In this Women Who Wow profile, get to know Ruth Morayniss, the Client Relations and Business Development Manager at Beard Winter LLP in Toronto.

I met Ruth last summer during the pandemic when I first started the Women Who Wow community. LinkedIn brought us together, and I’m very grateful for that. I was hosting weekly Zoom meetings for women like me who felt isolated and needed some encouragement that we weren’t alone. We forged relationships and bonds with each other during that time, and I am especially grateful to Ruth for her candor and contributions to our community then – it’s so great to see how much we’ve all changed as there begins to be an end in sight to the pandemic.

Learn more about her in this profile.

What do you love most about what you do? 

I’ve been working in the field of marketing/BD, communications and PR for many years and have had the privilege of working in a variety of industries that I’m especially interested in myself. These include healthcare, government, tech, education and, for the past eight years, the legal industry.

What I love about what I do is that it provides a perfect environment for me as a curious, analytical  and creative person. At the firm I work at now, I regularly attend a monthly meeting with lawyers from our insurance defence group. I don’t think I’ve missed one meeting in three years. Sure there are things that I don’t understand, but I research them afterward or I consult one of the lawyers. The best part of what I do is meeting people in different lines of work so that now I have a vast network of people whom I’ve worked with over the years. This allows me to also do what I love which is to connect people and assist younger people coming into this field.

How do you achieve work/life balance?

In my early career when I had young children and a full-time job it was definitely challenging to balance everything. You obviously want to do your best for your employer and your family and sometimes work comes first and other times family comes first. So I guess there’s the balance right there. But I remember constantly feeling guilty about one or the other that I wasn’t doing enough. My mother died when my kids were babies so I didn’t have a parent to rely on. I was fine to be part of a team at work and play my role versus having a big title and more responsibility. I’m not saying that you can’t have it all, but I made a deliberate choice to try and find that balance. As your kids grow up there are different issues that come along. I experienced a number of years where I had to prioritize my kids while working full time.

A few years ago, some space opened up for me to pursue my passion for singing, which I had put aside for many, many years. I started taking vocal lessons and singing at open mics. Prior to the pandemic, I was singing at different open mics primarily jazz. This particular community of jazz singers and musicians helps to keep me grounded and balanced.

What do you wish you could tell your younger self?

I wish I’d learned younger about these things, but like most of us, we evolve as we grow. So I’d tell my younger self, and any young person starting out in the work world, to do your best not to take things so personally. A majority of the time it’s not about you. It’s not always about you. Have empathy for others and listen more. Learn about different perspectives and stand up for yourself and others. Don’t be so afraid.