Women's Enterprise Organizations of Canada

Published purpose

This 17-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19, through systemic change. Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada will achieve this by researching and analyzing the systemic barriers that prevent women entrepreneurs from accessing business growth capital and to use that knowledge to advocate for systemic change in lending policies. Lenders across Canada will be encouraged to use the educational tools and resources developed as part of the project to enhance understanding of the diverse needs of women entrepreneurs and implement changes within their institutions to overcome existing bias. At the end of the project, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices, encouraging more equitable and effective sharing of resources, supporting positive distribution of authority, voices, and decision-making power, and addressing persistent harmful gender norms and attitudes to support women’s equality.