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Unconscious bias, limited access to mentorship, and work-life balance challenges are some of the issues that still act as career barriers for women in HR.
“These obstacles have evolved; for example, there is greater awareness of gender equity issues, but systemic barriers remain, like unequal pay and underrepresentation in senior roles,” says Nupur Gill, managing consultant at Robert Walters Canada.
To underline the status quo, Robert Walters' 2024 ED&I report for North America shows:
60 percent more women than men have not received a pay raise in the past 12 months.
Twice as many women as men did not receive the requested increase after negotiating.
Only 34 percent of women hold director-level positions, compared to 66 percent of men.
Echoing this sentiment is Sartaj Sarkaria, CEO of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI).
“Many also navigate gendered expectations – being expected to take on the ‘emotional labour’ in organizations while not always being recognized as business leaders,” she says. “Over time, we’ve seen improvements, particularly in representation at mid-levels, but the top tier – such as C-suite and board roles – remains more difficult to access. Intersectional barriers, particularly for women of colour, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQIA+ women, remain significant.”
According to Sapient Insights Group’s 2025 report, although women represent more than 70 percent of the HR workforce, their representation in senior leadership roles declines as organizations grow larger and become more prominent. In small businesses, women account for over 80 percent of HR leadership positions. However, in publicly traded firms, men are 86 percent more likely than women to occupy top HR executive roles.
This elevates even further the achievements and standing of HRD Canada’s Elite Women 2025, who are celebrated for their initiatives, innovations, and contributions to the industry. Many are in the higher echelons of their respective organizations, with nearly half C-suite members or executives.
Female respondents to HRD Canada overwhelmingly voiced a view that gender has impacted their career.
“Being recognized as an Elite Woman in the Canadian HR sector in 2025 requires a combination of strategic vision, adaptability, and a commitment to driving meaningful change within the organization,” adds Gill.
These top professionals stand out for their leadership, as well as their ability to foster inclusive workplace cultures and leverage data-driven insights to align HR with business goals.
And this is emphasized by Anne-Marie Pham, CCDI’s vice-president of engagement, who states that Elite Women bring a “a mix of courage and humility in decision-making”.
She continues, “They would stand firm to advocate for equity, ethical practices, and inclusion, while also listening and learning how to continuously improve with agility to adapt to new situations and environments.”
Amy Farrell joined the charitable organization with local impacts in the healthcare industry to use her skills to advance the workplace experience for more people in the non-profit sector. She is proud to have used diversity both as a woman and as an autistic neurodivergent, to make as many waves as possible.
Farrell’s team has rebuilt programs and systems from the ground up to be gender and neuro affirming and 2SLGBTQ+ safe, with the aim to reduce barriers for all employees and candidates. Psychological well-being is the largest component of their efforts, as working with the city’s most marginalized individuals can be traumatic and triggering for those involved.
With over 17 years of experience in talent attraction, employer branding, and retention, Linda Krebs has demonstrated expertise in the strategic implementation of recruiting best practices and operational excellence. In her current position, Krebs’s focus includes early careers recruitment, program and partnership development, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as well as employer branding.
A strong business leader who is passionate about human-to-human connection and business strategy, Aman Malhi is guided by the principles of a growth mindset. Her leadership style is designed to ignite curiosity and passion, encouraging brilliance, adventure, and unwavering resolve. Driven by this purpose, she sets high-performance standards for her team, fosters a willingness to take risks, maintains discipline, and is relentless in the pursuit of growth. She aspires to lead without allowing ego to hinder ambition.
“The biggest misconception about HR in general is that HR leaders can’t take on other functions,” explains Malhi. “Businesses are doing themselves a disservice by discounting HR leaders because they’re good contenders for other roles outside of HR. They have seen how talent and strategy come together and how different aspects of the business integrate together.”
Winners reflect on the historical perceptions of women’s role in HR as hampering their ability to reach higher levels within their organizations’ structures.“Women are still trying to make their way into those more competitive, assertive areas,” says Farrell. “When you’re trying to put that together with a department that’s normally dubbed candy and Kleenex, it’s hard to get over that perception.”
Krebs is active in empowering women to speak up, where they may have been previously uncomfortable.
“We rise by lifting each other up,” she says. “One of my goals in my career is to ensure the next generation of women leaders – whether it’s in HR or tech – are able to feel seen, to feel supported, and to be empowered to lead with both their head and their heart.”
Krebs suggests that, over almost two decades in HR, the focus has been increasingly on improving strategic planning rather than administrative tasks.
“It’s a lot more strategic and HR is encouraged or empowered to push certain boundaries.”
Malhi is also not immune to the structural barriers in the HR industry, but the faith of RSL’s leaders has allowed her to overcome them.
“Any kind of discrimination that you think women face, I’ve faced them all. I continue to face them every single day,” she explains. “The only difference between me and a lot of other women is that I have been very fortunate to be with leaders who place their trust and confidence in my abilities, and give me the opportunity to try, fail, and succeed.”
Malhi says a prime example of the value of supporting HR professionals was when RSL’s leadership trusted her to take over the organization’s strategic operations.
She says, “Taking on business strategy and especially operations for a wholesale distribution company, I had never done it before, and it was really because the president of my organization has a lot of faith in my skill set. He gave me an opportunity to learn and grow.”
Key to Malhi’s success has been consistency in implementing the company’s yearly goals and finding ways to improve.
She adds, “With business strategy, I got the executive team into a habit of developing or revisiting our annual strategy, making sure that we are executing and delivering on what we committed to. There is a cadence to our business strategy now, quarterly and annually.”
Krebs gauges her effectiveness through seeing others thrive and watching the impact of her own leadership.
She explains, “The feedback loop is always welcome. If people feel comfortable, they will approach you and bring their voice to you, whether it’s positive or negative. If I see my peers being successful, that’s how I measure my own success.”
In her current role, Krebs has set a challenge to bridge the age and experience gap between senior professionals like herself and newcomers.
“There are different generational differences in what each of those members can bring to the table. So, we’re trying to match the four different generations that we have in the workforce today and align what their needs are,” she says.
While building Nokia’s early careers program, Krebs prioritized the recruitment of young women from Canada’s leading STEM programs, diversifying Nokia’s socioeconomic, gender, age, and skills backgrounds.
She says, “We definitely increased female talent into our program. We introduced more visible diversity into our program with even socioeconomic gaps. This opened the door to a lot more opportunities when we’re screening in talent versus screening out talent – that was a huge win for us.”
To improve retention, Malhi has implemented a recognition platform that celebrated employees’ small victories, in addition to annual accolades. “I realized we were recognizing our year-end goals and financial success, but we weren't doing little wins, so I introduced a recognition platform,” she explains.
“Attraction is not a problem. But in terms of retention, my team and I are constantly working on it every single day.”
Although Malhi has not created a company-specific DEI policy, she believes in the importance of daily, repeated actions affirming the value of diversity in the workplace.
When giving advice and mentorship, Malhi often finds that women in their early career stages are looking to be liked socially by their coworkers, rather than be respected for their work. She says that by reversing this trend, women are more likely to succeed in their roles, while also being more involved in strategic decision-making.
“The only way to get respected is to get stuff done. I think what people want is somebody who makes decisions, who’s decisive, and who executes.”
She adds that one of her key attributes as a leader is consistency, something she preaches to those joining the industry.
A common misconception the Elite Women recount is the idea that women are unable to make difficult decisions needed to help an organization’s bottom line.
“In HR, we handle a lot of ugliness sometimes, and we need to do that with grace. We have a lot of tough conversations on a regular basis,” Farrell says. “But I think that gets overlooked because women are more seen as the mothering, nurturing kind.”
With a helicopter view of their workplaces, HR professionals can see what moves the needle beyond pay and adjust accordingly, she explains.
“You can’t just pay people better and think that they’re going to keep showing up to work. If you have a bad manager, nothing’s going to overcome that,” Farrell explains. “One of our strengths is that we can really see the whole organization for what it is, but understand the nuances and the uniqueness of all its parts at the same time.”
She believes that for an organization to foster a positive culture, feedback and honesty are essential, highlighting the importance of employees feeling supported.
“A healthy culture is a participatory culture, one where you’re open to feedback. But when it comes to mistakes, it’s really important to own them. You’re not going to have a healthy culture if your staff doesn’t have a voice and that voice can’t be filtered through multiple layers of hierarchy."
A recent equity audit revealed that London InterCommunity Health Centre has a participatory culture. This verdict was the crystallization of a lot of Farrell’s efforts and guidance. “The fact that the staff felt safe to participate in such an exercise, and it was received well, is a major achievement for any organization and I feel like HR contributed to that quite a bit.”
Farrell is also outspoken about her neurodiversity, which she says allows her to be a leader in the space, advocating for better understanding and accommodation in organizations.
Her work was recognized when London InterCommunity Health Centre won the Excellence in Human Resources Award from the London Chamber of Commerce in 2020, an achievement she says is even more impressive due to the resource gap between her organization and the competition.
“We were up against for-profit companies. And a lot of people just didn’t think we have a shot because the non-profit sector is so under-resourced,” she says.
Having organizations that inject trust into their HR teams is crucial to the progression of women in the industry, says CCDI’s Sarkaria.
“Celebrating and elevating the strategic contributions of HR as a business driver is critical. When HR is seen as central to organizational success, women in HR gain greater access to the influence they deserve.”
Sarkaria acknowledges there has been progression, and more women are visible in senior HR roles, but this does not always mean equity.
“Too often, women’s advancement is slowed by glass ceilings and sticky floors, with fewer stretch opportunities or sponsorship compared to male peers,” she says. “Progress is real but uneven, and those from equity-deserving groups are still underrepresented at the highest levels.”
Gill of Robert Walters Canada emphasizes organizations’ need to take deliberate action to create environments where women can succeed at all levels. This includes implementing transparent promotion criteria, offering flexible work arrangements to accommodate diverse needs, and investing in leadership development programs tailored specifically for women.
She adds, “These efforts help combat typical hurdles women face while equipping them with tools for success. Organizations should also hold themselves accountable by tracking progress on gender equity goals, recalibrating strategies as needed, and celebrating successes along the way.”
Authenticity and integrity: They lead with honesty, humility, and a strong sense of self, staying true to their values and owning their imperfections.
Empathy and compassion: They listen deeply, understand the needs of others, and foster environments where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
Resilience and tenacity: They demonstrate courage and perseverance, showing up when it matters most and navigating challenges with determination.
Visionary and strategic thinking: They see the bigger picture, drive innovation, and align their leadership with both business strategy and human-centred values.
Inclusivity and advocacy: They champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, ensuring underrepresented voices are heard and empowered, and building bridges for others to succeed.
Collaboration over competition: They prioritize collaboration, support the professional growth of others, and create space for collective success rather than focusing on individual competition.
Effective communication: They are excellent communicators, able to inspire, connect, and influence through both words and actions.
Humility and approachability: They are accessible and have a cordial attitude.
HRD invited industry professionals from across Canada to nominate exceptional female role models for the inaugural Elite Women list. Nominees had to be working in a role that related to, interacted with, or in some way impacted the industry and should have demonstrated a clear passion for their work.
Nominators were asked to describe the nominee’s standout professional achievements over the past 12 months, initiatives and innovations, and contributions to the industry.
After a thorough review of all the nominations, the HRD Canada team narrowed down the list to the final 25 Elite Women who have made their mark in the industry.