TORONTO, March 8, 2016 /CNW/ - A newly released joint report from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and TD Bank Group ("TD") paints an intimate portrait of how women across the country perceive the challenges and opportunities in advancing their careers.

"We understand that women have unique needs when it comes to wealth management, financial planning and professional well-being," said Sandy Cimoroni, Chief Operating Officer, TD Wealth and Chair, Women Investor Program. "Our mutual goal with this report was to have an honest and critical look at the choices faced and the lessons learned from women in Canada with respects to advancing their professional and career aspirations. A significant discovery was that women bring different perspectives to what professional advancement means – there isn't a one-size-fits-all point of view."

The report, titled 10 Lessons: Women @ Work Managing Career, Family & Legacy, is the result of a year-long research project and essay competition that engaged working women from coast-to-coast.

Through the research, 10 key themes emerged on how women can achieve success in their life, work, and legacy goals.

The lessons learned stemmed from real experiences and tried and true advice on topics ranging from pursuing education and building strong professional networks, to exploring more intimate topics such as trade-offs between career and family, and rethinking guilt for choosing one over another. 

"A key finding from our perspective is the significant role education and financial preparation play in contributing to solutions and future successes in furthering women's careers," said Walid Hejazi, Associate Professor, Rotman School.

The research for this report began in February 2015 when TD and the Rotman School launched an essay competition inviting women from all across Canada to submit personal essays describing their experience navigating family, career and legacy aspirations.

"Many women identified financial preparedness for life's unexpected curveballs, like divorce, illness or unemployment, as critical to achieving their long-term goals" added Cimoroni. "Having a clear understanding of their current financial state, a solid long-term plan and an emergency fund were just some of the key financial lessons women shared."

In June the winner of the competition was announced at a conference in Toronto. Dr. Karen Dawson from Calgary, Alberta won the competition, along with a $10,000 prize and the honour of having her essay included in the official report. Dr. Dawson is living her version of "Having it All" as she has created a personal and professional life that works for her and her family: she pursued her passions, was able to spend more time with her children earlier in life, developed new skills as she navigated through unexpected events through her life and rebalanced her commitments over time.

This report is part of a two year initiative between TD Wealth and the Rotman School of Management.  To read the 10 Lessons: Women @ Work Managing Intersections of Career, Family & Legacy report and the winning essay, please visit www.td.com/womenatwork or www.rotman.utoronto.ca/tdwomenatwork.

Rotman School of Management
The Rotman School of Management is located in the heart of Canada's commercial and cultural capital and is part of the University of Toronto, one of the world's top 20 research universities. The Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables our graduates to tackle today's global business challenges. The Rotman School of Management is a leader in promoting and supporting gender diversity and is the only business school in Canada with a dedicated Initiative for Women in Business. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves more than 24 million customers in three key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Retail, including TD Canada Trust, TD Auto Finance Canada, TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in TD Ameritrade; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with approximately 10.2 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN$1.1 trillion in assets on October 31, 2015. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

About TD Wealth
TD Wealth represents the products and services of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. (Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund), TD Waterhouse Private Investment Counsel Inc., TD Wealth Private Trust (offered by The Canada Trust Company) and TD Wealth Private Banking (offered by The Toronto-Dominion Bank).

SOURCE TD Bank Group