Women are particularly vulnerable to financial insecurity. Although women have made strides in the workforce, the wage gap persists. Canada is ranked as having the 8th highest gender pay gap out of a list of 43 countries, with Canadian women making, on average, 75 cents to their male counterparts’ dollar. The disparity is even more pronounced for women of colour. Lower wages lead to reduced savings and retirement funds: women 65 and older are twice as likely as men to live in poverty. 

Financial insecurity is also the number one reason domestic violence survivors stay or return to abusive relationships.

Financial insecurity is also the number one reason domestic violence survivors stay or return to abusive relationships. Unfortunately, one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Known as financial abuse, victims are purposely put into positions of dependence, unable to use or maintain the financial resources necessary to leave their situations. For this reason and so many others, financial education and empowerment is a necessity for young women and girls.  

The solution

It’s critical that girls have the support and skills to exercise control over their financial future, particularly those marginalized by race and class. It’s also important girls understand and assert their right to economic well-being. At Girls Inc., we provide girls with the support to build their knowledge and skills around economic literacy. They learn to manage money, explore investing, use credit wisely, understand the difference between wants and needs, and plan for their education and careers. We believe that all girls are strong, smart, and bold, but recognize that they need help overcoming social messages and pressures that make them doubt their self-worth.

Today’s girls should know they can be tomorrow’s leaders in every position and capacity.

We must provide girls with the opportunities to be financially independent and exercise control over their futures. The right tools and knowledge prepare girls to have healthy and equitable relationships, to earn and maintain a life of their choosing, and give them the confidence to know they can take care of themselves. This awareness is not only essential for their well-being — it’s key to the stability of our families, communities, and economy. Today’s girls should know they can be tomorrow’s leaders in every position and capacity.

To achieve gender equality, we must address the challenges preventing the full economic participation of women. Financial literacy for girls is a key step and trusted adults play an essential role in their education and confidence in financial matters.

Yvett Nechvatal-Drew is the Executive Director of Girls Inc. Durham.

The post Financial Empowerment Is Key for Gender Equality appeared first on HiveInnovates.

I recently sat next to a gentleman at a dinner party who told me that he supported women’s rights but felt the pendulum had swung too far. In particular, he noted, men were no longer provided hard-earned opportunities in leadership positions. “That’s interesting,” I responded, “because statistics tell a different story.” 

In fact, the numbers are dismal. More than 30% of boards across Canada don’t have a single female board member and women account for less than 17% of corporate board positions. In federal politics, only 25% of MPs are women and, in the provinces and territories, only 28% of elected officials are female. 

More than 30% of boards across Canada don’t have a single female board member and women account for less than 17% of corporate board positions.

Around Canada’s most significant decision-making tables, women are still drastically underrepresented. At G(irls)20, we believe that investing in young women will create a pipeline of exceptional leaders for the boardroom, the political arena, and the civil society sector. In order to address this representation gap, we developed Girls on Boards, an innovative project where young women are provided with governance training, mentorship, and an unparalleled opportunity to participate as members of a non-profit board. As a board member, young women from across Canada are supported in developing their leadership skills while building their capacity to govern an effective organization. 

This International Women’s Day, we will celebrate the women leaders who are paving the way for future generations but we will not stop there — we’ll keep pushing until the statistics reflect Canada’s diverse population. And I’ll continue to explain at dinner parties that the pendulum has not swung far enough — not even close.

Heather Barnabe is the CEO of G(irls)20.

The post Mentors Building a Pipeline for Women’s Leadership appeared first on HiveInnovates.

From the #MeToo movement to demanding equality at the boardroom table, 2018 proved to be the year that women refused to be silenced. Be The Next Her is a site for women by women, created with the intent to showcase and celebrate the different paths that women take to their path to success.  The platform shares real stories from women of all ages, races, sizes, and walks of life.

Supporting self-worth in a social media age

Often times, when women — and especially, young girls — turn to online platforms for inspiration, they are bombarded with images and ideas that leave them with a diminished sense of self-worth. That experience, combined with a variety of images online that depict one version of success; one version of womanhood; and one version of the female experience, can lead women and girls to believe that their futures are limited. Instead, the site provides a much-needed and diverse lens of storytelling by providing a platform for all women to share their careers, life experiences, stories, and advice to inspire other women and girls to be successful in their chosen craft.

Through sharing the trials and tribulations of each subject, young women can take valuable lessons from the women profiled and begin to dream bigger than their parents or what they’ve seen on TV.

We all want to be seen, heard, recognized, and inspired to wake up in the morning. Be The Next Her focuses on how women have shaped their career into a calling. We are proud to be the match that ignites these women’s stories. Let the spark shine. 

The post A Success Story to Inspire Every Woman appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Given the rate at which women are graduating from our universities and colleges, Canada’s future workforce will be more female than ever before.

Given the rate at which women are graduating from our universities and colleges, Canada’s future workforce will be more female than ever before. And yet 85% of the machine-learning workforce, responsible for developing many of the world’s new technologies, is male. As AI creeps into all spheres of our lives, fuelled by algorithms reflecting the biases of their creators, women risk being relegated to traditional roles.

Take the recent rise in personal digital assistants — think Siri, Alexa, and others: all with names that are far more female than male, all with default settings of female voices, and all reinforcing, some say, a woman’s place in society.

Seize opportunities to advance women as innovators and leaders

Including, leveraging, and advancing women at all levels of Canada’s organizations are critical drivers in the pursuit of greater innovation, productivity, and performance. Companies that are stuck in traditional paradigms will be left behind. Those who seize the opportunities with women as innovators and leaders will enjoy the long-term competitive advantages.

This International Women’s Day, let’s all redouble our efforts to create gender-inclusive workplaces where all talent can thrive.

Tanya van Biesen is the Executive Director of Catalyst Canada.

The post Are You Ready for the Workplace of the Future? appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Around the world, people are suffering the devastating impacts of humanitarian crises. An unprecedented 68.5 million people are displaced with many living in refugee camps. While everyone suffers during conflict and displacement, women and girls are particularly vulnerable. They face the risk of sexual violence during everyday tasks like collecting water. They are also shut out of important decisions that affect their lives.

Oxfam, a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty and inequality in more than 90 countries, is on the ground providing humanitarian assistance in almost every crisis zone around the world.

Julie Delahanty, Oxfam Canada’s Executive Director, has fought for women’s rights her whole career and has seen first-hand the hardship women face. “Gender inequality stems from deep-rooted social norms and unfair social, economic, and political structures that are stacked against women,” Delahanty says. “During humanitarian crises, gender discrimination is often exacerbated.”

Gender inequality stems from deep-rooted social norms and unfair social, economic, and political structures that are stacked against women. During humanitarian crises, gender discrimination is often exacerbated.

Julie Delahanty, Oxfam Canada

What women know matters

Solving this problem starts with listening to women when delivering humanitarian aid. In Bangladesh’s congested Rohingya refugee camps, Oxfam’s research revealed that one third of women say they feel unsafe using the toilet — many go hungry and thirsty to avoid going to the toilet, suffering abdominal pain and infections as a result.

Oxfam listened to groups of Rohingya women and girls who highlighted their safety and privacy concerns, especially in relation to personal hygiene and menstruation. In response, it brought female architects into the communities to redesign shelters, toilets, and bathing blocks to be more appropriate for women. They also installed solar-powered lights around refugee camps and provided portable solar lamps so that women feel safer leaving the shelters after dark.

“We need to listen to women’s voices to understand the realities they face every day, but we also need to recognize their tenacity and resilience,” Delahanty explains. “We must ensure that they are in the driver’s seat for every decision, from where to put toilets in refugee camps to playing a leadership role in global peace talks.”

She emphasizes the importance of local women’s rights actors and organizations on the frontlines of these crises. “They are under-funded and under-resourced, but frequently best-placed to know the type of humanitarian assistance that works for women.”

We need to listen to women’s voices to understand the realities they face every day, but we also need to recognize their tenacity and resilience.

Julie Delahanty, Oxfam Canada

#AskHer

Oxfam’s What She Knows Matters campaign aims to ensure that in all humanitarian crises, the needs of women are considered and decision-making power rests in their hands.

“The delivery of food, water, sanitation, and shelter by humanitarian aid organizations like ours are absolutely critical,” Delahanty notes. “But humanitarian aid is also about responding to the specific needs of women, championing their rights, and ending inequality for millions of women around the world.”

The post Women Leading Change in Humanitarian Aid appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Selling goods was not new to her, as she and her twin sister Jesse had experienced much success selling their wares at local powwows and craft bazaars near their Indigenous community of Ohswé:ken, ON.

73% of women who run their own businesses believe e-commerce has been crucial to their growth and success.

“When I became pregnant, we asked ourselves, ‘Is this just a hobby or are we going to pursue this?'” Brant shares. A year later, the sisters launched an e-commerce website and began their journey into entrepreneurship. They haven’t looked back.

Carving a future in the digital economy

The sisters are part of the 950,000 Canadian women entrepreneurs who are making a living through their small businesses*. The 2018 Women’s Entrepreneurship Study, conducted by PayPal Canada, discovered that 73% of women who run their own businesses believe e-commerce has been crucial to their growth. Moreover, the study found that 85% of female business owners believe they need to be online to compete effectively in today’s digital economy.

Today, the Brant sisters’ company, Sapling & Flint, is thriving. Last year, 87% of their sales were online, with customers from across Canada, the US, and Western Europe. They aim to become the country’s first nationwide wholesale jewellery manufacturer that is Indigenous-owned and -operated on reserve.

365 days of business opportunity

Brant says PayPal made it easy to set their business up online and enabled them to grow and scale their business securely while helping put money on the table for their families.

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Study also examined the impact of e-commerce on the wage gap and found that in traditional entrepreneurship, women earned about 58% less than men. But for those in e-commerce, the difference in earnings decreased to 44%.

85% of female business owners believe they need to be online to compete effectively in today’s digital economy.

Brant says e-commerce and partnering with companies such as PayPal have been essential to her success, particularly as an Indigenous mother living on a reserve. “Indigenous communities are some of the most economically-isolated places in Canada. We have little physical opportunity for job creation,” Brant notes. “PayPal gave us this really simple way of taking money and sending invoices to people around the world. Our market went from two or three craft bazaars and powwows a year to 365 days of business opportunity.”

Source:
* The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, 2013

The post E-Commerce Helps Women Business Owners Thrive appeared first on HiveInnovates.

But Leonard is a rarity. More men are still drawn to STEM than women.

Women remain unrepresented

A study conducted by Statistics Canada entitled Women in scientific occupations in Canada, written by Dominique Dionne-Simard, Diane Galarneau, and Sébastien LaRochelle-Côté notes that, “Despite significant progress in education and labour force participation, women remain underrepresented in occupations in natural and applied sciences. The underrepresentation of women in scientific occupations is itself partly due to their low participation in fields of study related to STEM despite efforts to attract them.”

However, women are an important voice to have in the STEM fields as they offer unique perspectives and different problem-solving skills than their male counterparts while bringing diversity to the workplace. That’s why organizations such as Hydro One, Ontario’s largest electricity transmission and distribution company, collaborate with universities to offer programs that support female students undertaking studies in STEM.

At this age, so many young girls want to be doctors and police officers because that’s what they see, that’s what they know, that’s what people talk about. Unless their parents are engineers, chances are they don’t know these types of jobs exist.

Tessa Leonard

A post-secondary pipeline of talent

“Hydro One has partnered with four universities: Ryerson University, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Waterloo, and Western University to encourage women in STEM fields — specifically engineering,” notes Leonard. She learned about the company’s WEMADEIT initiative while working with the organization during her studies at Western University’s Faculty of Engineering. “Some f the funds given are used to provide things such as scholarships and networking events for female engineering students.”

One of the goals of WEMADEIT is to reach young girls early in their academic lives so that they know what sort of STEM careers are out there for them. “It’s important to start talking to kids as young as grade three,” Leonard explains. “At this age, so many young girls want to be doctors and police officers because that’s what they see, that’s what they know, that’s what people talk about. Unless their parents are engineers, chances are they don’t know these types of jobs exist.” One of the initiatives under the WEMADEIT program, for instance, is to support girls in science fairs. “It’s a long-term investment,” she says.

A different future awaits

Leonard is now an engineer-in-training working in protection design — a department within Hydro One’s Engineering division that focuses on designing settings for protection relays. She is in her second year of a two-year program for new graduates that includes two rotations outside her home base department, and continues to feel supported by Hydro One.

“There are several employee resources for women,” she says. “One I’m heavily involved in is a support network called Women in Trades, Technology, and Engineering. It’s a network meant to hack away at some of the barriers women face in these fields today.”

The way a woman would climb a tree to clear hydro lines is different from how a man would do it. But standard training protocols are based on how a man would, and could, do it.

Tessa Leonard

Acknowledging differences

When it comes to her awareness of the inequality in the sector, Leonard recalls that she only realized the barriers that existed when speaking with other women in the industry. She provides an example: “The way a woman would climb a tree to clear hydro lines is different from how a man would do it. But standard training protocols are based on how a man would, and could, do it.” Acknowledging these differences by changing protocols opens the field to a point where women can truly feel supported and recognized.

Leonard also takes part in the company’s Lean In Circle, a trend that began with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, which encourages participants to be more assertive in their careers and build their confidence through collaboration.

Ultimately, when organizations work collaboratively with universities and other industry leaders to support women in STEM, all parties stand to benefit from having a growing, diverse, and dynamic workforce in Canada. “Seeing change happen is so rewarding,” Leonard adds.

The post Building Support for Women in Male-dominated Industries appeared first on HiveInnovates.

We know the statistics. Only 16% of small and medium-sized businesses are majority women-owned. They also tend to be smaller and earn less than male-owned businesses. At first glance, these numbers seem disappointing but they are changing — fast. In fact, about half of all new businesses are started by women and the earnings gap is steadily closing.

But we can’t ignore the numbers, especially because they reinforce what most women entrepreneurs already know: it’s harder to find capital which makes it harder to hire and grow. Most lack female mentors and role models to look up to and learn from, and we are usually the main caregiver which makes it harder to balance work and family life.

I speak with dozens of women entrepreneurs… They can all agree that our problems are greatly reduced when women make connections with other female entrepreneurs.

We are stronger together

In any given week I speak with dozens of women entrepreneurs about how they can best achieve their business goals. Regardless of the type of entrepreneur they are: creator, builder, leader, or founder and the type of business they own, the stage of their company, or their revenue, the thing they can all agree on is that our problems are greatly reduced when women make connections with other female entrepreneurs.

This may seem obvious, but it takes a lot of time to run a business. You have to support the day-to-day business and try to be strategic to meet your longer-term business objectives. It’s hard to do both at once but more often than not, there is someone who has already been in your shoes and can provide invaluable advice, tips, or an introduction to help you meet your goals and save you tons of time and energy.

This past January, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) hosted a WE Talk Business Bootcamp for over 100 women entrepreneurs in Vancouver to help them learn how to grow their business. Following the event, we created a LinkedIn group so these women could stay connected, one of the key pain points identified during the session. Four days after the page went live, almost all of the women who attended our event had joined the group, exchanging both ideas and encouragement.

Imagine finding your own tribe of advocates, collaborators, and allies. Imagine building relationships that help you drive growth in your business, build your confidence and skills, and help you tap into other entrepreneurs. It’s possible. In fact, there are many simple ways women entrepreneurs can help themselves and others to be stronger together.

We created a LinkedIn group so these women could stay connected. Four days after the page went live, almost all of the women who attended our event had joined the group.

1. Ask the question

Success always starts with asking a question. More often than not, someone has been in your shoes, solved the problem you are facing, dealt with the problem client causing you to lose sleep, or knows someone who has. All you need to do is ask. Find an event, conference, association, or online group that brings together like-minded entrepreneurs and keep them in your network. Exchange an email, connect on LinkedIn, or schedule a coffee. You don’t always need to stay in touch with these people but knowing you have them when you need them (or they need you) is a powerful tool.

2. Pay it forward

Don’t just ask for advice, offer it freely as well. Growing up, my mom taught me the importance of the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Take the time to listen, offer your insights, advice, and learnings to help others. Genuine advice is more likely to be returned when you need it too.

3. Be a cheerleader

Women are less likely to promote their accomplishments, so help other women by shouting their successes. Brag about the women in your life landing new clients, exceeding their revenue targets, or winning awards. The more you do it for others, the more likely they are to do the same for you. And don’t forget that it is absolutely okay to be proud of your accomplishments and pound your own chest. An easy, and relatively cost-effective way to do this is using social media. It will help build your brand, and promote your own and other women’s, achievements.

4. The ripple effect

The problems we face as entrepreneurs are greatly reduced when we connect with other women. It takes time to build a trusted group of advisors, mentors, and supporters but over the years your circle will continue to grow and eventually you will see the ripple effect it has on all the women around you. By working together and supporting one another you can strengthen your business and set a great example for future entrepreneurs.

Laura Didyk
National Lead, Women Entrepreneurs, BDC

The post Helping Women Entrepreneurs Grow Stronger Together appeared first on HiveInnovates.