a daily basis it's like yes I'm a single woman and I make good money and I have my own home and and everything and I should be so grateful and my mother would have killed to have had these opportunities but then also it feels overwhelming sometimes like we're doing so much. On our own. And there's so much pressure on us and so many opportunities out there and whatnot. And then I look at like my clock and I'm like, oh, I'm thirty And yes, I've done this in my career, but I need to do all of these other things as well. Cause we're in that unique position where. I think by the next generation or two, it'll be fine if you're thirty and not married with children. And I think that, yes, we've already moved towards that, but it might not be in your head. Like, it's certainly not in my head. In my head, I'm like, oh, no, I'm behind on that. But yes, I've. Done the career stuff, but what about that? Um, and it's, it's hard sometimes navigating all of those different pressures on us, but we have made a long way as a society and, and I'd rather be a woman now than any other time. 100%, I agree with you. And, and, you know, unfortunately, yeah, there's still those societal pressures. I mean, when you have the vice president saying that if someone's over thirty they're like a crazy cat lady and, how Taylor Swift was being criticized as being a bad role model for being over thirty unmarried and childless. Like it's unfortunately these rhetorics are always going to be there, but I think it's up to us as women and also finding our allies and men along the way to like break those stereotypes and. it's great that we still have this fight and wave in us to resist against these institutions and these voices and these pressures and Yeah, I'm hopeful that the next generation's also seeing us because there's more of us now Yeah, funny that you bring up Taylor Swift, I'm a big, Swiftie, but I love seeing someone like her who I think she's thirty-five or turning thirty-six and she's never been married, she doesn't have children, and That makes me feel better when I look at my life. I'm like, okay, Taylor hasn't done it yet. It's okay. Or I look at others that are just older than me and I'm like, okay. Okay, I have time and for some women, that side of things might never happen. That's okay, too. It's not for everybody. Yeah, and I think that's what it comes down to feminism too, where I think what social media has construed this idea of what feminism is, there's so many sectors of it, but you know, at the end of the day, feminism is, you have the choice if you want to have that career. If you want to be married or if you want to have kids, you have the choice rather than being put into that box of enforced to. You know, people don't believe me when I say it wasn't until the 70s that women had access to credit cards. Like, it's just such a, unfathomable thing where, being able to go to the bank without a male figure in your life, Advocating for you like it's just it's so bizarre and it's so close but I think with social media and like times we forget how quickly history has happened as well so. Also another thing that I find a little scary right now is people also forget how quickly things can turn backwards too, so. You know, my family's from Iran and a woman had a lot of rights in that country and then in the 70s they were rolled back quite a bit. So my mom would have grown up in a society that was a lot more open To the society that she lived in for a few years and then ultimately left but that's just I saw that on my instagram a few weeks ago just you know let's not forget how quickly. Things can turn and Iran was cited just as an example with everything that's happened with women there and I think right now there's a lot of memes and jokes about everything that's going on in the US in particular but. It's kind of scary to think how real and quickly things could go backwards, especially we're seeing it with woman, with DEI, with everything. And sometimes It's very worrisome, but hopefully ultimately the trajectory is, is moving forward and progress on all those elements. Absolutely. I 100% agree with you. And, yeah, just linking together and finding our voice and, and doing. Advocacy, whether it's professional or in our personal lives, because we have to speak up because yeah, things with the snap of a finger can, can be rolled back. So not to end on a depressing note. Yeah, we're positive and then got depressing. But Rita, thank you so much for being here and for such a wonderful rich conversation from your career to, feminism and all these amazing pieces in between, but any other closing thoughts you wanted to share with the audience? this was just so much fun to speak about and thank you for having a platform like this and getting women together to have these conversations. I think these conversations are valuable for women and men. Everybody could benefit from having more conversations like this. So thanks so much for having me on, Julia. Thank you so much. That was Rita Rita Rahmati on hashtag FEMPIRE. And don't forget to join in next week to hear another amazing female guest to talk about her experience. We'll talk to you soon.