WBE Canada Launches Pilot Government Membership Program

For Immediate Release

Today WBE Canada (Women Business Enterprises Canada Council) announced during its 11th Annual Conference the launch of its pilot Government Membership Program designed to encourage Canada’s public institutions to formally adopt supplier diversity as a way forward to grow the Canadian economy.

While Canada’s public organizations have continued to recognize that diversity and inclusion drive growth and innovation and that entrepreneurship and innovation are key to Canada’s continuing economic growth and prosperity, the Covid-19 pandemic has in fact, exemplified these realities. Multiple studies confirm what we all guessed – women and women-owned businesses were hit harder by pandemic than other businesses. Yet, it is also known that companies and organizations with diverse supply chains perform better and enjoy better employee retention. Inclusion of women-owned businesses in supply chains is not only the right thing to do, it is also beneficial for businesses, organizations and the economy.

Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) are ready to support projects and initiatives across Canada, all they need is the invitation to compete on procurement opportunities.

WBE Canada has been working closely with the large corporations in various industries since 2009 and in 2016 they welcomed their first public service member – City of Toronto. Since then, more organizations joined the movement – BDC, Government of Canada, EDC and City of Brampton.

The recent pandemic triggered many conversations around the necessity of inclusion of WBEs in supply chains across the country. To do so, the WBE Canada Board of Directors made the decision to remove the cost barrier from government membership – to encourage government organizations across Canada to adopt supplier diversity programming and commit to making a difference for Canadian WBEs.

In the words of Silvia Pencak, President of WBE Canada, “It is time for Canada to start buying from Canadian women-owned businesses!”

Being a WBE Canada “Government Member” enables participating public organizations to access our “Supplier Diversity Accelerator” program, designed to provide training and consulting support to strategically enable and grow their commitment to including Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) within their supply chains.

For media inquiries contact:
Sharon Ferdinands, Marketing Manager, marketing@wbecanada.ca

ABOUT WBE CANADA
Women Business Enterprises Canada Council (WBE Canada) is Canadian non-profit organization with a mission to advance economic growth across Canada through certification, promotion and development of Women Business Enterprises (WBEs). WBE Canada champions Canadian business women helping them to connect to large corporate and government supply chains, providing necessary education and training to scale up and grow women-owned businesses. WBE Canada also works with corporations and public service organizations to help them establish and improve their supplier diversity initiatives. To learn more visit www.WBECanada.ca