WBE Canada Launches Supplier Diversity Accelerator Program To Help Develop And Improve Supplier Diversity Initiatives in Canada
For immediate release
Women Business Enterprises Canada Council (WBE Canada) today announced the launch of its new Supplier Diversity Accelerator program.
Statistics from both developed and underdeveloped countries are aligned when it comes to the percentage of spend with women-owned businesses within large corporate and government supply chains – a meagre less than 5%!
With the pandemic having a disproportionately bigger impact on women than men revealing inequalities in the workplaces and even more in supply chains, it has been reaffirmed that it is time to take strong steps towards diversifying supply chains and not just talk about it. WBE Canada decided to fill the void in supplier diversity space and launch Supplier Diversity Accelerator – training and consulting support for our Corporate Member organizations committed to including Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) in their supply chains. A percentage of Corporate Membership fees will be invested directly into program development and improvement to ensure that WBEs no longer continue falling through the cracks.
We watched first responders support their communities at the offset of the pandemic. But we also watched corporations fast track WBEs into supply chains and WBEs fast track orders to support Canadian workplaces and introduce innovative solutions that continue supporting companies even today. We are stronger together.
Following the recent release of the WBE Canada Toolbox designed to provide training and development for Canadian WBE suppliers, WBE Canada’s focus is on both sides of the equation – buyers and suppliers – to support faster recovery and support for the most vulnerable businesses and equality in the marketplace.
To provide the best support for Canadian organizations, WBE Canada partnered with supplier diversity veteran, Jamie Crump.
“Supplier diversity is a fairly new initiative in Canada and as the organization supporting Canadian WBEs we are aware of barriers and opportunities that exist for women-owned businesses in large supply chains. We look forward to working with our current Corporate Members and supporting them in their endeavours but we also hope to see more organizations eager to support Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) join us as we work our way through the pandemic recovery and beyond,” said Silvia Pencak, President of WBE Canada.
About Jamie Crump
Jamie Crump has focused her career in strategic sourcing and supplier diversity across a variety of industries including banking, catastrophic insurance, heavy equipment rental, IT, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, welding and medical supply. A frequent speaker at sourcing, supplier diversity, and leadership events across the U.S. and Canada, Jamie has been responsible for strategic sourcing, business services and operations, software development, capacity provisioning, and supplier diversity over the course of her career. Crump is the author of Backstage Pass: Pulling the Curtain Back on the Business of Supplier Diversity, which takes a look at how supplier diversity interacts with other areas of business or cast members. Jamie is President of The Richwell Group.
Jamie Crump will also be a presenter at Corporate Members Forum in September, WBE Forum in October and WBE Canada’s Annual Conference in November.
About WBE Canada
Women Business Enterprises Canada Council (WBE Canada) is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Canadian women-owned businesses in supply chains across Canada, US and abroad. Founded in 2009 organization works closely with large supply chains across the industries to certify eligibility of businesses for corporate and government supplier diversity programs, provide supplier development and networking opportunities to connect Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) to buyers in large supply chains.
Links:
WBE Certification – www.WBECanada.ca/certification
Corporate Membership – www.WBECanada.ca/membership
WBE Canada Conference – www.WBEConference.ca
Media Contact:
Sharon Ferdinands, Marketing Coordinator, WBE Canada, marketing@wbecanada.ca