Women leaders have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go
As a woman whose mother had to fight for the chance to go to university, it’s not lost on Jesusa Chow that opportunities for women have come a long way. Yet, she is also well aware that there is still more to achieve.
Today, Chow is senior vice-president, member experience and pension operations, at OPTrust (OPSEU Pension Plan Trust Fund), a legal trust formed by two plan sponsors, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the Government of Ontario.
“My mother wanted to go to university, but was told she didn’t need to go,” says Chow. “She did go and was one of the few females in her classes.” In those days, women were expected to just find something to keep busy until they got married.
However, it was the support of strong people like her mother and father that helped Chow to build a successful career in the pension industry. “It’s important to have mentors around and hear their stories. I find that very inspiring,” she says.
Chow graduated from University of Toronto with a degree in arts management, but soon discovered the industry was quite small in Toronto, ON. It was while navigating this industry that she ventured into the pension industry, specifically OPTrust, as an accidental tourist.
OPTrust was formed in 1995, and Chow joined the company in 1997 in its client services area. “I never looked back,” she says. “It was an exciting time to join an organization because it was just starting and it was small. There were probably 30 to 50 of us.”
Growing with a maturing organization
“As the organization matured, it was great to grow a career and learn about pensions.” Perhaps it was her management background, but she loved the technical aspects of pensions, including rules and investment. Chow also enjoyed the challenge of educating people about pensions, even though many people weren’t thinking about its importance.
“There were amazing opportunities in this organization as it grew, and we watched it become more sophisticated over time. For example, we started with one person responsible for investments because all the investment was external. Now, here we are today with a very sophisticated large investment team that's doing amazing things.
“So that was me as an accidental tourist and I really enjoyed being in an organization that was small enough that I could get into many different aspects of pensions and learn a lot.”
As senior vice-president, member experience and pension operations, Chow leads the pension and a member experience and pension operations divisions.
OPTrust has over 106,000 members and retirees. Chow and her team offer a full range of pension operations on the administration side and work with employers to bring in the contributions, support members, and collect data needed to provide the pensions. They offer a full range of education, partnering with the firm’s communications team to make sure members understand the value of their benefit, the options they have, and the choices that they need to make. “Eventually, we will put them on that that pension.”
Chow says she is still just as enthusiastic for her work as she was when she started, if not more so. “We are always looking at strategies and trying new things, like OPTrust Select.”
An option for those who don’t have access to DB pensions
OPTrust Select, a defined benefit (DB) offering, was announced in 2018 and offers a secure retirement solution at a moderate cost for both employers and employees by utilizing the advantages of the organization’s large scale and investment expertise. It is targeted to Ontario workplaces in the broader public sector, charitable, and not-for-profit groups that do not have a workplace DB pension plan but may have a defined contribution (DC) plan, a group RRSP, or no retirement savings arrangement at all.
“OPTrust Select is an option for people who are often not covered by pensions, and these organizations – such as non-profits – are predominantly female. A couple of years ago, prior to the launch of OPTrust Select, only one in 10 workers in the nonprofit sector in Ontario had access to a defined benefit pension. Now they have an option to be more financially secure in their retirement.”
OPTrust Select also benefits the OPSEU Pension Plan by creating greater sustainability over the long term through the allocation of risk and operational costs over a broader membership base.
“We also have a project team working to launch a new pension administration system,” says Chow. “They are working with our finance and business partners to make sure that we will be able to deliver on the pension promise. The new system will launch in four years.” These strategic initiatives usually stem from needs OPTrust identifies within the industry or within its membership.
Another important challenge that is always top of mind for Chow and her team is communication to members. She says they must make sure they are communicating to members in a way that will make them pay attention to their pensions.
A holistic look at retirement
“We work with the teams across our organization to make sure that we're delivering pensions to the members. Then we provide education so they understand the value of those benefits. We need members to understand they have this great pension, they have financial security, but we also need to help them think about what else they might need if they're going to live to 90 or 100. Have they planned for health care? What's housing going to look like? Will they have a social network?
“Our team is looking at this closely because we want members to have financial security in retirement but also confidence in all these other areas. Unfortunately, many older retirees are experiencing high rates of loneliness and isolation.
“We want our members to be aware and help them to think holistically about their retirement.”
Passionate about the purpose and mission
“I am passionate about our organization’s purpose and mission,” says Chow. “It’s rewarding to listen to members’ stories. Many of them say their pension gives them confidence, security, and independence, especially females, and they live the longest.”
Chow says International Women’s Day (March 8, 2024) is an important day to reflect and celebrate.
“Women inspire me. The talented and bright women in our industry inspire me every day, especially the women at OPTrust. We have inspirational women in various leadership positions and a lovely supportive network. It’s those women that excel in the workplace and at being a mother and are caught in the sandwich generation – those everyday women I work with inspire me to think about myself as a leader.
“I hope that I inspire them too and make them feel supported.”
“We get so busy day to day with our jobs and families to support, and I find women are very humble too. International Women’s Day gives us a chance to stop and think about how we got here and how we’re helping and sponsoring others. It’s also a reminder that there still so much to do.
“We see a lot of women at managerial levels, but not necessarily in the C-Suite. There's progress, but we're not necessarily where we would like to be. It’s not just about gender equity but about diversity in general.
“We’re fortunate to be in a society and in a generation where we’re thinking about diversity. It’s important for us to continue to have those conversations.”
