On the first day of Vital Voices Global Partnership’s Eurasia Leadership Summit for Women and Girls, I had the pleasure of listening to the Right Honorable Kim Campbell’s “Getting Women to the Power Table” discussion and offers a few notes below.

While Kim Campbell is best known as Canada’s nineteenth and first female Prime Minister, former Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Minister of National Defense, the fact emerged in a strategy session late on Monday afternoon, that one of her earliest leadership feats was as the first female student body president in high school.

With an impressive mix of wisdom, humor and congeniality, Ms. Campbell spoke about her experience in politics and her own personal background. Her suggestions for women interested in embarking on a political career included: 1) Start local, this is typically where the most direct impact on the community is made and where women have the fewest barriers to access; 2) Build relationships with men, across party lines, and among people with opposing views; 3) Develop strong communication skills, keep messages direct and brief; 4) Surround yourself with intelligent, ethical and passionate people, and then delegate; and 5) Support other women leaders and raise the visibility of women who have been successful.

The highlight of Ms. Campbell’s speech was her articulation of the importance of recognizing and preparing for unarticulated barriers women face in male-dominated fields. These barriers are often comprised of deeply-entrenched and often unrecognized stereotypes of gender roles and norms. To illustrate this point she referenced research by Harvard economist Claudia Goldin’s research on hiring practices of orchestra conductors. When Goldin asked the conductors if an applicant’s sex was an important factor in the audition they said no. But several added that women did in fact have “smaller technique.” However, when applicants auditioned behind a screen (where the conductors could not see if it was a male or female), 35 – 55 percent more women where selected to join the orchestra. It turns out that if you think women have small technique, you will hear small technique.

Campbell noted to the women in the room that there are few areas of life where they will be judged behind a screen. In her own career she said that this was one of the lessons she learned late: to recognize that screens do exist and to anticipate others’ preconceptions and stereotypes. Change takes time as well as many vital, visible voices.