Réseau des femmes d'affaires du Québec

Published purpose

This 30-month project will support a feminist response to and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19 through systemic change. To achieve this, the Réseau des femmes d’affaires du Québec plans to: develop and implement policies and practices that increase participation by and opportunities for underrepresented women entrepreneurs in the business world; and establish relationships between equality-seeking businesses and other stakeholders to collaborate on a sector-wide basis toward improving access by underrepresented women entrepreneurs to the supply chains of large corporations. By the end of the project, the organization will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices, and by expanding networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change in support of women’s equality. The Réseau des Femmes d’affaires du Québec (RFAQ) will help underrepresented women entrepreneurs overcome structural inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic. The project will address the systemic dual bias confronting women entrepreneurs from minority groups and hampering their access to the supply chains of large corporations. The project will focus on four areas of action: identifying systemic biases, engaging 75 large companies to adopt inclusive procurement practices, supporting women entrepreneurs in developing skills they can use to win contracts with major corporations, and initiating networking meetings allowing them to interact with buyers and broaden their network of contacts.