WBE Canada Welcomes the University of Toronto As Its Newest Government Member

Women Business Enterprises Canada Council (WBE Canada) is excited to welcome the largest university in Canada — University of Toronto — as its newest government member and the first Canadian university in its Corporate and Government member community. With plans to have a supplier diversity portal implemented before December 2021, University of Toronto is committed to increase its procurement spend with Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) in the upcoming year by including an increased number of Canadian women-owned businesses among its diverse suppliers.

“Welcoming University of Toronto as our newest Government Member makes me really happy and proud,” said Silvia Pencak, President, WBE Canada. “It shows that an increased number of private and public organizations recognize the importance of supplier diversity and the significance of including women-owned businesses in supply chains. We hope that University of Toronto will inspire other academic institutions in Canada to contribute to the success and growth of Canadian women-owned businesses. This opens up great new opportunities for our WBEs and there is nothing that excites us more!”

“Joining the Women Business Enterprises Canada Council will help the University of Toronto promote social, environmental and financial sustainability through our purchasing,” said Renata Faverin, Director of Procurement Services for the University of Toronto. “At U of T, our spending decisions are opportunities to build community value through fiscal prudence.”

WBE Canada’s Government Membership program is designed to encourage Canada’s public institutions to formally adopt supplier diversity as a way forward to grow the Canadian economy. Government members also get access to WBE Canada’s 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.

About the University of Toronto

Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto has evolved into Canada’s leading institution of learning, discovery and knowledge creation. We are proud to be one of the world’s top research-intensive universities, driven to invent and innovate. The university offers more than 700 programs of study at its three campuses in the Greater Toronto Area and has full affiliations with nine teaching and research hospitals. For more information, visit utoronto.ca

About WBE Canada

Women Business Enterprises Canada Council (WBE Canada) is a Canadian non-profit organization working closely with corporations and government organizations advocating for inclusion of Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) in supply chains across Canada and abroad. To ensure diversity in supply chains WBE Canada works closely with its Corporate and Government members to provide necessary training and support to help establish and develop supplier diversity initiatives. Explore our Corporate/Government membership here.

Media inquiries: Sharon Ferdinands, Manager, Marketing and Communications, marketing@wbecanada.ca