It’s a phrase that tends to predominate throughout reports, studies and articles dealing with the general topic applying to a large segment of Canadian population: women in poverty.

Researcher Monica Townson  has published a recent report on the impact of the recession as it  affected women, published by the Canadian Council for Policy Alternatives. But she recognizes her latest research project has a lengthy shelf-life.

Martha Fell is the CEO of Women in Capital Markets, a 750-member not-for-profit organization that promotes the entry, advancement and development of women in the investment sector. 2010 is its 15th anniversary. Her message on a number of levels is clear.

Do your employees know your name? Do they even know why your organization exists? If the answer to one or both of these questions is “no,” you cannot possibly have an inclusive culture in your organization. And if that’s the case, you are not optimizing your business results.

Two revealing interactions with employees in the last month caused me to ask these questions.

1- I call a large hotel asking for the general manager by name. The person answering the phone responds, “I don’t show any guests registered by that name.”

When I tell him that the woman I’m asking for is the general manager of the hotel, he says, “Oh, I’ll look in the directory.”

Currently, we see the rise of super economies in Asia, mainly led by rapid growth of China and India. We also see a weak US economy that had triggered the current global economic slowdown. This is coupled with slow growth among many European and Western economies, especially those that are closely connected to the US economy. In addition, the new emerging markets in Latin America, South East Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are fast making headways in their own right.