The Edge, A Leader's Magazine | Dr. Ann Kaplan

WOMEN WHO LEAD

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Financing Strategies for Female-Owned Businesses

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CELINA CAESAR CHAVANNES ERICA DANIELS TRACY BEAN WENDY LAW BINDU REDDY JULIE ANGUS

How

Covid-19 Fuelled IT and Innovation

DR. ANN KAPLAN, CEO OF IFINANCE How she defied the status quo to build and scale multi-billion conglomerates

PROS & CONS of Women in Start-ups & Silicon Valley

The Future of Canadian Foreign Policy Post-Pandemic

CRITICAL FACTORS OF DISAGGREGATING

THE GLOBAL BUSINESS CYCLE

WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP & LABOUR MARKET TRENDS IN CANADA

FOCUSED INVESTING

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E-commerce, streaming, social media

Real Estate Outlook

Infrastructure Outlook

Residential - The resumption of immigration

Industrials - Essential services such as waste

Industrial - The continued adoption of

Renewables and Utilities - The U.S. rejoining the

InfraTech - The rise of e-commerce, AI,

Energy - Low investment in the energy sector will support

and household formation will continue to drive demand as supply is constrained by labour shortages and supply chain disruptions.

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OVERVIEW WINTER 2021

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EDITOR’S MESSAGE

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COVER STORY Ann Kaplan

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BUSINESS Disaggregating the Role of the Global Business Cycle Women's Entrepreneurship and Labour Market Trends in Canada Denise Lee Yohn Cygne LaShae Swan WINNERS' CIRCLE Karen Richards Wendy Law Leah Goldstein Erica Daniels Heather Hasson & Trina Spear ECONOMICS 5 Financing Strategies for Female-Owned Businesses Global Wage Gap: Facts and Figures Lise Birikundavyi Khushboo Jha

OVERVIEW

WINTER 2021

START-UP Pros & Cons of Being a Woman in Start-ups & Silicon Valley The Microfinance Movement: Impact on Female Empowerment Kayla Isabelle Jane J. Wang TECH & INNOVATION How COVID-19 Has Fuelled IT and Innovation How AI Contributes to Cyber Security Processes Bindu Reddy Julie Angus LEADERSHIP Tammy Heermann Tracy Bean INDONESIA

POLICIES The Future of Canadian Foreign Policy Post-Pandemic The Goals of the Paris Agreement in the Global Climate Effort Alejandra Bravo Celina Caesar-Chavannes

48 50 52 54 57 59 61 63 66 68 70 74 76 78 80

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W I N T E R 2021 F OUNDER & E DITOR - IN -C HIEF | J ENNIFER M. W ILLIAMS P RESIDENT C URTIS E LLIS P UBLISHER J ORGE M ARSHALL A SSISTANT E DITOR R OSE H O

E DITOR - AT -L ARGE S HIRLEY G RAHAM

E DITORIAL W RITER A RSLAN A HMED

E DITORIAL A SSISTANT C ARLIE D OAN

C ONTRIBUTORS M AUREEN S IMPSON | D AVE G ORDON | R OB S HAPIRO | K ENNY H EDGES | R OBYN K ARMAZYN | P ETER C AMPBELL M ARCUS M EDFORD | J ERICHO T ADEO | B ROOKE P ARKER | S USAN G EBREZGIE | S EAN P LUMMER | S TEPHANIE H AWKINS | A UN A BBOTT N IGEL T AKLALSINGH | N ICK D AUK | O RVILLE G REEN | L LOYD P ENNEY | M URSAL R AHMAN | H ERMIONE R UAN | S ELINA B ARKER D IRECTOR O F D ESIGN A RMIS N. G OODARZI

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editor's message

The Influence of Women in Business Women across the globe are rewriting decades of history — and the rule books — for entrepreneurial success. We’re excited to spotlight some of those very individuals in this issue: top leaders, zealous businessbuilders, and agents of change.

They span career fields from Information Technology, Finance, Politics, Healthcare, Media, and Communications, to Entertainment, Marketing, Human Resources, and Travel.

These leaders among women, having climbed to the top with shrewd business judgement, have reformed our insights into what we can achieve. Their brilliant leadership and performance are nothing short of inspiring.

And still, they do much more, often taking the time to offer their skills and resources to help develop and cultivate the next generation of successful female entrepreneurs. These efforts strive to amplify the voice of businesswomen with the hope that they also mitigate gender bias and other subtle prejudices.

We acknowledge Ann Kaplan, an innovative and intellectual entrepreneur, as one of the many mentioned in this issue as women who lead. She has defied the status quo to build and scale several diverse industries.

Best of all, Ann’s work has helped improve many people’s lives, economically and for the greater good.

It’s important to note how far women have come, but there is still much work to do.

According to the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), women are the majority owners of about 15 per cent of Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with one or more employees — altogether about 114,000 companies in Canada (2017).

But women account for 1,050,000 — over 37 per cent — of self-employed Canadians (2019). Women entrepreneurs are more likely to be in service, social, health and beauty, and food sectors than manufacturing and technology. They are less likely to seek and receive financing than men (32.6 per cent versus 38 per cent). Companies owned by men are more likely to receive venture capital or angel funding and other

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forms of leverage, such as trade credit or capital leasing.

Emerging studies have also highlighted other crucial matters affecting women, exposing susceptibilities in our socioeconomic, environmental, and political systems. For example, when the coronavirus pandemic intensified, it directly and disproportionately impacted women, especially in marginalized countries and groups with humanitarian crises.

helps build character. Read books and articles designed for women on success, perseverance, and entrepreneurship lessons for more inspiration.

As always, thanks for your support and the ongoing opportunity to be of service.

Over the last year, we’ve seen the direct impact on women’s livelihoods, families, careers, financial and mental health, and overall entrepreneurship. A significant percentage of women have dropped out of the workforce since 2020 due to extensive business closures for the self-employed, compounded by childcare issues.

Therefore, workplaces must plan for a postpandemic work structure to accommodate and motivate female employees, which will help stimulate economic growth.

Such plans should include more inclusive frameworks for women regarding race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation plus longterm investments in mentorship opportunities and promotion to leadership positions. It’s imperative that women collaborate in our efforts, pool our resources, and establish sustainable goals to reduce regression in our advancement.

As women, we’re responsible for writing the script for our future, one reflecting who we are. So, commit to living to the fullest and the best and saying “no” to mundane tasks that do not require immediate attention.

It won’t be easy, but we must be resilient and courageous, avoid procrastination, and support those who are forging their way in the world of work.

Become a role model for women who want to follow in your footsteps. Strive to create and embark on major and strategic projects. Give back to your communities.

Find inspiration within and pivot to embrace change. Believe in yourself and your dreams and persist even when life becomes more complex because overcoming setbacks

In-Service of Women,

Jennifer M. Williams jennifer@theedgeleaders.com

“As women, we’re responsible for writing the script for our future, one reflecting who we are.”

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cover story

NAVIGATING TURBULENT TIMES A Conversation with Ann Kaplan

by Jennifer M. Williams

Self-made businesswoman Dr. Ann Kaplan is proof positive that yes, you can have it all and do it all if you find it. As president and CEO of iFinance Canada, she took the company from a start-up in 1996 to one of Canada's largest consumer finance companies today — with loan applications exceeding $2 billion. If that wasn't enough to keep her busy, she also handles an extensive portfolio of luxury real estate properties across the country.

The mother of eight, author of seven books, in-demand entrepreneur, and television host appears in the Canada Top 100 List, Canadian Business Magazine, and Profit Magazine year after year. Kaplan has been recognized with over forty international and national awards for her many achievements, including the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (2000 and 2015) and the Award of Excellence for Canada.

Kaplan has hosted television shows including Global's NYtv (featuring surgical and non-surgical makeovers), The Ultimate Makeover, Beauty by Design, and CosmedicTv. In addition, she was many viewers' favourite housewife on TV's The Real Housewives of Toronto. When she does not appear in front of the camera, she often appears in front of the microphone as a motivational speaker, frequenting the lecture circuit while discussing bank regulation, credit lending, and entrepreneurship.

Eager to use her resources for good causes, she has helped save countless lives by creating and donating more than 70,000 face masks during the COVID pandemic to frontline workers at Sick Kids Hospital, Sunnybrook Hospital, and retirement homes. Kaplan also started a fashion platform for new designers and brands, promoting the inclusion of social responsibility and fairness in fashion. Following this launch, Ryerson University announced its partnership with Kaplan with the AnnKM Fashion & Social Impact Initiative, which will support institutional inclusion initiatives. UforChange also incorporated AnnKM in the naming of their fashion school.

Kaplan epitomizes the drive and determination needed to accomplish one's goals. She offers The Edge readers ideas on how to navigate turbulent times, prepare for the future of the business world, and the best practices to manage a team.

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Those things happen very quickly, and if we don't change with the time, we'll be left in the dust. Everything now is interconnected, and COVID expedited our understanding of the impact of social media and technology.

With these changes, you'll see fewer brick-and-mortar businesses.

It is not that everything will shift; it is that everything has shifted.

If you're waiting for things to return to what they used to be, it isn't going to happen. It is important to incorporate solutions into any business model with consideration of the new-thinking customer.

What are some strategies that entrepreneurs can utilize to help their businesses thrive and grow?

When you're thinking of your business strategy, ask, "How can I mass distribute this?" If you're trying to find a solution for yourself, you must realize that somebody else is trying to find that solution too. For example, Uber didn't replace taxis. Uber found a solution for ride pickup. In the end, they took control of the ride market. Think of solutions and distribution, and if they don't exist, make them.

What impact has the pandemic had on your businesses, employees, and you, personally? What systems or processes did you put in place to navigate through it?

We're a finance company. We're lending across the country. We already had the systems and processes in place to make automated credit decisions; however, when we went into lockdown, we had to immediately move employees to work out of their homes. We supported a hundred employees throughout the pandemic and continued operating. It was complicated, but my response was, "We're a team. We support each other. We will figure it out."

What is your secret to staying focused and running multiple operations smoothly?

I have built many businesses and have currently been running a national finance company for over 25 years. My understanding of the corporate world and the focus it takes to successfully navigate multiple businesses is that it takes a team. The moment that I pat mysef on the back is the same moment when I look in the proverbial mirror and say, “Get over yourself.” I lead from a platform based on values and hard work, and I align myself with people who are like minded, talented, and have incredible skill sets.

Running and managing multiple operations takes considerable balance. To be successful, it is important to put a good team in place and to focus on each initiative unto itself. I use the saying, “Nose in, fingers out,” which is to say don’t do the job that your management is doing, but make sure your managers are doing their jobs.

The business landscape has changed drastically over the last decade with increasing social media and technology.

Can you explain how you've adapted?

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I knew that we would be affected adversely. The demand for financing increased, while simultaneously we had to reconsider how we looked at an individual’s ability to service a loan. The pandemic expedited online lending. It expedited medical procedures getting done because people started looking at themselves. People started focusing on their homes, purchasing pets, and basically shifting to the internet to make purchases.

Purchasing changed. The demand to borrow went up, but it also shifted the job market. Needless to say, we had to adapt to the new customer.

In today's business environment, what are some critical challenges and issues directly affecting women in Fortune 500 companies regarding wages, promotions, or gender equality?

The Fortune 500 companies get scrutinized for diversity, gender pay gaps, and women on boards. If there is an issue and a Fortune 500 company does not address it clearly and concisely, they will get hammered. I think organizations should have some governance and a response team for social impact.

I started a platform using the name "AnnKM" in the fashion world.

It isn't a platform necessarily for fashion or design; the platform addresses the need for the positive social impact that the fashion industry can have. Just as UforChange’s fashion school will now be called the AnnKM Initiative for Positive Social Impact Through

cover story

“Your values are what define you, and every action you take should be based on your values.”

Fashion, Ryerson University incorporated the AnnKM Fashion & Social Impact Initiative. Both will support institutional inclusion in the fashion industry. This encompasses fairness — consideration to the fabrics you've used, where a garment is made, size inclusivity, and consideration of fairness in gender and equality. Really, this message isn't isolated to fashion, but every industry. It's not a not-for-profit company; we donate the proceeds from sales to charity.

Have you established specific models regarding diversity and inclusion in your businesses?

We hire for skill, talent, and values, not intentionally balancing our talent in consideration of diversity. That said, we have a very diverse group of talented and skilled individuals. The culture of our organization incorporates and embraces inclusion and fairness. If I were to state there is a specific model — and there isn’t — but there is a culture of respect for our differences and inclusion.

Being such an accomplished figure in business and leadership and winning numerous awards, how can you influence others with similar interests and aspirations?

There are no limitations other than yourself. You have to first get out of your own way. Don’t look back. Surround yourself with people that lift you up and hold you up and forge forward. Be in the moment and keep learning. In fact, soak up information and learn to process and connect what you have learned to achieve output. Don't look at the end game, but consider that every step will contribute to your future.

Your wit, passion, and authenticity are apparent in your books, including How to Be Successful In Spite Of Yourself. Which of the recommended principles have you applied in your own life, and how have they worked for you?

The book talks about the principles of success and how to live for your values. First, your values are what define you, and every action you take should be based on your values. Second, incorporate a lifestyle that allows you to be in good physical shape and embraces a healthy lifestyle. Yes, that includes food, substance abuse, sleep, etc. It is difficult to focus on success when you get up each day focusing on repair. Third, purge the people that pull you back.

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You should be aligned with people that support you in business and in your personal life. Fourth, learn. Gain knowledge. If not in education, read books. Take in what people say and how they act, but keep learning. Knowledge is power. Lastly, move forward.

Don’t look back. Have values you incorporate in your decisions.

Have a healthy, clear mind, experience, and a learned brain and then ultimately step it up. There is nothing you cannot achieve from that platform where you are willing to put the work in.

During your tenure on Slice's hit TV show The Real Housewives of Toronto, what did you learn about teamwork and cultural differences from working with a diverse group of women?

I didn't really know any of the housewives before the show, and in the show, they separate you, so you don't discuss things between filming. I learned that life reflects what happens, and people are out for that moment. I think COVID has pushed us more forward in that we're trying to figure out and gain attention. [In] reality TV, you have to be engaging at the moment. You can't just sit there and say nothing. Reality TV tells you, "I've got a camera in front of me, and whatever I'm doing, I have to be succinct, and I have to be engaged." What I took away from that show was that realization as to the impact of focusing on the moment.

Basically, I live my life as if I am still always in front of a camera.

When it comes to teamwork, in particular with people you do not know, there is an underlying feeling of survival. You question motives and you don’t see the other side until it plays out on television months later. You don’t know if someone was on your team or purely self motivated. You can also consider that, similar in life, we do not know intentions; we can only assume and at some point the hand may be shown and surprise us.

One of your charities, MasksForEveryone, has donated masks to frontline workers and those in need. Would you care to elaborate on this?

2020 was a difficult year. The reality of the pandemic shifted us to a fearful mode of survival. People scrambled for the essentials, including simple supplies such as masks. Unfortunately, supplies were short as were the resources to make them. My self-motivated survival shifted in one phone call: my dear friend who works at Street Health called me in tears, "Ann, we don't have enough masks. The workers don’t have masks. People on the street don't have masks." I replied, "I will see what I can do."

Well, I had material from designing clothing. I had seamstresses, and I had the will. A few of the designers made mask templates and a how-to video. We sourced filters at Canadian Tire, sourced gloves and drivers, and a business was born. So far, we have donated over 70,000 masks to frontline workers, Sick Kids Hospital, Sunnybrook, and retirement homes throughout Ontario. I paid a dollar per mask to the seamstresses who were helping from the good of the their hearts but appreciated a little income during shutdown.

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Are there any words of wisdom that you'd like to share with anyone wanting to pursue a career in finance or technology?

These are exciting times. The recent expedited shift to online shopping has and will continue to open opportunities for entrepreneur-minded people. How can I get that product to market? Think about it. Finance is a product just like any other product that can be attained in a store or online. Technology is the vehicle to distribute your product. Consider ways to mass distribute in a user-friendly way, then create the technology that enable your distribution channel.

Do you have an inspirational motto or quotation?

“The universe rearranges itself to accomodate your picture of reality.” //

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business

DISAGGREGATING THE ROLE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS CYCLE

by Nigel Taklalsingh

T

he subject of disaggregating the global business cycle (GBC) has been primarily discussed in academic and institutional circles. Disaggregating, or breaking down, this cycle brings visibility to factors that have an economic impact across countries, compared to those whose effects are limited to a nation’s borders.

The GBC is defined as the change in global economic activity based on the five phases of the business cycle.

This view is useful in a broader context to understand the forces that influence an individual country’s economic performance, especially in today’s highly integrated business environment. The insights can also be applied to mitigate the risks of businesses operating in the global market.

The Business Cycle A typical business cycle has five phases: • Expansion – increase in employment, sales, and the demand and supply of products • Peak – the point when growth reaches the maximum limit • Recession – continued decline in GDP, typically for two consecutive quarters • Trough – declining economic activity, leading to a negative growth rate • Recovery – the end of the decline when demand starts to increase

Research Insights According to a report by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), International Business Cycle Co-Movement Through the Lens of Individual Firms (2016), countries that have greater levels of bilateral trade also have highly correlated business cycles that would cause easier “transmission of economic shocks” between those countries. While this may be a reasonable conclusion, the report also presents the view that countries with oft-occurring trade between them also exhibit other similarities that could predispose them to share the impacts of economic shocks.

This latter point proposes that countries with similarities create the same types of economic shocks, which are not necessarily transferred due to high levels of bilateral trade.

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The Bank of England produced a report, Disaggregating the International Business Cycle (2012), which looked at business cycle fluctuations based on industry-specific data during the Great Recession (2007 to 2009) for Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and the US. The report indicated that while the global factor explains most of the changes in GDP, country factors — elements common to all economic sectors in a country — explains the largest variance in productivity growth. This suggests that country-specific factors are the main drivers of a country’s position on the business cycle and, ultimately, economic performance.

In the report International Business Cycle Synchronisation: The Role of Financial Linkages (2016) prepared by CEPR, it was assessed if increased financial integration

was responsible for more or less synchronised business cycles between nations. Financial linkages include comparable exchange rate policies, regulatory requirements, movement of capital, and monetary policies.

The analysis concluded that despite the extent of financial linkage, the degree of synchronisation of business cycles is dependent on types of economic shocks.

This finding would indicate that while countries align their financial infrastructures — and consequently harmonize business cycles, other factors still lead to divergent economic performance.

business

Putting It into Perspective The findings from the research confirm that despite increasing globalization, multilateral trade agreements, and standardization across industries, there are still countryspecific elements that will create some independence from the global business cycle.

Countries with similarities are more prone to the same economic shocks versus being subject to transmission of those shocks from other countries.

The current challenges of the wine industry provide a good example of this scenario.

Decreased labour supply, increased demand in restaurants, and nature are all factors affecting the wine industry, currently valued at over $360 billion. A typical order took five to six weeks to be delivered before the pandemic. Now, that order is taking three to four months for delivery. Despite the trading relationships between wineproducing countries, they are all facing the effects of rising demand as restaurants reopen and supply challenges arise due

to the limited availability of shipping containers. The situation is made worse as unusually cold weather, wildfires, and drought have impacted harvests according to the Washington Post, June 2021.

Country-specific actions are the main driver of a country’s economic performance.

Recognizing the influence of global trade, countries can implement domestic strategies to promote GDP growth.

Investment in research and development (R&D) is one area that countries have focused on to improve their economic standing. This strategy is supported by the report Technological Innovation and Economic Growth: A Brief Report on the Evidence (2019), which states that “[countries] risk triggering economic stagnation, lower living standards, and decreased economic dynamism if they discourage technological innovation.”

Global spending on R&D has now reached a high of US$1.7 trillion, with the US and China spending over US$800 billion, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Israel and

South Korea spend a greater percentage of GDP on R&D — 4.95 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively — compared with the US at 2.7 percent (World Economic Forum). These countries’ five-year average GDP growth rates were 3.4 per cent, 3 per cent, and 2.4 per cent respectively, according to Georank.

Country-specific factors affect business cycle synchronization despite financial linkages.

The reaction of Canadian banks to the 2008 financial crisis is a clear example of how a country-specific measure (i.e. increased regulation) protected the Canadian banking system and decoupled it from the international fallout, despite Canada being a global trading partner. In 2011, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Canada’s stability was proven by lack of bank failure and bailouts, resulting in a less severe recession than that south of the border.

In Summary Disaggregation of the global business cycle is a useful discussion when comparing the growth or recovery of countries, despite their being inextricably linked due to globalization. Furthermore, this topic is helpful for businesses to understand how cross-border or multinational operations are affected by country-specific factors.

• Awareness of economic shocks caused by domestic factors versus transmission from other countries provides confidence in controlling economic recoveries.

• Investments to increase productivity and promote innovation will help countries and businesses lead in globally connected industries.

• Interventions via fiscal policy and regulation can buffer nations from the spread of negative global economic events. //

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WOMEN’S

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LABOUR MARKET TRENDS IN CANADA

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by Susan Gebrezgie s a woman, you have a choice of working as a domestic servant, unskilled worker, sex worker, nun or a teacher. Few of you may be sole proprietors of businesses or professional services, but that’s only if your husband dies and leaves you his business. You also have the option of running a brothel, tavern or alehouse (that is of course if you are unmarried and unafraid of being labeled a “social pariah!”).

Most women will work until they marry, and once married, their only job is to be a homemaker.

(These were the employment opportunities for women in the early 19th century.)

Fast forward to today, female entrepreneurs are prevalent in sectors including education and healthcare (63.1 per cent); accommodation and food services (52.8 per cent); information, culture and recreation (44.1 per cent); finance, insurance and real estate (38.5 per cent); and professional services (38.1 per cent).

In the last 30 years, we have seen an increase in female entrepreneurs, yet female business owners still face wage and gender discrimination. You may wonder: how could self-employed women experience wage discrimination if they set their prices? This is because they aren’t taken as seriously as their male peers, and so they charge less to get and keep clients.

To better understand the evolution of female entrepreneurship, we must examine labour market trends, and determine what key events throughout history have affected female leadership.

Timeline: History of Women in the Canadian Labour Market Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia

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First Half of the 20th C.

1901

WW1

Jobs available to women are limited.

Employers, men, and moral reformers push women to work within the home to preserve their true callings as wives and mothers. It was also feared that the cheap labour of large numbers of women would undercut men’s wages.

Women comprise 13% of the total labour force employed as servants, dressmakers, teachers, seamstresses, tailors, housekeepers, launderers, milliners, and saleswomen.

Women replaced men who had joined in the war effort, but labour shortages were not severe enough to warrant largescale employment. At the end of the war, women were encouraged to leave the work force. Married women employed by government were legislated out of it.

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1990 Third-Wave Feminism Begins Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement, where feminists question, redefine and reclaim existing philosophies about gender, womanhood, sexuality, masculinity, and femininity.

This movement influenced much of the economic changes and women’s entrepreneurship growth in the 1990s.

Between 1990-1995, self-employment for women was steadily growing at a rate of approximately 25 per cent per year, and there was even an observable trend of female entrepreneurs increasing faster than men. Women’s income also rose (relative to men’s), moving up to 76.5 cents for every dollar earned. It is important

to note there was an income gap between women of different races, where white women still made more than Latina and Black women, who made 54.5 cents and 64.1 cents, respectively.

Pop culture also played a major role in the rise of female leadership. There were intelligent, outspoken feminists-in-themaking musicians like Sarah McLachlan, who helped teach the next generation of women that being a girl meant whatever they wanted it to mean. Girls in the 90s were encouraged to pursue every career opportunity, even in the face of adversity.

2000 Fair Pay and Steady Strides in the Workplace At the turn of the century, feminism became a real threat to masculinity, and spawned a social sector that was much more conducive for female business owners. From Martha Stewart to Oprah Winfrey to serial entrepreneur and award-winning mentor Vicki Saunders, these women helped to pave the way for female entrepreneurs everywhere.

On February 17, 2016, a special committee on pay equity was formed, to mandate issues of pay equity. After a report titled It’s

Time to Act was produced, the Government of Canada reaffirmed its commitment to developing proactive pay equity reform.

From 2000 to 2020, the number of female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies increased from two to 37, representing 7.4 per cent of the top spots. This advancement drove up earning power, and these statistics will presumably increase as women in leadership roles beget more female leaders.

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1918 - 1922

WW2

Post WW2

65% of female workers were in clerical, domestic service, and professional (mainly teaching and nursing) occupations.

The suffrage movement fought for political equality. The federal vote was granted to women in 1918, and provincially by 1922 in all provinces except Québec, where the struggle continued until 1940.

Once again, employers hired women to do men's jobs. This time, at the end of the war, many stayed and were employed in an expanding number of "female" jobs in the service industries.

Trade unionists feared competition from "unskilled" female labour, and pushed for upholding the traditional role of women. Regardless, female workers fought for higher wages and better working conditions.

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2010 Female Breadwinners Hit an All-Time High By 2010, female breadwinners almost quadrupled from the 1970s, from 8 per cent to over 30 per cent. Women were now earning more degrees than men, and because of this, they were increasingly closing the breadwinner gap.

More men also chose to be stay-at-home dads, and although this looked like a shift in societal norms, some evidence suggests this likely had more to do with a major economic downturn and a loss of manufacturing jobs, than with any great strides forward in pay equity or gender parity.

2020 Impacts of COVID-19 Challenges for female entrepreneurs have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many self-employed women have found themselves ineligible for business support ─ particularly those working in the services sector, where often they rely on contractors instead of employees, and therefore, they’re excluded from programs focused on companies with employees. Bearing childcare responsibilities also disproportionately affects them.

To take economic recovery seriously, you must efficiently evaluate and address the challenges faced by women and other underrepresented groups of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial diversity is essential not just for women, but for the entire economy.

For example, increasing the number of female entrepreneurs provides a potential $150 billion GDP economic gain. A recent study titled, The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada highlighted some important issues: • Women are majority owners of about 15.6 per cent of all small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) with one or more employees – about 114,000 companies (2017). However, women account for over 37 per cent of self-employed Canadians – that’s 1,050,000 (2019).

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• Women are less likely to seek and receive financing than men (32.6 per cent vs. 38 per cent respectively), and firms owned by men are more likely to receive venture capital, angel funding, and/or other forms of leverage, such as trade credit or capital leasing.

• SMEs with under 20 employees have been the hardest hit during the pandemic, and women are more likely to own newer and smaller businesses, making them the most affected.

• Female-owned start-ups have lower growth rates of income (on average, it takes up to five years to catch up to maleowned counterparts).

• During the pandemic, the percentage of female-owned businesses that laid off staff (40.6 per cent), is about equal to the percentage of male-owned businesses overall (40.5 per cent).

Future research needs to focus on a better understanding of questions like why female-owned businesses experience a lower growth rate than male-owned businesses, and what drives these differences. Also, the research, programs, and any plans for economic recovery (resulting from COVID-19) must have a gender and diversity lens. If not, we risk turning back the clock on decades of progress. //

The 1950s

1951 - 1994

1960s

1994

Economic expansion creates new jobs for women. By 1951, women comprised 22% of the total labour force. As many young people begin staying in school longer, many families needed two-income earners to be able to afford more goods and to raise their standard of living.

Female labour-force participation rate of married women rises to 57.6%. A steady increase in part-time work, with low benefits and security, has expanded.

69.4% of these jobs are filled by women.

Women continued to earn lower wages than men.

The women's movement of the 1960s has spurred female independence. They joined unions and debated issues, such as wages for housework, pensions, and public child care. Public policy begins to progress to include anti-discriminatory employment policies, affirmative action, equal pay for equal work, and more.

Women comprise 43% of the total labour force, and 70% are still employed in clerical, sales, service, teaching, and nursing and health-related occupations.

As the need for the two-income earner families continues to increase, so too does the demand for parental leave and day-care programs that recognize women's role in the labour force, and men's role in child rearing and household work.

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DENISE

LEE YOHN Brand Expert, Author, and Speaker

Photos courtesy of Denise Lee Yohn

by Carlie Doan Denise Lee Yohn has cracked the code on achieving brand leadership. An in-demand keynote speaker, best-selling author, and brand expert, Yohn inspires business leaders around the world through her captivating presentations, writings, and appearances on major news media outlets. She spoke with The Edge regarding the role that culture-building plays in today’s business environment, and the importance of adaptation in times of great change.

What led you to become the expert on everything “brand leadership” that you are today?

I love brands! I’ve always been fascinated by the influence they have on customers, on culture in general, and the value they create for companies. Previously, as head of Brand & Strategy at Sony, I worked on building the brand from the inside out, developing alignment and engagement with the brand among all employees. As I grew my own brand-consulting business, I began focusing more and more on organizational culture and employee experience as the drivers of strong brands and great customer experiences. Today, as a keynote speaker, I am engaged by clients around the world to inspire and teach their organizations about building great brands and exceptional organizations.

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What are a few of the most notable branding and culture issues affecting companies of all types and sizes today?

A large body of research has shown that a lack of employee engagement plagues today’s business world. In the new world of remote and hybrid work, engaging, motivating, and aligning employees is more important than ever. Culture-building is a powerful antidote to these unprecedented threats and pressures. A healthy culture helps increase employee engagement, productivity, and the likelihood that employees will stay at your company.

As for brands, competition is fierce. Customers have so many choices, and their expectations have been elevated by the best companies in the world. It is increasingly difficult to sustain product leadership over time and differentiate brands on product features or performance alone. A definitive brand identity expressed through superior customer experiences can help build longterm customer relationships and maintain higher profit margins.

Plus, public scrutiny into companies is at an all-time high, and there is a growing lack of trust in companies among customers and other stakeholders. People are savvier these days, and brand authenticity is difficult to establish. But, if you align and integrate your external brand identity and your internal organizational culture — if you fuse the two — then you truly are on the inside

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what you say you are on the outside, and you inspire people’s trust and loyalty.

Many businesses have had to adapt their operations due to the pandemic. What do you forecast the impact of these changes will have on organizations with respect to workplace culture?

These changes make culture-building a lot more difficult and complex! As a business leader, you can address these challenges by embracing culture-building as your strategic leadership responsibility. Great cultures don’t just happen. You need to explicitly articulate your desired culture and intentionally cultivate it through your communications, role-modelling, and leadership of the organization.

Also, design and manage employee experience (EX). EX is the sum of all interactions that an employee has with your organization — from the moment they become aware of you as a potential employer through recruiting, onboarding, training, development, and all the day-to-day connections and experiences they have to the end of employment. Employers need to deliberately design all those interactions to equip and empower employees to do great work. Now that many employees are working in their own environments, and there’s so much variation in what employees want and need to be successful, we have to recognize that one EX for our entire workforce is not enough. We need to listen to and learn from our people.

What’s it like being a keynote speaker during a pandemic shutdown? Has your business pivoted, and do you have any advice for others who have had to adapt?

Although in-person engagements have started to come back, most of my engagements have been virtual.

Agility and resilience have fueled my adaptation — and quite serendipitously — many of my keynotes these days are on those very topics. The more I learn about what it takes to lead in today’s challenging environment, the more I’m able to inspire and teach others to do so.

It’s most important to remember that change happens, and there will only be more change and faster change in the future.

We can try to fight it or ignore it, but we’ll be unsuccessful.

Instead, we need to embrace it as an opportunity. Because of all this disruption, we don’t have to accept things the way they are — we can proactively create the conditions in which we can be successful.

Where can our readers look out for you in 2022?

I will continue to contribute leadership insights to Harvard Business Review, SmartBrief on Leadership, and LinkedIn, and I’ll be developing new keynote talks about brand leadership, customer experience, and organizational culture that will enable leaders to thrive and grow. Keep an eye on my site, deniseleeyohn.com, for all this new content. //

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CYGNE

LASHAE SWAN CEO, C Wright Aviation

Photos courtesy of Cygne LaShae Swan

by Brooke Parker As a woman, what challenges did you have to overcome to become the president of an aviation firm?

The value women produce while serving in leadership roles is astronomical and has [an] economic impact. Women should be given the opportunity to contribute equally to large corporations and organizations. Women have the mental capacity to operate on multiple levels while wearing numerous hats. There is no doubt that women are and will remain to create impact for the mission of one generation to the next.

I had to overcome the feeling of negative comments, disrespect and ignoring the naysayers. You have to lead with a self-determined spirit, an assertive and relentless mindset, and positive authority.

I have always and continue to embrace an appetite for hard work and self-improvement. Obedience allows you to serve within your purpose, and at this point, you will have shattered glass ceilings within your divine purpose. That purpose is merely to encourage individuals who take inspiration away from your journey. The ultimate joy is touching the lives that matter, providing hope to reach for those attainable goals and dreams beyond the stars.

What's the greatest risk you have taken in your career that paid off in a big way?

The greatest risk I've taken is always just standing firm [in] my values and belief system without wavering. Often, people tend to conform to their environments for reward or advancement, and I've never done that. I've always been consistent with staying true to who I am. I've always been told that my message of love and peace wouldn't hold up in the business world because having

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a high level of competitive aggression was necessary. I don't handle business that way. I'm very personable with positive and healthy standards, and that is how I've led [in] business.

I've been able to gain a lot of mentorship throughout my life with the mastery of energy and gratitude and being strong in my faith. It's unorthodox, but I have certain principles and values that I do not change for anyone. That's why I am here, fostering [an] operational and innovative culture. I feel customer service and relationships with clients [are] everything. So, I say be kind, honest, truthful, transparent, and execute your skills with action.

How do you overcome obstacles in your career and life?

I pray and meditate, re-balance my energies. Manifest all positives into existence, and release the negatives from all thought, and speak only positive affirmations. A lot of times, individuals will continue to repeat words inwardly and outwardly into the universe or allow meaningless energy into their space and prevent productivity. Continue and keep fighting.

You have to be spiritually balanced, and this is a practice of discipline and self-control. Law of attraction and manifestation of all things will present itself so only manifest healthy abundance.

Keep close with the higher power and continue to build on faith.

That is the one thing that will lead you through all adversity.

Your dream is your thoughts, inspirations, experience, lessons, and adversity converted into goals, empowering your faith and love, and maintaining hope. Your passion, values, and beliefs will manifest in abundance, creating your dream as a reality. //

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C Wright Aviation also offers wing-to-wing support on aircraft acquisitions, including crucial aircraft inspections, and the team has handled several first-of-type aircraft transactions.

Cygne Jets offers a premier charter experience combined with the flexibility to service over 20,000 destinations around the globe. They are committed to providing safety, security, and the best possible in-flight experience for their clientele. The operations team also provides 24/7 flight support, as well as ground handling service, including VIP meet-and-assist services at airport terminals, luxury vehicle transfers, and immigration and customs assistance. They guarantee an impeccable level of service, strict confidentiality, and the highest levels of safety and security at all times. Discover flexible quality private jet services tailored to suit every need anywhere in the world, whether flying for business or leisure, with an option to purchase hours and membership packages at a fraction of the market cost.

Founder and CEO Cygne LaShae Swan champions excellence, consistency, and unparalleled customer service in the world of aircraft and charter services through C Wright Aviation and Cygne Jets. An entrepreneur from an early age, she has achieved success in multiple fields, including insurance, real estate development, and fashion design. In pursuing her greatest passion — business aviation — Swan is a pioneer for women in the industry at an executive level. She is also on a mission for innovation and sustainability in the future of air travel. She credits her stellar service record to her minister father and her steadfast faith and values, which is why she handles things in a conscientious, transparent, and honest manner, focusing on building strong client relationships.

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winners' circle

KAREN RICHARDS Associate Vice President in Business Architecture and Innovation, Sun Life Financial

by Kenny Hedges

t To hear Sun Life’s Karen Richards tell it, banking is about people. From the teams she leads to the communities she serves, Richards has drawn on both her background in sociology, as well as her diverse and unexpected career path. In the end, it’s come down to empathy. Richards expects to bring the same humanity to her expanded mandate this fall, as Assistant Vice President for Distribution, Business, Architecture, and Platforms. She graciously spoke with The Edge about her unique view on leadership.

While there have been some strides to improve and increase diversity in many industries, this tends to be less true at the C-suite level. In your opinion, where are we still lacking, and what can we do about it?

I don’t believe there’s a straight line to the C-suite or any leadership roles for that example, but just focused on the C-suite — given the breadth and the depth of the accountability that’s needed, the experience that’s required, the versatility and diversity in that skillset — it takes time.

I think we all have a role to play, especially everybody that considers themselves part of the leadership team in any organization. When I reflect on my own career, the opportunities that I’ve received is because I was invested in. I received great advice and encouragement.

When I look at my job and what we can do about it, I use my talent and my coaching skills to invest in our future pipeline. It’s not someone else’s job; it’s my job. My contribution is that I actively mentor. Based on all the people that I am mentoring, I can’t wait to see what they accomplish and how far they all go.

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Photo courtesy of Karen Richards

What has your background in sociology taught you about being an influential leader? Do you believe leadership traits vary across different sectors?

When I think about all the things I studied in sociology and all the books I read, I think it comes back to people and relationships. On a one-to-one level, everyone has needs that are different and time-based, situational, with groups, or cross-groups.

I can’t lead without team members, stakeholders, or other leaders around me. When I work on a project, I find that the people that I work with, the skillsets that I work with, there’s diversity in thought, in leadership around the table, which is amazing.

There was a time in my career where I reported to eight different leaders in a span of ten months. It wasn’t planned; it just happened that way. I had a front row seat, and I learned that there wasn’t a singular playbook to leadership. I learned that early in my career, which was a great thing. They all had a unique style that I appreciated for different reasons.

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How do you think your past experiences prepared you to take up your current role as Associate Vice President in Business Architecture and Innovation?

It changed from having a plan to knowing a little more generally where I needed to go in my career but being open to those opportunities as they presented themselves.

In terms of what got me here, it was not a career that I planned. It was a career that happened for a series of opportunities and doors that were opened for me, either project-specific or other leaders observing me and providing opportunities for me to try different things.

You once said, "For the next generation of women leaders, remember you don't need to accept your circumstances."

Can you expand on this?

At first blush, I was a little terrified in terms of jumping from one type of discipline to another. What I learned through that whole experience is that, in the beginning of my career, I didn’t appreciate or value a lot of the transferable skills that I had.

I honestly think I was giving myself a pep talk as I was writing that because there are so many times that for me and the women that I coach or mentor, we just keep doing it all. I find that there’s a false notion that as women, you need to do it all in every aspect of your life to be accepted and to feel worthy.

Another leader described me the other day as “poly-skilled.” That I can jump into different situations, different problem statements, and I have experience in managing or leading something like that before.

As someone with a background in marketing, business design, and financial services, what was the driving factor for working in these different industries?

The driving factor for marketing was it’s something I really loved and continue to love. I curated my plan and my career in the beginning to say I wanted different experiences in marketing, in market research, and direct marketing.

I was the promotions director for a rock radio station in London, Ontario, then I went to TD to continue my marketing career at a greater scale. It was then that things pivoted because there were different opportunities that presented themselves where I was asked to apply for roles that were outside of marketing.

What I’ve learned and continue to learn — I’m not perfect at this — is that it’s about choice and releasing what no longer serves me. For many, many years, I’ve supported or led women in leadership initiatives, and the one question that comes up the most from women is, “How do I achieve work-life balance?”

It’s not about balance. It’s not about adding more to your plate. It’s about priority. Back to the circumstances, it’s “How do I reevaluate my current situation? What are the things that bring me joy?”

It’s putting that oxygen mask on for yourself first, as a woman — as anybody — and then taking the time to consistently reevaluate your circumstances to say what should and shouldn’t be on the plate. //

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WENDY LAW

Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services and City Solicitor, City of Vaughan

by Rose Ho

D Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services and City Solicitor of the City of Vaughan, Wendy Law has nearly two decades of experience in the public sector, working within municipal law and business departments. Her management style focuses on empowering others. She sat down with The Edge to share her passion for empowering those working around her and general advice for those new to the workforce.

Photos courtesy of Wendy Law

What do you find most fulfilling about working in law and senior management?

In law, we get involved in a lot of very complicated matters. [One] thing about practicing law in a municipality is we don't have that many lawyers, [so] at the early stage of my career, I [was] able to get involved in some of the more complicated matters early on.

It’s fun. It's challenging, but it's intellectually stimulating. We get to work with a lot of people. For me, because I love working in teams. I think that is just something that drives me.

I had some time and the opportunity to get a master’s degree while I was in Mississauga. I deliberately went into [a] master's in public policy administration versus a master's in law because I find that to be an excellent lawyer, I need to understand my clients [and] the business really well. It just brings on various opportunities for us to do work for the citizens and also to do work that will enhance the effectiveness and efficiencies of the organization. And to me, that's just fun.

What kind of challenges did you overcome while working in the public sector?

I think one of the things that we have to deal with as a lawyer in government is that public policy and public administration deals

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with the citizenry, and there's a lot of interaction with the citizens, with the residents. Whereas the practice of law by its nature — our job is to protect and advocate for the interests of our client, which is the corporation. Sometimes, there is a misunderstanding that we're not the lawyers for the residents, and that brings certain considerations and also a lot of explanation. There's a little bit of tension there that every now and then will come up, but it's totally reconcilable.

The other thing that, I think, in terms of working in the public sector, we are very strong on policies and principles and governance.

There is a process for things to be approved, and we need to work with those processes. Sometimes, when we're dealing with outside parties, they might not necessarily understand why things need to go a certain way or another way, so we will work through those issues with outside parties.

What qualities do you find are most important to have as a manager, and what qualities do you look for in the people working for you?

As a manager, I think competencies are generally assumed. If someone is hired into a role, we expect that that person is able to do the job. For me, the more important qualities that I'll look

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for would be the soft skills. I would like my staff to be able to be assertive, but at the same time, be empathetic to people's needs. Especially for lawyers, you need to be able to make your argument and be an advocate, but at the same time, we need to hear what people are saying, what their needs are. I think that this is critical.

In terms of people that I will look for, I'll also look for people who are dedicated and who are diligent. I think the working attitude is critical. We need to be able to rely on our team members to deliver because if one person is not delivering, then it pulls down the rest of the team.

Also, I think it's important to be humble. Humility is important because we need to be able to recognize our strengths and weaknesses, and to constantly have the eagerness to learn. No one knows everything, and no one will ever know everything. We need to respect each other's expertise and hear what everybody else has to contribute to the conversation.

Please share a little bit about your perspective on the empowerment of women in the workplace.

I believe in empowerment overall — men and women, diversity — it doesn't matter. I think that it is important as leaders in an organization to empower our staff. I think it is important that we empower our team. Personally, I'm very passionate about coaching and mentorship. For example, when I'm working with my direct reports, I like to have [as] part of our one-onone conversation on a monthly basis, we also touch on issues dealing with development goals. So, it's not just, "Okay, let's talk about business.”

In the context of women — because I'm a woman, I think that it's naturally something that I should be doing. Recently, I've been engaged in various one-on-one discussions with different women leaders within our organization, outside of my own portfolio. I put it out at one of our town halls earlier, saying that I'm interested in speaking with anybody who is interested in just getting onto a virtual coffee meeting with me and have those conversations.

I'm hoping that, through our conversation, I'm able to maybe perhaps inspire a thought or work with them on something that will help them move forward in whatever endeavor that they want to embark on.

What advice would you like to give to those who are starting at the bottom of the ladder in the public sector?

For anybody who's starting, whether public or private sector, I think it's important to work hard and be diligent and gain as much experience as you can. Over time, everything that we do will all add up. There are no [shortcuts] to experience whatsoever.

Everything that we've done, it adds to your own professional growth, your own profile. [You] might not know exactly where your career leads you eventually, because it will be a long career, but everything will add up together. There will be the right opportunities that will allow you to utilize the skill set that you have learned [and] acquired over the years. //

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LEAH GOLDSTEIN Athlete, Speaker, and Author

by Dave Gordon

L Leah Goldstein puts the “severe” into persevere. The physical demands and rigours she has experienced in life include being a kickboxing champion, a professional cyclist, an elite military officer, and overcoming near-death accidents.

Photos courtesy of Leah Goldstein

The latest triumph over adversity is a record-setting one: in June 2021, the B.C. resident became the first woman to win Race Across America (RAAM) in its 38-year history. The 5,000-kilometre race — from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland — must be completed in under 12 days. Goldstein completed it in 11 days, three hours, and three minutes.

Lessons in fortitude and grit began quite early for her with Taekwondo lessons at age nine. By 16, she achieved a black belt as the National Junior Champion. She moved on to kickboxing, and while juggling high school classes, she became World Bantamweight Kickboxing Champion in 1989. The secret to excelling, she insists, is to know one’s own weaknesses.

“My coach, he never told me what I was good at. I knew what I was good at. What he told me is what I'm bad at, and how I need to improve it. And even when I improve[d], he said, there's always a better way to do it, you can always be better,” she explained.

“Because he believed that's what I could do. Are you willing to make it better? How much are you willing to fight for it?”

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That kind of distilled willpower carried into her Israeli military service. She became one of a handful of women instructors of the elite commando division and later, a krav maga self-defense trainer for special unit soldiers.

A new athletic challenge presented itself when she later shifted gears to professional cycle racing, where she would pedal tens of thousands of kilometers competitively.

Yet, despite the training, and safety precautions, a string of serious injuries occurred that would have permanently discouraged an ordinary rider from ever riding a bike again.

In a Pennsylvania race in 2004, she fell off the bike, breaking her hand. And then, in 2005, after winning nine of her first 11 races, she was involved in what she calls “the mother of all crashes” during the Cascade Classic — she landed on her face at 80 kilometres an hour, “breaking practically every bone in my body, ripping my face right off.”

Doctors were astounded she survived at all. More astounding was her outlook on the situation: “I actually came back out of that stronger than I was prior.”

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During certain parts, she had hallucinations. “I didn’t know what I was doing on my bike. I didn’t know where I was. And then, you kind of snap out of it,” she explained. “It’s that element of the mental challenge of really pushing forward...no matter what kind of pain you are in.”

It helped that this was her third RAAM, she said, and the crew was able to analyze her past performance to build on it.

“We wrote down every single mistake that we made in 2019, with weather conditions, navigational problems, bike positioning, training, with sleep patterns, and we tried to perfect it as much as possible. And because of COVID last year, I had an extra year to prepare for this. I trained as if RAAM was still going to happen.”

Her onboard crew included a medic, a kinesiologist, massage therapists, and nutritionists. “I think they know how I roll, and know how to read me on the bike, when I’m starting to fade or things are going sideways, or I’m low on nutrition,” she said.

Whereas riders fought the heat this year, they fought “uncontrollable rain and hail” two years ago. The crew prepared her with specialized clothing and pre-tested water-resistant equipment, just in case those conditions would prevail again.

“Prepare for the worst that possibly can happen, no matter how fully prepared you think you are,” she said. “It’s a matter of how badly do you want it, and how much are you willing to sacrifice.”

It is in that theme she published her 2016 memoir, No Limits, outlining the triumphs and tragedies of her athletic life. While the naysayers — who called her “insane and crazy”— said she was “past her prime,” she proved them all wrong.

Photo courtesy of RAAM

In 2008, she was hit by a car, was ejected 25 feet in the air and, in an attempt to cushion the fall, put her arms out, breaking both of them.

With her indomitable spirit, no accident ever could break her.

She returned to the racing circuit in 2011, winning the women’s solo category of Race Across America, breaking the previous record by 12 hours.

“Don’t use your age as an excuse, or your past experiences as an excuse,” she said. “If you have a desire to do it, goddamn do it. What are you waiting for?”

Because of the high temperatures, the latest race took her a couple of days longer than expected, but she said that the next one she plans on doing in under 10 days — and she’ll keep competing until she can’t anymore.

“If I’m alive at age 90, and I can still pedal my bike, I’m doing that race,” she said. “That’s my biggest goal.” //

A decade later, she would win the race, altogether. “Race Across America is like no other race,” the 52-year-old said. “I’ve done the equivalent of the Tour de France for females. I’ve done major races and other ultra endurance races of 500, 800 miles, and nothing compares — because it’s not a matter of if, but when you’re going to experience all sorts of discomforts: back, neck, knee, constipation, diarrhea, swelling, some major saddle sores.”

This year’s race was particularly extreme, during a heat wave that punished riders with temperatures of more than 40°C; not just through the desert, but for the first eight days.

“You can’t let any distraction pull you away from your goal. If you want the success, the only way to get there is 110 per cent lasering in and shutting off everything else,” she said.

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ERICA DANIELS Executive Producer, Kejic Productions

by Brooke Parker

A A mu lt i - awa rd -w i n n i n g documentarian, producer, director, and founder of Kejic Productions, Erica Daniels is a Cree/Ojibway entrepreneur with a passion for telling Indigenous stories from Indigenous perspectives. With ten years of experience as a storyteller, Daniels uses her platform to inspire and uplift future generations of Indigenous youth, encouraging them to share their stories.

During her adolescence, Daniels struggled to connect with her Indigenous culture, feeling ashamed of her roots. Finding the multimedia program Just TV as a teenager, Daniels began to understand her history and connect with the Indigenous community. Fully acknowledging her power as an Indigenous woman in the film industry, Daniels received the 2019 Indigenous Film Award and won the 2021 Young Aboriginal Entrepreneur Award. Her recent film, Run as One, has won numerous awards, and has been featured at multiple international festivals.

The Edge spoke with Daniels on her journey through selfdiscovery, launching Kejic Productions, and her dedication to helping Indigenous youth share stories through storytelling and the art of media.

Photos courtesy of Erica Daniels

You have dedicated a lot of your success to Just TV, a multimedia program helping at-risk youth in Winnipeg.

How did having this outlet for self-expression shape you into the leader that you are today?

and so it was through that program that I was able to connect with elders within my community. A huge part of my journey was that connection and learning about the history of Indigenous people and being introduced to culture and ceremonies.

I started at Just TV when I was 16 years old, and that program really did change my life. It gave me the skills and taught me the tools of video production and music production. Everything I do is surrounded by media and using visual production to help share stories from an Indigenous perspective.

Kejic Productions is a platform for Indigenous voices representing Indigenous perspectives. From your journey as a female Cree/Ojibway entrepreneur, did you have to struggle a lot to have your voice heard?

Many different opportunities came from that program, both within the industry and video production, and introduced me to my culture. I grew up very disconnected from my Indigenous identity,

For a long time, non-Indigenous people would come into our communities and share our stories without any lived experience or knowledge of our history or our identity as Indigenous people.

[What’s] very important for me as a storyteller is making sure that

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I'm representing my community in a respectful and truthful way.

Within a dominant male industry, I had to make sure that I had my place and that I kept the place and deserved to have that leadership position. I look at my role models — Tina Keeper and Lisa Meeches — and how hard they had to fight as Indigenous women within the film industry.

I believe there are still challenges, but there is a lot more opportunity that's available for us as Indigenous storytellers and Indigenous female storytellers. One thing that I really strive to promote is giving those opportunities to other Indigenous females, specifically in the technical sense of providing that training and giving those opportunities. There are still some ways to go, and larger production companies need to make space for us to be taking leadership roles and give us opportunities to share our voice and perspectives.

Who do you feel influenced you the most in your personal and professional journey?

I want to acknowledge Laura Johnson, Addison Sandy, and Paul James, who have been there for me since day one and have contributed to my success as a storyteller and filmmaker. I wouldn't be where I am today without them. Having mentors that are so supportive — not only throughout your career but also your personal life — I think is very important to have. I wouldn't know a lot of the things that I know now, if it wasn't for having those people to be that guidance and that support.

I also must acknowledge my elder, Dave Courchene, who was a huge mentor, providing guidance in how to be a better person in life and remembering the seven teachings and those natural laws that we live by as Indigenous people.

How has being a good storyteller helped you succeed as a leader?

I think everybody is brought into this physical world with a purpose, and I believe my purpose is to share stories of my community and promote Indigenous identity and the stories within our communities. I take that leadership very seriously because I think that there still are many negative stereotypes towards Indigenous people. Not realizing that we went through a very hard history and a lot of hardships, today we, as nations across North America, are fighting to revitalize our culture, [and] our languages because those important teachings were almost taken away.

We use our talents here at Kejic Productions to use video and documentation to ensure that the knowledge is never lost, and that it's shared for future generations. So that's a big part of my leadership in my community, making sure that we hold onto that knowledge and share it for future generations.

What advice do you have for Indigenous youth today looking to establish a connection with their cultures?

My message to Indigenous young people is to really go back to your roots and learn where you come from. To be truthful, for a long time before I understood the history or before I was introduced to the culture, a part of me was ashamed of who I was because what society showed me was negative stereotypes.

It wasn't until I went into high school and started learning about the history that I realized what a beautiful culture we came from.

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I don't think many people see that, especially many Indigenous people who are suffering from the effects of colonization and intergenerational trauma from residential schools.

It's so important for young people to take that role and leadership of going out and seeking the elders and passing tobacco or making offerings to learn from those knowledge keepers within their communities. I think that's the main thing is learning about your history, knowing who you are and being proud of who you are, so that you're capable and have the strength to learn what your gifts are in this world. //

winners' circle

HEATHER HASSON AND TRINA SPEAR Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, FIGS

by Rose Ho

B Bringing fashion and tech into the once boring world of medical apparel, FIGS has made a name for itself in recent years through the online, direct-to-consumer sphere. Shortly after launching perhaps 2021’s most promising IPO, the much-lauded co-founders of FIGS, Heather Hasson and Trina Spear, spoke to The Edge about championing healthcare professionals like athletes through their well-designed scrubs.

Photo courtesy of Heather Hasson

You launched FIGS in 2013 as an e-commerce brand. How has the journey been so far, and what does the future look like for you both as individuals and as a company after this year’s successful IPO? Heather: I think [it] was a milestone moment, but we are focused on our healthcare professionals, on our brand, on our product, and we're going to continue to grow the company. I'm so excited.

There's so much to do. There's so much to look forward to from just a holistic perspective.

Beyond providing comfortable technical fabrics for people working in the healthcare field, what else does FIGS stand for?

Heather: Our full mission at FIGS is to celebrate, empower, and serve healthcare professionals. I want to actually tell this story, so you understand why we do what we do. About a decade ago, I was sitting with a friend for coffee, and I didn't

understand why the whole world was focused on just making product[s] for athletes, and nobody was focused on healthcare professionals. Big companies were focused on making sure that athletes would run faster or score more goals or things like that [with their products]. And I did not understand why there wasn’t a similar focus for healthcare professionals because, out of anybody in the world, healthcare professionals are saving lives. They need to perform at their best more than anybody else in the world. I didn't quite understand that, so I set out to make the most technical, performance-driven, design-oriented product for healthcare professionals, so they could feel good and really perform at their best.

That's why the company was started: to make the best product to sell to [healthcare professionals] through a direct-to-consumer, e-commerce website where they can have access to their uniform at any time of day or night, and to put healthcare professionals on billboards so they can be celebrated as the most awesome people in the world (because they are), and so the next generation

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can be inspired to become them. And if we have more people working in healthcare, we'll have more, I would say, cures for cancer, right? We'll have more brilliant minds out in the world. We'll have different COVID vaccines. Maybe we would have had a vaccine in a faster period of time if we just had more people working on science, working on healthcare. That being said, our brand is our community. Our community is our brand. We'd like to do everything we possibly can to support them and celebrate them.

I'm sure there's been increased interest in your products from healthcare and frontline workers during the pandemic.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

Trina: I think the pandemic really put a spotlight on how important healthcare professionals are. And everyone saw that, right? The world was like, "Whoa, these are the people doing the world's most important work and saving all of our lives." During the pandemic, we saw an acceleration in our business because healthcare professionals wanted products that were comfortable and technical, which is where we're focused. Beyond that, hospitals and medical offices and clinics were very much requiring their employees to wear scrubs and other medical apparel. That definitely was something that we saw in the last year and a half.

And the pandemic really showed that being able to access those products through a digitally native, direct-to-consumer platform that is seamless for healthcare professionals is critical.

But, you know, the important thing to note just about our business is that we've grown consistently every year. We've grown over a hundred per cent every single year since we launched in 2013. The pandemic has just put a spotlight on the people that we've been celebrating for eight years — almost a decade at this point — since Heather came up with the idea and vision for the company. As the world stopped clapping at seven o’clock, we were clapping long before, celebrating our healthcare professionals around the clock, 24/7, 365 days a year. For us, that's never going to stop.

That's who we are. That's what we do. Long after this pandemic is over, we will be standing up and supporting our healthcare community every single day.

You've been recognized by Ernst and Young, Goldman Sachs, Forbes and other big names for entrepreneurship.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Heather: One that I'm extremely, extremely proud of is helping to get the world to stand behind healthcare professionals. Yes, Trina just said, people were clapping at 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM last year because of COVID, but we have been celebrating and empowering and really standing behind healthcare professionals since we started. Today, it's like the world is really rallying with us and standing behind healthcare professionals because they are the most important people on this planet. They really, really, really are. I'm also, I would say, really proud of our team. We have

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Photo courtesy of Trina Spear

an exceptional team headquartered in Los Angeles. And actually — this is a cool one too — we are the first co-CEOs and cofounders that are female to bring a company public, so I think that's a pretty special one.

Trina: I think you nailed it, Heather, you nailed it. I agree with everything that Heather just shared. I think our community and our team — it's not like any one moment. It's the journey, right?

It's the journey, not these milestones, that you remember. //

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5

FINANCING STRATEGIES FOR FEMALE-OWNED BUSINESSES

W

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by Marcus Medford

hen it comes to entrepreneurship in Canada, women are the main drivers. However, data from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) revealed that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) owned by women earn less than half the revenue as comparable companies run by men. A lack of cash flow is the number one reason small businesses fail, so it’s critical to have a solid strategy for managing money, especially as many businesses continue recovering from the pandemic.

Female-owned SMBs are also more likely to be self-funded than those run by men. According to Fundera, only a quarter of women-run businesses apply for financing, and when they do, they ask for about $35,000 less than their male counterparts. A 2019 report from Visa found that 31 per cent of women found it difficult to raise funds when they were starting their businesses. Here are some financing strategies and tips for women-owned businesses.

economics

Know Where to Look There are tons of financing options available for entrepreneurs, and the key to accessing funding is finding the right opportunities.

Financing opportunities are usually categorized by the size of the business, the development stage the business is in or the time for which it has been operational, the industry it’s in, its location, and the identity of the owners (e.g. Black, LGBTQ+).

Look for financing opportunities where you meet a majority of the criteria for the best results. The Canadian government even offers a Business Benefits Finder tool on their website that business owners and entrepreneurs can use to find the loans best suited to their business profile.

There are also resources catered specifically for female-led businesses. GrantsForWomen.org provides women from multiple industries — including non-profits — resources like grants, fellowships and funding networks, as well as access to venture capitalists. The website MileIQ has a comprehensive blog post listing small business loans and grants for Canadian women.

Some examples of grants and loan opportunities solely for women include the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award, Open Meadows Foundation Grant, and the Amber Grant.

Know Your Business Inside Out Many financing applications require business owners to give detailed explanations of their businesses or what they plan to do with the funding for which they’re applying. To increase the chances of receiving funding, it’s important to know these details intimately. If you have a business plan or a business document, it’s a good idea to review these documents and use them to help you answer application questions.

It can also be helpful to interview founders, staff, and customers to flush out answers to questions about the business’s origin, its plans for the funding, and the value it brings. The objective here is to get an understanding of your business from the people who know it best. You can build on common themes in people’s responses and apply them to the application questions. Due to the detail-oriented nature of funding applications and the fiercely competitive environment of funding rounds, it may also help to hire a grant writer. Grant writers are experts in the specific ways in which applications need to be worded and structured, and they can help translate your information effectively.

Microbusinesses and Microloans Women entrepreneurs are more likely to have businesses in the services, health and beauty, food or social industries. Women are also more likely to have specialized, service-oriented businesses which employ fewer than 10 people. These are known as microbusinesses or microenterprises. Microbusinesses typically get small loans of less than $50,000 from banks or other organizations to launch. These loans are fittingly called microloans. Microloans

are ideal for women because their businesses usually begin as solo endeavours or hobbies. Women typically use the money from microloans to purchase equipment they need to start their businesses, increase production capacity, or purchase inventory.

Searching for financing exclusively for microbusinesses can increase your chances of receiving funding because it shrinks the field of competition. Alternatively, microloans may not provide sufficient funding for large corporations, but they can be perfect for boutique businesses. Access to funding is critical for microbusinesses, considering that it is these businesses that have been worst affected by the pandemic. Microbusinesses tend to be newer as well, making it difficult for most to qualify for governmental financial assistance.

Find Female Investors Data from the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) suggests that women are more likely to invest in women-founded businesses than men. This is significant considering that women only receive 10 per cent of venture capital in Canada. So, to increase your chances of receiving funding, seek financing from women investors. This will require you to do some research though, as only 15.5 per cent of SMBs in Canada are owned by women. You can also seek out women who are members of Canadian angel investor groups, which, as of 2018, is 17 per cent.

Increased investment in female entrepreneurs not only helps their businesses succeed, but also creates a positive cyclical effect. More investment into female-led businesses leads to greater visibility and better chances of success. In turn, that can inspire more female entrepreneurs to seek funding or inspire more women to get into business. It can also encourage male investors and financial institutions to back female-led businesses.

Programs for Women There are several programs dedicated to supporting femaleled businesses that provide funding and other resources. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) developed several programs and resources to meet the need of women entrepreneurs. In one of their programs, a small group of entrepreneurs go through themed sessions and get assistance and information on everything from starting a business to planning for retirement. RBC also provides one-on-one strategic advising.

The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy provides business owners with access to funding and mentorship opportunities. The Scotiabank Women Initiative offers entrepreneurs a comprehensive program to help them elevate their business through access to funding, mentorship, and education. Also, keep your eyes open for other programs, business incubators, business pitch competitions, and accelerators designed specifically for women entrepreneurs. //

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GLOBAL WAGE GAP: FACTS & FIGURES

by Rob Shapiro

T

he welfare of society, especially in light of COVID-19, is highly dependent on each nation closing their gender wage gap. This gap negatively impacts women — especially women of colour — across the board and is detrimental to any economy.

Some nations have made small gains, but is it enough to change the trajectory in a positive way? Recent data about the gender wage gap in Canada, the U.S., and abroad can help us reach some conclusions and better understand the work that still needs to be done.

CANADA In 2016, Canada was ranked as having the 8th highest gender pay gap out of 43 countries examined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Racialized women face a pay gap of 32%

Immigrant women face a pay gap of 39%

Indigenous women face a gender pay gap of 57%

Women with disabilities face a pay gap of 46%

79.6% of what men earned based on average weekly wage rates

Among full-time workers in 2020, women earned: 88.7% of what men earned based on average hourly wage rates

85.5% of what men earned based on average weekly wage rates

90.5% of what men earned based on average hourly wage rates

Among all full and part-time workers in 2020, women earned:

Source: OECD. “Data: Gender Wage Gap.” 2018 | Source: Catalyst. “Women’s Earnings – The Pay Gap: Quick Take.” 2021

Women earning less than men puts them at a higher risk of experiencing poverty, makes it difficult to save for their retirement, and more likely to struggle financially in their senior years.

Women with similar experience, socio-economic and demographic background earn around $7,200 less every year than their male counterparts.

Source: Ceta Ramkhalawansingh. “Know Your History on Pay Equity.” 2017 | Source: Ontario.ca. “Final Report and Recommendations of the Gender Wage Gap Strategy Steering Committee.” 2016

UNITED KINGDOM / THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

11.5%

Women in the United Kingdom earned 11.5 per cent less than men based on average hourly earnings for full-time workers in 2020.

Source: Bloomberg. “How the Pandemic Darkens the Picture on Women’s Pay.” 2021.

Source: European Commission. “The Gender Pay Gap Situation in the EU.” 2019.

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Estonia Latvia Austria Germany Italy Romania Luxembourg

The wage gap varies between EU countries. It ranges from less than 5 per cent in Luxembourg, Italy, and Romania to more than 19 per cent in Austria, Germany, Latvia, and Estonia.

economics

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA In the last 25 years, the gender pay gap has shrunk by a measly eight cents. If this trend continues, the wage gap would take nearly 40 years to close.

In 2018, women of all races earned, on average, just 82 cents for every $1 earned by men of all races, but the wage gap is larger for most women of colour.

ASIAN $0.90

WHITE $0.79

INDIGENOUS $0.57

BLACK $0.62

LATIN $0.54

In 2019, women 16–24 years old earned 89.0 per cent of what men in the same age group earned, based on median weekly earnings. Women 65+ years old earned just 76.5 per cent of men’s median weekly earnings.

Wyoming has the largest pay gap

76.5%

35%

Vermont has the smallest pay gap

9%

WOMEN 65+ 89% WOMEN 16–24

100%

GLOBAL / GENERAL FIGURES One study regarding employment and income trends in six countries (China, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States) found that women expect to lose 50 per cent more of their labour income than men.

Another study found that 7 per cent more men than women succeed at increased pay negotiations.

23%

Mississippi has the lowest average salary for women

PANDEMIC’S IMPACT ON THE GENDER WAGE GAP COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted women in the workplace. In most nations, women have experienced more job losses. As more schools and childcare centres have been forced to close, these extra responsibilities have predominantly fallen on women.

Some measures are being taken to address this problem. Wage transparency is one of the most potent weapons with respect to addressing the wage gap. Lawmakers in Germany gave workers the right to compare their pay with up to six opposite-sex colleagues with the same role.

69%

of women ask for a salary increase.

71%

of men ask for a salary increase.

Source: Catalyst. “Women’s Earnings – The Pay Gap: Quick Take.” 2021.

Source: Compaas. “8 Wage Gap Statistics to Know in 2021.” 2020.

Several other countries (like Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom) have stepped up and passed legislation that requires companies to address their gender wage gap. In early 2021, U.S. lawmakers brought back legislation that guaranteed women and men are paid the same wage for the same jobs.

An EU report cited how the pandemic has eroded many of the hard-fought achievements on the equality front. As the world moves out of the pandemic, continual efforts will be needed to undo its effects on the gender wage gap. // Source: Bloomberg. “How the Pandemic Darkens the Picture on Women’s Pay.” 2021.

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economics

LISE BIRIKUNDAVYI Principal/Fund Manager, Black Innovation Capital

by Aun Abbott

F

or Lise Birikundavyi, the motivation to co-create Black Innovation Capital with Isaac Olowolafe was a natural progression of her professional journey that started with gaining awareness of the financial challenges underprivileged populations the world over faced and then setting out to find a solution. Her journey saw her earn an MBA degree from Shanghai, spend time in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire to gain exposure, and build the network that would allow her to head a venture fund in Toronto, Canada.

Photos courtesy of Lise Birikundavyi

The Edge caught up with her to converse about her career focus on financial inclusion, the goals of Black Innovation Capital, and the fund’s selection criteria with regards to entrepreneurs.

You have focused a lot of your career on finance and social inclusion. What has been the driving factor for this?

The driving factor for this was my quest for sustainable change and real empowerment. I grew up in Montreal, [and] I'm of Burundian origin. I came to Canada because my dad was doing his PhD in applied mathematics. I was surrounded by people with very high intellect [and] abilities that were driven, but that's not the image that I was receiving from the media or the general sort of perception of Black people. But then again, I also had to see and understand that there were real challenges. My country of origin is one of the poorest in the world. It's not because people are not able to find solutions to their problems, but there's a real issue in terms of access to resources.

I've always wanted to be part of the solution, and to me, it had to do with [the] financial environment. If you allow people to access the resources that they need, people will find solutions to their problems, and I was highly attracted by [this idea] when I first stumbled on the concept of social entrepreneurship and then impact investing. I decided that this would be my life's work — basically using private sector to change the world.

With Black Innovation Capital, you are the first Black woman to manage an institutionally backed venture fund in Canada.

What was the journey like for you to reach this place?

It was quite a nonconventional journey, a journey of trying to be fearless to reach your goals and get a certain type of exposure.

I really went out of my way to try to get the impact I wanted to create [and] have the skill set that I wanted to have. From the beginning, for example, I wanted to be a good investor for emerging markets. I decided to move and do a degree in China because I wanted to have that exposure, that understanding.

Then when I was on my first maternity leave, I moved to Ghana to be an impact investor there.

I decided to join tech start-ups because I wanted to have an understanding of what it is to be an entrepreneur as well — you cannot understand the path of someone unless you have walked in their shoes. I then also took charge of an impact finance portfolio in Cote d'Ivoire.

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Learning has always been at the centre of everything I was doing because I wanted to get better at my job and be unafraid of reaching out to people that I admired and finding ways to collaborate with them. That opened doors all along, I think, and that basically allowed me to get the opportunity to meet with Isaac. We saw eye-to-eye when we met, and we decided to cocreate Black Innovation Capital together.

How does Black Innovation Capital aim to create a financially inclusive space for under-represented entrepreneurs?

Because Black Innovation Capital is a small fund [of $10 million], our objective right now is to create a business case for investing in ventures that sometimes look a bit different than what venture capitalists used to look at. People usually invest in their own network.

It's about telling them if you invest outside of your network [into] somebody who doesn't exactly speak the same quote-unquote language as you, you can still make that good financial return. [We are focused on] creating more opportunities for investors from Black communities to get financing from others, but [also] creating those role models. If you are able to create success stories, [they] usually have a ripple effect on all the different communities — that's really our goal. [Also, if] we'll collaborate, [that] contributes to the creation of this space [where] usually entrepreneurs that are successful also reinvest in their own community. So, it becomes an investment that never stops investing, to a certain extent.

What qualities do you look for in entrepreneurs who come to you to gain funding and support?

To me, it's important that entrepreneurs are passionate about the problem that they are trying to solve, that they deeply understand the problem, often having gone through it by having been very close to it. [It is important] that they understand their clients too because sometimes it's not just about creating that perfect solution — it’s creating a solution that people actually want to buy and use. And there's no other way to do it than co-creating that product with the end user often. When I talked about passion a little bit earlier, being an entrepreneur is extremely hard, and not everyone is meant to be [one]. So, it's really finding this drive where this person will stick to it no matter what.

That and the team is always the core, especially at the stage we invest in — we invest in seed and pre-seed. For us, it's extremely important to have a team that is strong. After that, what we're looking at is "what can we bring as well?" As a fund, you take a portion of ownership in that company. You also have to be able to add value. If we can't, we're probably not the right partner. //

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economics

KHUSHBOO JHA CEO, BuyProperly

by Marcus Medford

I Photos courtesy of Khushboo Jha

How did your past experiences prepare you to launch the fractional real estate investment start-up, BuyProperly?

Every customer wants their experiences with businesses to be like Amazon — simple — and like Netflix — customized. We’re putting those together to make real estate less intimidating, less stressful, and [more] accessible. That's where my background comes in. I spent almost six years at Amazon and launched two business lines from scratch. I learned how to understand legal compliance; it was important to be fully compliant launching a business in a highly regulated industry.

f you’ve looked into buying or investing in the housing market and felt overwhelmed, you’re not alone. Khushboo Jha is the CEO of BuyProperly, an AI-driven, online real estate investment platform dedicated to making real estate investing accessible, particularly for millennials and Gen Z. Jha has said that people view real estate as either an investment to generate wealth or as a place to live. Still, it’s hard to do either in Canada. BuyProperly allows individuals to grow their wealth without the traditional upfront costs and hassles of managing or owning property. The platform uses a fractional ownership model, allowing customers to make investments for as little as $2,500. After completing her MBA and working for six successful years at Amazon, Jha launched her business around the start of the pandemic.

tech to make it cheaper, faster, better? For example, we use AI for sourcing, so we don’t have to hire bankers and brokers. And where does the cost go? Back to the customer. We can figure out with tech how to make each component of this process cheaper and faster.

You’ve lived in India, the U.S., the U.K., and Germany. How does the Canadian housing market compare to those of other countries?

But I hadn’t lost the core Amazon concept of being customerobsessed and keeping things simple. That's the foundation that everything we do is built upon. Is it good for the customer? Will it make their life better? If it will, we’ll do it. [We will launch] an add-on service that lets people connect with a financial advisor, even if we’re not making any money.

New York, London, Munich, and Delhi have the same problems as Toronto or any fast-growing city — things get expensive. You have a lot of people coming in, but the housing market is often bound by government regulations, zoning policy, infrastructure, [and] transportation, and that doesn't change quickly. A company can suddenly open 20,000 jobs, but that won't change the dynamics or the infrastructure or make a subway line come right away. That takes years, and by that time, the city has grown.

Using tech to make something easy for customers prepared me to launch BuyProperly because that's our core: how do we use

The problem that Toronto has is a problem of affordability. In New York, houses are expensive, but the average house is only about

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five times the average income. In Toronto, it’s 11 times more than the average income, and in Vancouver, it's 14. The fundamental supply-demand mismatch in a place like Toronto is driven a lot by immigration, which is the same case in London, U.K. There are a lot of people coming in, and the people there are not necessarily wanting to go to other cities.

Housing affordability was one of the big issues of the recent election campaign. What does the government need to do to support people when it comes to the housing market?

They need to become a little innovative and move faster, and that's true for all parties and all levels of government. With a start-up like ours, we can solve a lot of problems, especially for first-time homebuyers, but we keep running into these walls and policies that prevent blah-blah-blah because of risks. Well, let me know the risks; we’ll come up with creative new solutions that mitigate them. If you’re going to count only on policy support, that takes forever, and things will only get worse.

You have to bring in new, creative solutions for ownership. Let everybody participate and let start-ups like us bridge that gap to connect investors with young folks so that everybody's happy.

Can you explain how the AI-sourcing model works? What are the benefits of using AI in your business model?

The benefits are simple: it allows us to identify properties at much lower costs. A human broker can’t look at all of the listings, no matter how hard they work. We can because we just run the AI and scan the whole Greater Toronto Area to see what's out there that meets our criteria. The model takes about three hours to scan, then analyzes results and gives us a shortlist.

We take a lot of details like the last 20 years of sales data, Google Places data, the ratings of the nearby schools, public transit, etc. Was something installed recently? Or does it need to be replaced? That’s another layer of analysis. Then, given the historic data, its analysis says these are the factors that drive the most value. Then, based on those factors and the data, it shows us favourable listings.

Do you have any advice for millennials and Gen-Zers who might see real estate investing as an unattainable goal?

Homeownership is an investing goal; you should think about investing and planning for the future, but it isn't a one-track goal. You have to work towards growing your wealth overall so that homeownership can be part of that goal. I encourage everybody to invest and grow as soon as they can. Even if it's a small investment [like] a small house in the middle of nowhere, start owning and building wealth. It’s important to start sooner rather than later. Sometimes you’re trying to optimize for your dream home, but the market keeps moving and salaries, unfortunately, don't move as quickly as the market. Staying on the sidelines just planning for a dream house is something that //// // I’d avoid; take action quicker. //

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Quality Used Cars

Entrepreneurs take the road less travelled.

start-up

THE PROS AND CONS OF BEING A WOMAN IN START-UPS & SILICON VALLEY

by Hermione Ruan

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Photo: Apple Headquarters, Apple Park

ilicon Valley is the Californian home of high-tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Apple. Named after the silicon-based transistors and circuit chips that are used in the manufacturing of technology hardware, it is a hub for innovation, and a breeding ground for numerous successful start-ups. The opportunities in Silicon Valley have attracted many enterprising individuals and companies, but realistically, what is it like for women in the field?

Interestingly, at the inception of Silicon Valley post-WWII, writing software was considered a secretarial task and, therefore, a women’s role, while constructing hardware was dominated by men. As programming became more lucrative, women were pushed out of the coding world. The echoes of this exclusionary shift are still felt now, more than half a century later, from the gender disparity found in STEM education all the way to the upper echelons of tech companies.

Let us take a realistic look at the opportunities and challenges that specifically exist for women in Silicon Valley today and within the technology and start-up industry in general.

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Pro: It’s an exciting and rewarding place where people can shape the world around them.

Pro: Systemic change toward inclusion and equality is happening.

Fresh ideas and hard work can be transformed seemingly overnight into multi-million-dollar companies. Although it is an oversimplification of the realities of success, the potential to impact the world is undeniable. Women have brought their own ideas into founding companies like Bumble (a female-friendly dating app), Polyvore/SSense (a luxury e-commerce platform), and Lynda.com (an online education website). Plenty of women in tech (19 per cent according to a 2018 report by the Center for Talent Innovation) have also said that they enjoy the work they do in problem-solving and creating new and exciting technology products and services.

A reckoning in Silicon Valley, sparked by the 2012 Pao v. Kleiner Perkins lawsuit, brought to light a lot of the gender discrimination in the tech industry. Although the 2015 verdict cleared Kleiner Perkins, a prominent venture capital firm, of gender discrimination against former employee Ellen Pao, who went on to become the interim CEO of Reddit, and is now the CEO of Project Include, it opened up the conversation among women in tech and made the public aware of just how stacked the cards were against them. Many companies began adding anti-bias training and releasing annual diversity reports. This was a trend spearheaded

by Google. The company implemented the use of anti-bias training and diversity reports in the year 2014 in an effort to combat the negative effects of discrimination.

Con: Women still deal with gender-based discrimination.

Women at all levels of the tech industry, from STEM students to C-suite executives, have related stories of mistreatment and harassment from male peers. From being ignored at meetings to facing outright attacks, women have had to deal with a boysclub mentality that permeates the culture, and often stops them from advancing or even staying in the field. A 2015 survey titled "Elephant in the Valley" that was conducted among 210 women in senior levels of the tech industry, mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area of Silicon Valley, revealed the exclusion, tone policing, sexual harassment, and other forms of implicit and explicit sexism that they faced from their male colleagues.

Pro: There are plenty of specialized organizations to help women in working in tech.

In response to the male-dominant trend in the tech industry, countless programs have been launched to provide mentorship, networking opportunities, competitions, incubators, forums and global summits for women. Among them are Women in Tech, an international community; Women of Silicon Valley, a yearly conference; and Women’s Startup Lab, an accelerator. She Loves Tech is the largest tech start-up competition for women around the world and Rethink Impact is a venture capital firm focused on investing in women leaders.

Con: Women tend to be placed under more scrutiny and have to fight a double standard.

Con: It is especially difficult for BIPOC to get jobs or funding from companies and investors.

As tough as it has been on women, the difficulties are compounded for minorities. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2014), Black people make up less than 15 per cent of the tech workforce in America, with even fewer persons in executive positions. The numbers are similar for Latinx. Moreover, investors are less likely to invest in Black-owned companies, and if they do invest, it is usually less than what they would invest in a white-led company, according to Northeastern University.

Google’s 2020 diversity report shows small percentages of Black (3.7 per cent), Latinx (5.9 per cent), and Native American (0.8 per cent) employees, but a predominance of white (51.7 per cent) and Asian (41.9 per cent) ones.

It’s clear that it is challenging for women working in Silicon Valley and other related areas, but they have also been leading change and building communities for themselves. In data gathered by the global accelerator MassChallenge and analyzed by Boston Consulting Group in 2018, women-led companies received less money than their male-led counterparts, but the revenue they generated consistently surpassed the earnings for maleled companies, making it clear that female-led ventures offer a stronger return on investment. It’s time for more people to acknowledge and uplift women’s skills, expertise, and work in tech so that everyone can thrive. //

A common criticism levelled at women is that they are too emotional. Interestingly, male colleagues who behave the same way do not receive the same treatment. In fact, women with strong credentials and capabilities are often passed over in favour of men with fewer talents. Women are frequently made to prove themselves, but investors seem more willing to take risks on unproven men, according to findings by Boston Consulting Group in 2018. In the same vein, many women have endured the discomfort of being questioned on their abilities and knowledge by men with less experience than them or having to deal with “mansplaining.”

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THE MICROFINANCE MOVEMENT: THE IMPACT ON FEMALE EMPOWERMENT

by Robyn Karmazyn

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any of us understand the plight women have faced throughout history. While those in most countries and cultures today have the right to vote, drive, marry, divorce, work, and even run companies, there are still some hurdles that remain. Women continue to be paid less for the same work and — as the coronavirus pandemic has shown — feel the impacts of financial hardship more closely. In part, that is because caring for their children and parents still generally falls on women. They continue to work in lower paying jobs in lower paying industries. And minority women still face more difficulties than their male, or white, counterparts.

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The Introduction of Microfinancing Microfinancing is believed to have begun as far back as the 1700s with the Irish Loan Fund, a system developed to offer financial assistance to poor citizens. Fast forward a couple centuries and its resurgence is prominent in Bangladesh in the 1970s. The Grameen Bank and its founder even won the Nobel Peace Prize in the 2000s for helping to improve the lives of impoverished individuals. It not only loaned money, but emphasized the importance of such basic necessities as sanitary water and forgoing marriage dowries. SKS Microfinance in India is now one of the largest global operations of its kind.

How Microfinancing Empowers Women Supporting people of all backgrounds (approximately 500 million individuals, especially women in third-world countries) microfinancing provides an effective alternative for those who are denied or with no access to other financial services. The system works similarly to traditional loans with mandatory interest rates and repayment plans. However, it is often accompanied by the provision of bank accounts, micro-insurance, and business education to encourage financial independence and safe and ethical small businesses support. Since women have been marginalized around the world for centuries, recognizing the need for aid is incredibly important — and necessary.

Programs Helping Female-Owned Small Businesses Over the years, there have been numerous microfinancing enterprises aimed at helping women grow their small businesses.

CAUSE Canada has helped more than 3,000 borrowers with small loans in three main areas of Guatemala, Honduras, and the northern district of Sierra Leone around Kabala, its capital.

Rather than just professional-level training, however, they seek to assist in improving income for women and creating jobs for additional community members. The organization partners with the Butterfly Effects Microcredit Foundation for loans without collateral, for a period of three months to a year.

The Women’s Microfinance Initiative is focused on providing loans, training and additional support for women in impoverished rural areas of East Africa. It aims to help these individuals develop small businesses, ultimately earning a greater income for themselves and their families, improving their standard — and reality — of living. In 13 years, the organization has provided 62,000 loans to women in over 1,500 villages, recycling loan funds and transitioning borrowers to use institutional banking within two years.

Acción contra el Hambre (Action Against Hunger Spain) provides small business loans to female entrepreneurs, interviewing candidates to assess their “economic feasibility”— such as motivation and commitment — teaching about expenditures, income, liability, and decision-making. The program also provides training workshops, technical and financial advice, and three years of micro-credit monitoring and business consolidation.

Beneficiaries lead tutorials to review business plans before helping to fund prospective enterprises.

Potential Drawbacks of Microfinancing Some schools of thought argue that microfinancing is not enough to empower women, and that business and financial responsibilities only add to the domestic and familial responsibilities that continue to fall on their shoulders. As women become more powerful in their professional lives, male compliance and understanding is required, in accepting the progress being made outside traditional gender roles. While we can ascertain this should be inevitable within the 21st century, many individuals currently in the workforce have grown up with parents of the 1940s and ’50s and grandparents of the ’20s and ’30s.

Empowering women only through economics has actually been shown to lead to significant conflict, such as domestic violence.

Some cultures outside western society also continue to keep women down. Accompanying education to alter “the power dynamics and other cultural factors that repress women” is crucial for the complete success of their empowerment. While microfinancing certainly has its benefits, it does not always address the cause of poverty, inequality among genders, and “women’s lack of control over their own lives.” We must make changes to the entire structural system that will trickle down into the way in which individual families operate.

Microfinancing Summed Up Like most systems in our modern world that set out to help people, microfinancing may very well not hit every mark in helping to empower women on a global scale. Few charitable programs operate with no conflicts or controversy, after all. Sadly, women continue to face inequalities in many parts of the world — even in North America and Europe. While microfinancing can be perceived as a good start to helping impoverished individuals on an economic level, these systems need to further emphasize prevention of female marginalization and help to change the problematic structure in the first place. //

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KAYLA ISABELLE CEO, Startup Canada

by Stephanie Hawkins

Kayla Isabelle is a force for helping entrepreneurs achieve their goals, creating strong local and national networks for them, and helping them grow. She was recently awarded the 2021 RevolutionHER Impact Award in Leadership and the 2021 Women of Inspiration Authentic Leader Award. Kayla is not only continuing to blaze a path forward in leadership, business, and scaling up but motivates thousands of up-and-coming entrepreneurs to raise the bar as well.

Kayla shares her insights with The Edge about what’s working, what’s next, and the confidence to keep going.

What was your initial goal with Startup Canada, and how has it evolved?

The co-founders started the organization 10 years ago, and it was a very different environment in terms of support for entrepreneurs. A decade ago, there was no community around entrepreneurship, and people were feeling very isolated. They didn't have a good understanding of who could help them build their businesses or what opportunities there were within the small business community. We started with a cross-Canada tour, and we organized consultations, trying to understand what entrepreneurs were struggling with and how we could package together some recommendations to help.

We started championing the idea of entrepreneurship. We now find ourselves connecting Canada's entrepreneurs with tools, showcasing different existing supports, as well as helping them navigate through this system. While we have shifted over time, that community focus has stayed true — face-to-face connections that can help guide you through all of the different resources in a simple and effective way.

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Photos courtesy of Kayla Isabelle

Startup Canada offers many different options for entrepreneurs: mentorships, one-on-one sessions, networking opportunities, a month-long program specifically for women, and more. How does the platform strive to make an impact?

We've had to do a lot of self-exploration and figuring out where we can invest our time, energy, and strengths to make the biggest impact. The direction that we've taken, spurred

by COVID, was expanding our programs to rural, remote locations, truly making an impact across Canada. We’ve found that entrepreneurs don't necessarily know the problems they're going to be facing throughout their career, and they need to get advice, find expertise, or get support to scale. We’ve shifted our programs to make a better impact consistently throughout a longer period of time. We've also noticed a lack of support around globally aspiring start-ups, particularly understanding how to export. For Startup Women, this was a new program that took a completely different shift during COVID, as we'll be moving to an annual structure where women entrepreneurs can get more support from a network of trusted partners.

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There's so much out there in terms of mentorship programs and long-lasting relationships that can be built with fabulous organizations. Through this, we are able to connect with a more robust ecosystem, where entrepreneurs actually know what they have at their disposal and ultimately make a better impact within the entrepreneurship system through our programming.

What are the biggest challenges that budding entrepreneurs face? How does Startup Canada help people gain the confidence to take the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship?

Canada is full of incredible business ideas with super-innovative approaches from coast to coast. Aside from funding, what entrepreneurs struggle with is navigating early steps, demystifying those initial building blocks, and understanding all of the different parts of actually building a business. What does it mean to be incorporated? What is a trademark? It's not the business idea — it's the [periphery] and the scaffolding of the business where entrepreneurs get stuck in either not knowing where to start or missing key business components that could impact their longevity and success.

The challenges that we often see are a lack of foundational awareness and education. Once you have a better grasp on these elements, it creates more confidence because as you check all of your boxes, you're going to be feeling more empowered.

This is particularly true for women entrepreneurs, who often want to have all of those different moving parts 100 per cent solidified before going after funding. Building such confidence will then help more businesses start and then scale successfully.

Can you talk about start-up communities? What are they, and how did they come about?

Start-up communities are the lifeblood of Startup Canada. We would not be here without their support and the perspective

that they offer. While Startup Canada is a national non-profit, we have numerous local communities around the country — 39 at the moment. All of these help local entrepreneurs navigate their existing communities. Various investment groups, accelerators, and incubators help with understanding a complicated landscape but still have a direct line to the national organization. We had just under 4,000 entrepreneurs supported this year. We have a new program called Startup Gov, where we’ve consulted with our communities to advocate on their behalf to the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, which engaged 5,700 participant during small business week. We have a registered lobbyist and capture all of their recommendations, which we then champion directly to all levels of government so that we can actually influence some meaningful changes.

What are the key elements to being successful as an entrepreneur?

I think the courage to know that you can't be all things to all people. Asking for help is often a huge barrier to success, particularly for women entrepreneurs. Even myself, running a non-profit, I often found myself questioning my own abilities or knowledge. I hate the term “imposter syndrome,” but many entrepreneurs often feel this way as they navigate through uncharted territory.

It’s important to acknowledge that you cannot be an expert in all things, so reaching out to these networks and knowing that you have a community of entrepreneurs who feel exactly the same way is very powerful. Also, the importance of looking at the legal side of things — such as trademarks (especially when you’re scaling internationally) or investing time in contracts, both for your employees and various stakeholders — is critical. Having solid legal and financial advice is key. I think it's essential to be courageous enough to take feedback, to see what the market trends are, and to see how things evolve to stay relevant. //

Celebrating International Women's Day 2020 with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Startup Canada's team.

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JANE J. WANG CEO and Co-Founder, Optimity

by Hermione Ruan

Serial entrepreneur, university professor, and cancer research fundraiser, Jane J. Wang is the founder and CEO of Optimity, the popular wellness app that helps users establish beneficial health and financial habits with goal-setting and incentivizing. Optimity uses evidencebased “behavioural science and gamification” to make healthy living fun, and it has had a positive effect on individuals, corporations, and populations alike. Wang’s passion for healthcare is well-matched by her years of experience in technology, and by combining them together in innovative ways, she has made an impact on thousands of Optimity users — and is sure to continue to make waves in the fields of health, tech, and education for years to come.

Wang kindly shared with The Edge her journey through the tech industry, her drive for improved healthcare outcomes, and her inspiration gained from her mother.

Tell us a little about how you got into the dual fields of technology and healthcare.

My career path was based on a blend of the two worlds as technology and data are critical to advancing healthy living: quality of life and longevity.

My formal education and background were in health sciences and data — I received my B.S. in Biochemistry from McGill University and MBA from Ivey Business School at Western University. I also completed my Executive Training at Stanford University.

Prior to starting my journey as a tech entrepreneur, I spent a decade leading teams in global clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies, developing technologies and programs to maximize patient outcomes and longevity.

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Photos courtesy of Jane J. Wang

Ironically on this journey, while achieving increased longevity for thousands of patients around the world, my mother got sick and passed away at age 52 — and I couldn’t do anything about it. She never got access to the amazing science and technology I worked on.

This made me realize that consumer-facing technology was a critical missing piece of the healthcare puzzle and the crucial role it plays in guiding individuals’ behaviours where we can democratize access to the right proactive health information and personalized programs. This allowed me to focus on a scalable technology solution that would codify the science of health and longevity as well as the practical ways that people can achieve a vibrant, high-quality life.

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When you left your previous role in 2014 to start Optimity, did you ever question your decision in those first few months of transition?

I think anyone who transitions from the comfort of their traditional nine-to-five to take on the uncertainty of launching a tech start-up would! But it paled in comparison to the reason that Optimity was born. I knew that the gravity of the issues that Optimity would be able (and has since started) to address was fundamental. The more we started to see positive outcomes from our sciencebacked app — and how we were able to help people achieve their health, financial, physical, and mental wellness goals — the more those initial questions faded away.

I’ve seen the word “gamification” used when describing Optimity’s mission to improve the health of users. Can you explain a bit how that works and how you came to incorporate it into the design of Optimity?

The idea of gamification is simple: use game mechanics such as playful achievements, leaderboards, and incentives to encourage users to achieve a certain behaviour or attain certain milestones.

However, rather focusing on a certain behaviour, Optimity uses sophisticated algorithms and AI to holistically nurture an individual’s health goals, encourage social connections, and sense of camaraderie while providing relevant and timely rewards, which in turn further encourages the individual to continue on their health goals.

Did you have any female role models growing up who helped shape the way you lead?

Yes. My mom, who was a software engineer. She always approached technology with a playful eye (she was also a gamer). We coded together for fun as I was growing up and played lots of board games, strategy games, and computer games. She helped me code my first health game, where we took the X-Men concept and created a superpower game about detecting mutations based on sun exposure. I learned thoughtfulness around scalability and sustainability. Ultimately, it is the DNA of who I am as a builder, leader, and tech entrepreneur.

What is one piece of advice you would give to young women pursuing a career in the medical technology field?

My one piece of advice is to look at the medical technology space and think bigger! In order to solve the world’s leading problems when it comes to health care, removing the two big “F words” is key: fear and friction. Think big. Take what you are passionate about from a lab session or research setting and really lean into creating big, scalable, accessible versions of the same amazing science. //

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Flash Forest is Canada's largest firstto-market drone reforestation company using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), aerial mapping software, automation, and biological seed-pod technology for rapid reforestation of the planet. The team of young trailblazers plan to plant one billion trees by 2028. The founders of Flash Forest saw how the timber industry mastered and engineered efficient harvesting technologies capable of quick clearing with minimal human effort. Yet, tree planting still operates with bags and shovels. The planet loses 13 billion trees per year and is regaining less than half of that — only 15 per cent of the world's original forests still stand.

and telemetry technology to generate flight paths based on each tree species’ density and environmental requirements.

Flash Forest has tested 13 major biomes, identified 19 different species, and studied every type of forest across Canada. They are actively searching for international partners to reduce deforestation and combat climate change.

At the beginning of 2021, the now 20-person team posted job openings for less than a

handful of positions and received over 600 eager applicants. As one of Toronto's fastest-growing start-ups, Flash Forest honours all tree planters across the globe.

However, at the alarming deforestation rates, human intervention just isn’t enough.

COO and co-founder Cameron Jones conveys the urgent demand for labour in the tree planting industry — specifically in rural areas — and encourages those interested in joining a world-class team to contact them.

The ground-breaking drone engineering implemented by Flash Forest offers neverbefore-reached levels of accuracy, precision, and speed in the reforestation industry — drones are on track to plant at 10 times the rate of humans. With increased forest fires caused by climate change, many forestry lands have become unsafe for traditional tree planters. Drones allow access to these hazardous areas to begin rebuilding the lost forests.

Flash Forest employs open-source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and their own exclusive mapping

192 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5T 2C2, Canada

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tech & innovation

HOW COVID-19 HAS FUELLED IT AND INNOVATION

by Sean Plummer

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o say that COVID-19 has had any upside would appear cruel and unsympathetic. The ongoing pandemic has killed some 4.6 million people as of the middle of 2021, and continues to take a toll on humanity. It also sparked the biggest worldwide recession since the Great Depression, crippled economies everywhere, and destroyed over 22 million jobs in advanced countries alone.

COVID-19 also exposed our existing systems’ startling fragility and inadequacies, including the fields of health care, government, and education. The speed at which vaccines were developed points out that where there is a will, as they say — within science, business, and government — there is a way. But the subsequent distribution of those vaccines, with richer countries receiving them before poorer ones, points to the inequalities of access to such basic necessities as quality healthcare for all, and the rudimentary medical supply chains in underdeveloped countries.

The digital divide between communities was also revealed. While many people simply started working from home, marginalized racial groups, women, the poor, the elderly, and those living in rural areas bore the disproportionate brunt of COVID-19 infections because the nature of their jobs rendered them unable to telecommute.

Can any good come of the modern era’s first truly global health crisis with all those trials and tribulations?

If nothing else, the pandemic has acted as a catalyst to accelerate plans for innovation, especially in information technologies (IT). Emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain are all key areas that were impacted by COVID-19. Indeed, their development may help us face and defeat the next pandemic faster and in a better way while also reducing the effects on human lives.

The main takeaways for technological developments in a post-pandemic world are the need for cooperation and coordination. However, this so-called “system integration” would require relevant stakeholders — think health organizations, leading technology firms, and governments — to work together to share information, strategies, data, and resources to take on the next

coronavirus or other global health challenges. The most resilient business organizations will embrace automation, cloud computing, and collaboration platforms.

The importance of these latter two factors became obvious when students and workers started learning or working from home, respectively, in March 2020.

Zoom meetings quickly became the ubiquitous bane of the workday. This “teleworking” required increased use of cloud computing by a variety of industries and governments. This resulted in increased traffic on remote connectivity networks like Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, and the aforementioned Zoom.

And while this new method of communication resulted in its fair share of comic technological mishaps, thanks to wayward meeting filters or the inevitable collision of home and work life, it also led to increased efficiencies, such as more people being able to attend more meetings and share documents with ease. And with many employees opting to continue to work from home, the result will inevitably be significant investments by companies and governments into video conferencing and group decision-making support systems. Of course, there will also be additional hard costs associated with this development, such as cloud servers and video conferencing, as well as licenses for support products.

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Health care has also been a huge driver of IT innovation in the wake of COVID-19, albeit not always willingly.

Health information privacy is understandably a key concern for both doctors and patients, so sharing any such data is a sensitive topic. But the ongoing siloing of health care information due to privacy concerns could potentially delay the development of vaccines and other responses to large-scale medical crises.

Viral research, however, could be revolutionized by an emerging culture of collaboration. COVID-19 prompted epidemiological researchers to map the virus’ entire genetic makeup (a.k.a. its genome) and publish it online within days. This sharing of information not only sped up the development of vaccines but helped identify and track mutations of the virus.

This global collaboration on important health issues is not only possible, but preferable to competition. The continued development of blockchain technology — most often associated with the privacy of financial transactions — could be applied to health care in instances like this to allow for the secure sharing of patient data for more successful combating of coronaviruses and the like.

Other IT developments in health will include the accelerated digitization of health records, which would, in turn, require reinforced cybersecurity measures.

Wearable tech could also result in data collection that helps stem outbreaks of food poisoning or flus, and the uptake of telehealth and remote care management.

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The government was also forced to embrace technology and innovation more vigorously, something most of the private sector has already done. This included updating IT to allow employees to work from home and developing collaborative tools, virtual meetings, and shareable cloud technology.

Like other government sectors, COVID-19 revealed gaps in education’s ability to provide service in a crisis.

Just think about the many technological and emotional difficulties our children experienced while trying to learn. Not all public schools have a well-designed or cogent digital strategy, including intuitive digital tools and platforms. Expect further digitization of this sector, including automation of administrative tasks so teachers can spend more time teaching.

No one is glad COVID-19 happened. It continues to be devastating and proves just how easy it is to disrupt life on a global scale, despite our belief that we live in stable times. But it is innovations that will hopefully address inadequacies and inequities that have for too long gone untended. In IT, the general decentralization of information and services will result in less reliance on local, server-based systems and increased demand for cloud-based data management, and previously insular sectors, like education, health care, and government, have been forced to look outside themselves for ways to cope with disruptions. So, these upheavals do carry their set of benefits. //

tech & innovation

How AI Contributes to Cybersecurity Processes

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by Arslan Ahmed

one are the days when warfare was restricted strictly to armed conflict in physical space. Now, hackers and their targets can be seen in combat in the intangible digital landscape known as "cyberspace." Simply stated, cyberspace refers to the virtual environment spanning multiple computer networks and interconnected machines on the internet. The pandemic brought with it an onslaught of cybersecurity breaches the world over, with Canadian and North American companies severely hit while having to make changes to their network systems in response to work-from-home models. This is partly due to the still nascent state of the global cybersecurity landscape and partly due to the sophistication of the aggressor’s methods.

Why Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity?

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the design and engineering of computers that can think and act like humans. TechRepublic estimates the number of cybersecurity-related incidents that a medium-sized company needs to deal with on a daily basis to be 200,000, which is obviously nothing that a security team within the organization can tackle any given day. This is where AI comes in with the human-like ability to predict and respond to security threats. We will now look at more detail on how AI can transform the cybersecurity landscape.

In the most sophisticated attack ever reported of ransomware, Colonial Pipeline had to shut down its operations in May 2021 over a 5,500-mile network of gasoline-carrying pipelines connecting the Gulf Coast refineries to the eastern and southern part of the U.S. Ransomware is a type of attack where malware (malicious software that can infect any computer system or network) is used to steal a company’s sensitive data and hold it for ransom in exchange for monetary demands. Attacks of this kind not only leak sensitive private data relating to consumers and company operations, but also bring a halt to operations, translating to millions of dollars lost in business and a blow to a company’s trustworthiness and reputation. According to a report by the cybersecurity company Emsisoft, in 2020, Canada experienced 4,000 ransomware attacks with the minimum ransom cost of almost 165 million dollars USD. With the inclusion of the losses incurred due to halted operations, the minimum loss figure leapt to a staggering estimate of over a billion dollars USD. While another cybersecurity company, Check Point, reports that cyberattacks have increased by 93 per cent globally in mid-2021 from mid-2020, hope must still not be lost in the face of this boom in breaches, as artificial intelligence can be the muchneeded saviour.

Machine Learning Learns from the Past A subset of AI, machine learning (ML) can be programmed to spot and record malware program information from previously held pools of data. When new malware is sent in attacks, ML systems can check against these records to search for similarities with malicious programs of the past to thwart the attacks. Attackers can and do try and outsmart the AI systems by concealing future attacks through slight variations in code. However, ML systems are strong enough to identify these disguises with their ability to recognize that the variants stem from a family of similar programs.

A very simple example of a machine learning system can be seen in Gmail, where the email software is designed to identify patterns of phishing emails that should end up in the spam folder.

Most phishing emails attempt to gain private information such as passwords and banking credentials or hold links to ransomware.

By analyzing email content, the context, and the metadata, the system can prevent phishing attacks from happening.

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AI Identifies Vulnerabilities in Systems A company’s network security is dependent on vulnerability management. Given that, on average, a medium-sized company faces threats numbering in several hundred thousands, detection, identification, and prevention of those is crucial. At a considerably much faster rate than human agency, AI can be leveraged to analyze the present tech infrastructure to identify the vulnerabilities and offer solutions. For example, consider this aspect of a vulnerability management system that can scour the social media and cybersecurity discussion forums for possible threats that others have had to deal with to tighten up the company’s security measures around those areas.

AI Responds Better in Real Time A key feature of AI protection is its speed of identifying and responding to threats in real-time. Human intervention to detect threats and present timely solutions are severely limited. In comes AI with its ability to counter threats as they occur. As an example, consider McLaren Formula One’s deployment of AI by outsourcing the services of the cybersecurity firm Darktrace to constantly track data from cars, emails, chats, and many other sources to secure its network from any incoming threats. Moreover, the company can also make sure that it can work around the human tendency of cybersecurity personnel to seek shortcuts at the job, thereby compromising the security of its system.

AI Can Search for and Install Security Updates Even for an average medium-sized company, its internal network of computers and other connected devices can be quite expansive or based over several geographic locations.

Another important way in which AI can help with the maintenance of security is by checking which devices or software needs updated security patches or other updates that will improve security across the entire network. Most often for hackers, buggy software to which security patches haven’t been applied becomes a prime candidate capable of exploitation.

While AI may come across as a magical solution to protect against cybercrime, its efficacy is dependent entirely on sensible utilization. After all, the agents behind any AI engine are humans, and human intervention is certainly necessary for any security system. It must be remembered that cybercriminals can also deploy AI to predict solutions and devise more complex malware to derail a company. Hence, cybersecurity personnel must know how to optimise the AI code to pre-emptively thwart counterattacks. //

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tech & innovation

BINDU REDDY

CEO and Co-Founder, Abacus.ai

by Kenny Hedges

The notion of a utopian society powered by artificial intelligence (AI) is what Bindu Reddy envisions for the future. Be it fraud detection or playlist recommendations, Reddy’s Abacus.ai uses plug-and-play AI tools that customers can use to create deep-learning models. In short, it’s artificial intelligence that creates artificial intelligence.

Last November, Abacus announced a $22 million Series B round, rounding the total money raised to $40.3 million. The Edge spoke to Reddy about AI’s potential and risks.

Photos courtesy of Bindu Reddy

Can you elaborate on the potential that AI as a technological innovation encompasses? Thus far, how much potential have humans uncovered?

Obviously, some people might have some concerns with that. What obstacles does your company face in improving awareness and adoption of AI technologies?

I sometimes compare the potential of AI to the potential of the internet itself. Twenty years ago, not a lot of people imagined how transformational the internet has been and can be. If you think about it, the internet has completely transformed our lives.

I feel all technology can be used for good. Obviously, some technology can be more dangerous. Usually, that’s a factor in how powerful the technology is. I feel like AI is very similar. You’ve got deep fakes. You’ve got misinformation. You’ve got biases. All of these are the cons of AI. [But] there’s a lot of projects across the board around ethical AI — AI for good.

Today, after the pandemic, there is no way we’d have all been working together, [and] there is no way the economies of all the countries around the world would not have crashed, if not for the fact that we can connect with each other regardless of where we are.

In so many ways, if you look at humanity itself, electricity and the internet are the two big revolutions we’ve had. [I think] the next big one is going to be AI. Sooner or later, in the next decade or two, you’re going to see AI taking over a lot of things that humans do, and when AI does, I think generally that’ll be good for humanity. It’ll help us focus on the things that we want to do as opposed to what we have to do. It’ll help us become more creative. I, for one, imagine an AI-powered utopia.

Also, you will see corporations — especially the ones who are over a trillion dollars in market cap — their very existence depends on making sure their AI is good. There are incentives to fix the problems, in some ways. Like it or not, it’s in Facebook’s [interest] to fix this outreach problem because they’re going to have a revolt on their hands — internally, not externally.

One of the things we have tried to do at Abacus is say, “Hey, let us do what we really believe in. Let us build a product that makes sense for our customers, and if the product is good, the product will speak for itself.”

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As of 2020, women only hold 11 per cent of executive-level positions in Silicon Valley. What do you think is the reason for this? Additionally, what challenges have you had to overcome throughout your career?

I, myself, have had various different positions in Silicon Valley, and I’ve experienced bias. The bias is almost natural if you think about it. Our brains are engineered to expect the expected, so to speak. If you see a woman, she’s unexpected because you’ve got only 11 per cent women.

Then it kind of goes from there. It’s hard to expect the leadership numbers to be much more, so I think it’s a problem of getting women more cognizant of the benefits of AI or CS, and how it can be a great career.

What qualities make up an influential leader, and of those qualities, which apply to your leadership style?

As to what the reason is, I think it’s twofold. The first is it’s historic.

Some of the feminists, I think, would say we live in a patriarchal society. And yes, we do, to some extent, historically. Maybe not so much now. I think a lot of men are a lot more progressive now, but historically, we’ve had a really male-dominated society, especially in the United States.

In today’s day and age, you can’t be a manager or leader by being dominating, controlling, or ordering things. The best leaders are the ones who lead by example. As a classic example, I think the most important attribute that I love is that I’m really passionate about what I do. I really care for what I do, so that is setting the example.

If you look back, look at our presidents — 45 presidents, all of them men. Look at our Fortune 500 CEOs. That history kind of repeats itself. Once you have a clique or a cabal of a certain type of people, it’s very hard to get new people into that cabal.

I would say that’s the biggest problem — the fact that it’s already ingrained that way.

The other part of this is leaders should care about culture. You can’t say enough about culture: everything is culture. If you have the right culture among the people you work with, they will instill the right culture in the people they work with, and so on.

So, culture has a really great way of being viral in some sense.

Generally speaking, in our case, that has to do with working on getting things done, not being political, just focus on the work, don’t get bogged down with backstabbing or making too much money — because the money will come anyway. //

The second big problem is also women. I don’t know if it's a problem, it’s just that a lot of women don’t choose computer science and STEM. If you look at the number of people, especially

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in the West — if you look at the people wanting to do computer science or AI, it isn’t a huge percentage.

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JULIE ANGUS CEO and Co-Founder, Open Ocean Robotics

by Stephanie Hawkins

Julie Angus is passionate about many different things, including entrepreneurship, cleantech, and the presence of more women in STEM. She’s also vocal about having more diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

She believes these are all key elements, not only in creating great companies, but in helping overcome challenges that humanity faces in the world today.

Julie graciously took the time out of her busy day to talk with The Edge about her experiences and how this not only shaped her business, but also herself.

What was the inspiration for founding Open Ocean Robotics?

The idea behind Open Ocean Robotics really started quite some time ago. I spent a lot of time on the ocean exploring in small boats. I've done a number of expeditions, and one of the most challenging of these was rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. On that journey, I spent five months with my co-founder, Colin, rowing from Portugal to Costa Rica.

One of the many things that I learned through that journey is just how remote and unseen much of the ocean is. The statistics are that 80 per cent of our oceans are unobserved, unmapped, and unexplored. This causes all kinds of challenges for the industries that are operating on the ocean, whether it's shipping, offshore wind, or fisheries (including preventing illegal fishing), which is a huge issue.

We also saw other things, such as the impact of ocean currents, weather patterns, and wildlife, so we started to think about the idea of boats slowly moving around and collecting data. Of course, that’s not feasible with rowboats, but would be with robot boats. We had a previous company that was designing offshore rowboats and had started to get into autonomous boats as a side project. We recognized that the boats we were developing had some advantages compared to what was on the market. We formed a company, and here we are three years later, with a great team achieving some of the goals we imagined.

Photo courtesy of Julie Angus

Providing solutions such as measuring the impacts of climate change, detecting and cleaning oil spills, safeguarding the Arctic, and patrolling against illegal fishing are all massive undertakings. Tell us about the work that has gone into the creation of solar-powered autonomous boats worldwide.

Our boats are heavily ruggedized as they're made for offshore use.

They can go through significant weather [changes], and they’re self-righting, so if they capsize, they’ll right themselves. They're covered with solar panels, so they don't need any fuel, and this also powers the sensors. There's a lot of software development that goes into controlling the vessels that makes it possible to avoid obstacles, collect data, and communicate to the cloud platform.

In terms of building the company to achieve those technology and business goals, it really takes quite a broad skill set. It's not just mechanical engineering, but it's software development. It's electrical engineering. It’s understanding oceanographic sciences and being able to raise money and sell to customers.

We started to build our team slowly — our first hires were actually two co-op students from the University of Victoria. It was then a matter of continuing to build while getting money into the company to make that happen. We looked largely to non-dilutive sources of funding at the beginning, such as winning awards, obtaining different kinds of grants, as well as investment rounds.

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Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Bosdet

Over the years, you’ve had many adventures around the globe, including lengthy travels by rowboat. What did you learn from these experiences, and how did they shape you?

One of the things that I learned is that things never go the way you anticipate, such as rowing across an ocean and ending up getting hit by two hurricanes, both of them complete anomalies.

Obviously, you try to prepare, but you have to deal with the unexpected, adjust your plan, and understand that it really is about the journey, and not about the destination.

It's similar to building a company as well — we have our forecasts, we have our plan, but the reality looks much different than what was envisioned at the beginning. I think having that flexibility and being able to adapt to situations and respond to new information is very important.

What are the biggest personal challenges you have had to overcome to become a leader? Was there any opposition or hurdles you had to face?

I think the challenges we faced when building a company are probably somewhat universal. A major challenge when you're in the cleantech space, when you're building both hardware and software, is that these have significant costs associated with them and [require] very specialized talent.

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I think another significant challenge is building a team. We really started the first autonomous boat company in Canada, so it’s not as though there's a lot of other autonomous boat companies I can hire from. In many ways, we're building that skill set here.

This is also my first time building a high-growth company like this. Therefore, learning from others who have done it — having mentors and making connections — has been really important for me to gain the skills and knowledge to become a leader.

In addition to your CEO and co-founder roles, you are also a mother, motivational speaker, and author. How do you maintain your energy and drive?

I've always liked being involved in a lot of different things, and I like staying curious. The good thing about being involved in a variety of things is that I'm always pushing my boundaries. I'm always learning and meeting incredible people. For me, balance is important.

I have to look after myself, so I'm an avid runner. Every morning, I get up at 4:30, work for an hour, have my coffee, and then go for a 10k run. It's just my meditative personal time. No matter how hard and challenging my day was, I always know I have that to relax and reset myself. //

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leadership

TAMMY HEERMANN Speaker, Advisor, and Consultant

by Arslan Ahmed

Tammy Heermann’s expertise, gained through over 20 years of work in gender diversity and leadership development aimed specifically at women, has made her a highly sought-after voice by Fortune 500 companies globally. Her focus is on women advancing in their careers by breaking free from organizational and personal roadblocks. Currently, as an independent consultant and as a member of the Women’s Leadership Advisory Committee for Women in Communications and Technology (an Ottawa-based non-profit), she transforms leadership to align to the needs of the times and aids C-suite leaders progress through sponsorship.

The Edge had the chance to be enlightened

by her experiences as a consultant in the leadership development space and seek her advice on how women can lead better.

Photo courtesy of Tammy Heermann

What or who would you say influenced you the most in your journey to be a leadership development expert?

There's an earlier leader that I worked for in my career, and he believed in everyone's potential.

He always said to me, “I believe that people get up in the morning, and they want to make a meaningful contribution. No one goes into work to do a crappy job. No one gets up in the morning to make other people's lives miserable.” He lived with this philosophy, and he believed that the job of a leader was to unleash that potential in other people. He made me think about the role of a leader in leadership development as something different, something really critical, and something very important — to create the culture and the results that you want, for individuals, their careers, and the organization.

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Research shows that women experience impostor syndrome more than men. What has your experience been regarding this in your line of work?

This is a really interesting and contentious question. I would say I'm asked to speak on this topic a lot, of course, working with women in leadership. As I dove into the research in this area, I discovered that actually men and women equally suffer from these feelings. In fact, [in] some studies that I found, 82 per cent of adults experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lifetime. So, this is not necessarily a gender thing, but I think why it's attributed more to females is for a number of reasons.

Of course, there are biases and stereotypes for both men and women. I think men may experience these feelings of imposter syndrome, but they don't articulate them.

That being said, because I spend a ton of time in rooms or in Zoom calls now with women, there’s many kinds of things that [I] identify with imposter syndrome [that I see] a lot in women — more so than men. So, I think some of the factors associated with it, we can see more in women, such as difficulty accepting praise or deflecting compliments, giving others more credit than taking credit for yourself, questioning your skills and abilities, [and] setting very high expectations for yourself. But this notion of how you define it, I think men and women can equally feel those feelings.

What advice would you give to women lacking self-confidence who hold back from applying for promotions?

First, we have to start believing in our potential and what's possible. Countless studies have shown really disheartening statistics on the state of how women are feeling about moving into more senior positions. […] My advice would be, first of all, we have to reframe and say, “Wait a minute. I do belong here!”

We do belong in leadership positions or in that next job or that next role that [we’re] applying for.

How would you describe your own leadership style? Is there a specific kind of leadership style you endorse for others?

This answer has changed over the years, and the first word that popped into my mind — especially given this point of time we're living in — is human. We need to be human and what that means — because it feels soft, but in actuality, it's tough, and it requires incredible strength. You can always find smart people to lead strategy and drive results and execute things. But what we're seeing now is we need leaders who can create connections, relationships, and learning, and without those, workplaces are a very grim place. That's how I would describe my style: as the ability to build authentic relationships with the team, the people I coach and mentor, but also with colleagues and leaders across the organization and up the organization.

What work do you think still needs to be done to improve women’s representation at the C-suite level?

A lot of work. What I would like to see organizations do is take a longer-term view. It's not easy, but we can hire [for] diversity.

What's lacking is the culture and the systems to keep people there. We have to build the pipeline of women coming through the organization because what happens in most organizations is the numbers declined for women at that kind of mid-career [or] director level, depending on how big the organization is, and — surprise, surprise — that coincides with family planning years!

If we want to continue to populate the planet and have women work to increase global GDP, we need some drastic changes.

When we're expecting women to have primary caregiving roles and be these perfect people at work to get promoted — it's killing us. We've been working on women's programs for decades, and it should continue because there's value for women in getting together for sure, but we need to address the cultural and policy aspects now. //

If self-belief and confidence are an issue, then I would say stop comparing yourself to the old, stale models of leadership. The world requires a new kind of leadership, which is often associated with female qualities like collaboration and influence and caring for the employees’ welfare and health and wellbeing. Only compare yourself to a younger you, to marveling how much you've learned and grown and experienced, and then build on it.

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TRACY BEAN Chief Operating Officer, IBM

by Dave Gordon

With a quarter-century working at IBM, Tracy Bean has played a key role in the exponential growth of the digital sphere in one of the most recognizable, influential, and largest tech corporations. She’s the leader of the IBM Canada Client Innovation Centres with over 1,000 employees. She supports North American clients in optimizing their business models by leveraging digital technologies with hybrid cloud and AI solutions.

Bean’s previous roles include Chief Operating Officer for Global Business Services. Earlier in her career, she created and led global Centres of Excellence, supporting sales management processes in Bratislava, Bangalore, Delhi, Beijing, and Japan. From nearly four decades in business and leadership, Bean offered The Edge lessons for entrepreneurs, women, and teams.

Photo courtesy of Tracy Bean

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would have put more time, earlier in my career, to network. It’s volunteering, being on boards, getting to know people from a work perspective, getting your name out there, [and] soliciting other points of view. When you are a known commodity, it’s easier to differentiate yourself going forward.

Someone said this to me: “Who is on Tracy’s personal Board of Directors?” It taught me something important. If I wanted to go to another job, I needed to have sponsorship.

When I was making decisions about a shift in my career, or I’d say, “This is where I want to go,” I’d introduce myself to new people at [businesses]. They call them “executive interviews.”

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I’m not looking for a job. I just want to get your perspective on the business, any points of view, or chemistry.

One of the most important things I did was I went out and had these interviews. What was really cool about it is that they created a job for me. As it turned out, I ended up running that team.

What’s your best business advice?

What is your personal brand, and what do you want to be known for? Carry that image in how you operate and differentiate. Are you articulate about what you are known for? Why you are special?

People have difficulty with that because it feels like you are bragging, but you have to be confident about how you do that.

leadership

In March 2021, you were on a Women in Leadership Foundation panel discussing gender-based unconscious bias. How was that an issue in your career?

In 1986, I joined Financial Services group. Highly male-dominated, few females — especially in leadership. The job I wanted was three jobs away, I thought. The gentleman [ahead] resigned, and they came to me and asked if I would take this job. I didn’t think I was ready for it.

By the way, women think they have to check off 9 boxes of 10 to take a job. Men, statistically, talk about what they bring to a job, rather than what they lack. They tend to go out on a limb more than women, who want to be super prepared.

Guess what? I was pregnant. Finally, I told them. Back then, maternity leave was only three months, not what we have now.

The backlash I got was so harsh. But I had a female, progressive leader that made room for me. She stood up for me. My work was good. The team got their head around, “Okay, she’s going on maternity leave. We want her back.” It felt like I beat the unconscious bias. Back then, they promised your job level back, not your job, but they saved my job for me.

I always say to women, “Don’t think you aren’t ready.” That’s your own bias. Focus on what you can bring to a job rather than the gaps you have in a job. Sell yourself.

What message would you give other women?

We have to help women share our stories and sponsor other women. My message to men was that you need to be active allies. Promote them, support them, appoint them in leadership roles, insist on making room. The strength of diversity is diversity of thought. It’s just so important.

I say diversity courses are fatigued. You might remember them for 24 hours. I think if businesses are really serious about driving change, they will have measurements. As a former COO, my mantra is, “What gets measured gets done.” Putting in measures around inclusion of women — bold thinking needs to be matched by bold commitments. An example, our composition of executives. We get a five per cent increase in our executive pay if we increase diversity in our executive ring. I loved that idea and did that.

They are putting money behind what they think.

What’s a great leader versus a good leader?

A great leader is not making short-term decisions, but has a longterm vision and can articulate that clearly. Then you are going to get followers with commitment and loyalty. People rally around people that feel they are part of a vision and sense of purpose.

A good leader executes the operating plan, meets the objective, and gets the job done. That’s what I call solid. The exceptional is, “How did you change the game?” It’s great when you have a leader that is always stretching you.

The pandemic has really taught people that you have to invest in the well-being of your people. If you don’t do that, it’s a retention risk. People leave, not because of pay, but how they are treated.

Also, if they see they have a future. A great leader knows that.

What about your job brings you the greatest joy?

The people. You know you are a great leader when people say, “We want to make you proud. You give us a purpose.” Your heart bursts. It’s funny when I hear people say, “You have to take care of people, and they will give back tenfold.” For me, that was a basic way of working. //

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INDONESIA PALM OIL Indonesia’s palm oil industry has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade. It has become a leader in all aspects of sustainability — environment, economic, and social — and is making a positive impact on Indonesia’s forests, exports, and people. Indonesian palm oil provides Canada with products that are healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly.

The palm is Indonesia’s most important agricultural crop. It is a source of vegetable oils that are a staple of the food industry, oleochemicals that are used in household products, and a source of renewable fuel that provides energy for the transportation sector. But most importantly, it provides livelihoods for 2.6 million smallholders — Indonesia’s small-scale local farmers — that are the backbone of the national economy. Palm oil cultivation has lifted millions of families out of poverty across Indonesia, and is a major contributor to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Numerous studies have shown that palm oil villages have been able to reinvest in their communities, bringing schools, hospitals, and infrastructure to rural populations.

In 2020, Indonesia recorded its lowest deforestation rate ever.

Although Indonesia has historically had a high deforestation rate (some of it associated with palm oil), the Government of Indonesia, the palm oil industry, and small-scale farmers have partnered to reduce deforestation significantly. This journey for Indonesia has been underway for more than a decade. The industry — through positive environmental initiatives — has instituted no-deforestation policies, aligning itself with major buyers in the EU and US. Under the administration of President Joko Widodo, Indonesia has successfully extended and strengthened a moratorium on the issuance of new palm oil plantation permits, and also on clearing primary forests. Small farmers who have worked with major processors and buyers have adjusted their practices to improve their environmental stewardship. Indonesia’s commitment to environmental protection has been undoubtedly significant.

Indonesia has introduced an environmental certification standard — Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) — that assures the sustainability of the Indonesian palm oil industry. ISPO requires producers to ensure that their practices do not involve clearance of peatlands and primary forest lands, protect the rights of workers and prevent labor exploitation, prevent additional emissions of greenhouse gases, and are in line with good agricultural practices.

ISPO is mandatory for larger companies, and it is now the largest palm oil certification scheme in the world. It is gradually being rolled out to cover millions of smallholder farmers in Indonesia.

It has become the mark of assurance for sustainable palm oil around the world. This type of assurance is much needed in the age of environmentally-conscious consumers who are seeking greener products for their grocery baskets and for the dinner table. Consumers can be assured that Indonesian palm oil supports sustainability, and it helps to improve the livelihoods of Indonesians, particularly in rural areas.

Bilateral ties between Indonesia and Canada will take on additional significance in the future. Both countries have recently agreed to commence negotiations on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Once concluded, it will be the first comprehensive economic partnership agreement Indonesia has ever signed with countries in the North American region — and only the second bilateral agreement with countries in the American continent. This will give Canada the opportunity to access the potential market in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

More importantly, Canada can rest assured that its palm oil trade with Indonesia is sustainable.

To learn more about Indonesian palm oil visit: indonesiapalmoilfacts.org.

Text provided by Indonesian Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS)

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IRON/STEEL The iron and steel industry in Indonesia has undergone a remarkable growth in the last 10 years, marked by a constant increase in the domestic consumption of and a large addition to the installed capacity of crude steels, among others. Domestic steel consumption in 2010 was recorded at around 7 million tons, more than doubling to 15.1 million tons in 2020, while crude steel capacity that was recorded at less than 10 million tons per year in 2010 has increased to almost 21 million tons per year in 2020. Thus, within 10 years, national consumption and additional installed capacity has grown by approximately 8% each year (compound annual growth rate – CAGR). It shows a positive correlation with Indonesia’s average economic growth, which ranges from 5% to 6% before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a middle-income country, Indonesia has been striving to boost infrastructure during the past seven years and domestic demand is still dominated by the construction sector (78%) followed by the automotive industry (10%) and other manufacturing sectors, such as machinery and electronics as well as household appliances (around 3%). Products that stand out and are widely consumed by domestic markets are concrete reinforcement steel (rebar), hot rolled plate and coil steel, steel profile and sections, pipes, coated sheets, and various steel derivative product for construction needs, such as light steel frames and corrugated roofs and panels.

Export performance and trade balance of Indonesia’s iron and steel products have shown encouraging results since the graph has continued to improve in the recent years. The trade balance has even turned positive since 2019. Indonesian export value of iron and steel products spiked to 92%, reaching $8.79 billion USD in Semester 1 in 2021, compared to the same period in the previous year, driven by a large increase in the export of nickel pig iron and ferro alloys (38%), stainless steel (25%), crude steel (23%) added with hot rolled plate (5%) and steel bars (3%) as well as other derivative products.

On the other hand, the Indonesian import of iron and steel products remains high. That is indicated by import portion which ranges from 30% to 45% of the total domestic consumption, resulting in low average plant utilization, which remains below 50% in the recent years. Good export performance in recent years was greatly influenced by the increased value of investment in the Indonesian mining sector.

Several Indonesian steel products that have the potential for export into Canada are stainless steel, hot rolled plates, pipes, hollows, elbows, light steel frames, or various zinc or aluminumzinc coated steel sheets that are suitable for cold and humid climate in the northern hemisphere.

Text provided by Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association

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THE FUTURE OF CANADIAN FOREIGN POLICY POST-PANDEMIC

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by Nick Dauk

Mending Fences with Americans lthough Time Magazine has highlighted the success of Canada’s initial approach to combating the novel coronavirus spread, the country now faces the challenge of maintaining positive foreign relations through policies and ideologies that other nations may not adopt. The future of Canadian foreign policy post-pandemic will impact nearly every sector of society.

Parliament’s decisions in the coming months will both positively and negatively influence foreign relations for years to come.

Sharing a border with the United States, Canada has been in a difficult global position since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

These North American countries have diverged on many matters, particularly the lengths and severities of their lockdowns and restrictions for both citizens and visitors. Canada may have been the first to welcome qualified citizens from the United States across its borders. Still, the U.S.’s delay in reciprocation may highlight future difficulties between the two nations.

Positive relations with the U.S. are crucial, yet their divergence on issues may put Canada in another uncomfortable situation regarding ties with Mexico and other Latin American countries. For example, the Canada-Mexico Partnership of 2004 strengthened their relations, and their Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program is a successful example of international labour mobility arrangements. With the United States now putting pressure on Mexico to stop immigration from Central and South America, Canada may have to support its interests while remaining strategically and amicably impartial to some U.S.-Latin America disputes that don’t immediately concern it.

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Taxation on Non-Resident Owned Properties in Canada Regardless of how Parliament decides to manage relations with countries south of the border, it must also address noncitizens residing in Canada — specifically, those who own property within the country.

A new one per cent tax is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2022. Being the first ever of its kind, this tax will be enforced on residential properties and vacant land owned by non-Canadians and non-residents.

Though this proposal has already been a point of contention for some foreign nationals who own vacation properties within Canada, the decision may also influence commercial property owners to avoid purchasing land or commercial real estate for long-term projects. The pandemic has substantially handicapped finances in many sectors of the international commercial real estate industry. The proposed tax may encourage investors to look for a lower cost for expansion opportunities in other countries.

Global Immigration and Asylum Seekers The proposed taxation may hinder physical business expansion from international corporations, but it’s unlikely to impact Canada’s immigration trends negatively.

The country is reportedly on track to achieve its goal of receiving over 400,000 new permanent residents by year’s end.

Immigration numbers haven’t been this high since the early 1900s; since 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau has targeted higher immigration numbers in hopes of boosting the Canadian economy.

This effort is aided by the Start-up Visa Program, designed to fast-track immigration for professionals and entrepreneurs who will ultimately benefit the country’s economy through job creation or innovation. However, immigrants do not need to be working

professionals to begin the pathway to citizenship. Parliament’s support of immigration extends to students, the general public, and asylum seekers as well.

Canada’s intake of immigrants rivals the U.S. immigration policy, though immigration isn’t as straightforward for asylum seekers. For example, the United States and Canada share a Safe Third Country Agreement. This agreement asserts that both countries recognize the other as safe places for asylum seekers, allowing the Canadian government to turn away asylum seekers at the United States-Canada border, ultimately citing that individuals must gain asylum in the U.S., as it is their country of arrival.

Meanwhile, the recent Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership is opening new trade opportunities. Countries including Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore have ratified the agreement, presenting Canadian businesses in these countries with incentives like tariff- and non-tariff-related benefits. China is not included in this agreement, though Canada’s secondlargest trading partner was involved in discussions for a Canada-China Free Trade Agreement, the progress on which came to a halt last year.

Regardless of the refusal or acceptance rate of asylum seekers or immigrants, Canada’s outlook on the matter has the potential to both strain and strengthen relations with the global community.

While some countries may applaud the government for creating safe and secure citizenship pathways, others may fault the government for not taking a more active role in providing safe haven for individuals fleeing life-or-death circumstances.

Trade with Europe and Asia Canada protects its interests by supporting agreements with individual countries and global collectives alike when it comes to international trade. For example, the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been provisionally enforced since 2017. This agreement improved access to the Canadian market for EU companies and eliminated virtually all duties on tariff lines. Although Brexit removed the United Kingdom from this agreement, the two countries were quick to sign the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement in 2021, which preserved the main benefits that CETA extended, including a 98 per cent elimination of tariffs on exported products from Canada to the UK.

The Post-Pandemic Future of Canadian Foreign Policy The fight against COVID-19 is far from over, even as vaccine rates rise, and fatalities decrease around the world. Pandemicrelated issues have heightened existing challenges and created new ones. For instance, the country’s commitment to aiding the Sub-Saharan Africa region received half of the foreign aid budget allocation. Even then, it’s likely not enough to achieve the desired outcomes (leaving aside pandemic interference). Canada’s post-pandemic foreign policy will need to adapt to evolving challenges, some of which won’t be identifiable for years to come. //

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HOW THE PARIS AGREEMENT AFFECTS EVERYONE

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by Peter Campbell

he world around us is changing, and it will behoove us to keep pace if we want our companies to survive.

Survival was and is key to the landmark Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 Paris Agreement — a useful first step in the journey towards a carbon-neutral world. A useful first step, to be sure, but by no means the final step. It’s been over half a decade since hands were held and arms were raised on that midDecember day in Paris (and formally entered into force in November 2016), but we still have a lot of work to do.

The Paris Agreement’s primary goal was straightforward: limit global mean temperature

at below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, the 191 signing countries agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve a carbon-neutral Earth in less than 30 years — and to begin doing so as soon as possible.

Though the unforeseen global pandemic caused a significant hiccup in business, it helped our planet.

With 2020’s COP being postponed due to COVID-19, countries were understandably eager to participate in COP 26, this time held in Glasgow. One of COP 26’s primary purposes was to assess the progress made — or not made — under the Paris Agreement, and to encourage countries to enhance their original NDC’s (Nationally Determined Contributions) into greater alignment with current climate science.

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Weakening Links — Widening Vulnerabilities We all remember the blackout across the Eastern Seaboard several years ago. Power outages, rolling blackouts and brownouts, technological glitches, and so on — these have unfortunately become a way of life. These fleeting issues underscore how fragile and tenuous our way of life can be. Especially now, with so many working remotely.

The bottom line is we can only control what we can control.

When it comes to climate, we have weather apps and meteorological channels with hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly forecasts, but nothing beats the old window. Maybe we can’t control the actual weather, but we do possess the ability to make it rain less on our respective parades — and on the parades of generations to come.

Taking the Globe’s Temperature Greta Thunberg was Time’s Person of The Year for 2019, and is a polarizing figure. Her speech at the United Nations in September of that year cast aspersions on what seemed to be the next logical steps of the Paris Agreement. As part of her speech, she accused world leaders of inaction and half-measures — sternly promising, “We will be watching.”

In an interview in December of 2020, Thunberg said, “We are still speeding in the wrong direction. The five years following the Paris Agreement have been the five hottest years ever recorded and, during that time, the world has emitted more than 200 billion tonnes of CO2.”

Whether you believe in climate change or not is essentially irrelevant. Even the most ardent climate change deniers cannot argue that climate does, in fact, change — just look at seasons or hemispheres. However, for some, the reality of double capital-C climate change could be up for debate.

What cannot be debated, however, is the reality of the Paris Agreement — a tangible document that affects us all in many ways.

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In April of 2021, Climate Pledge was created, which consisted of over 100 signatories (from companies ranging from Amazon to Visa) committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by no later than 2040 — an entire decade ahead of the proposed date set by the Paris Agreement.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said of Climate Pledge, “More than 100 companies, with over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and more than five million employees have signed the Pledge.

We are proud to stand with other signatories to use our scale to decarbonize the economy through real business change and innovation.”

All this has given rise to a new term in business: the post-Paris landscape.

Countless resources promise to manage compliance costeffectively with climate change regulation and policy measures, plus support engagement with stakeholders on climate change and sustainability, including public reporting on policies, programs, targets, and performance.

Cloudy with a Chance of Chaos Unlike rectifying inclement weather, rectifying that chance is up to us.

The Paris Agreement is not static. It is more of a “living document”, designed to grow and mature as it boosts the national efforts of countries over time. As it stands, current commitments represent the floor — not the ceiling — of climate change ambition.

Though reducing emissions still needs to be done, the Paris Agreement provides the tools and the pressure necessary to reach the Agreement’s goals.

An inconvenient truth or an outlandish hoax — regardless of where you stand on climate change; global warming, the next ice age, the omnipresent heat wave, or whatever you wish to call it; one probability is nearing 100 per cent — it reads simply: stormy weather ahead. //

The Ever-Evolving Landscape of Business Like the climate, the world of business is constantly changing.

Over 800 of the largest listed companies from around the world are in favour of a global deal to tackle climate change.

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Since 2015, nearly every nation on Earth has endorsed the Paris Agreement — with Turkey being one of the last of the “major emitting countries” to ratify in October 2021.

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In 2018, the so-called Paris Rulebook was adopted by many companies for implementing the goals brought forth by the 2015 Paris Agreement. It was signed by major companies like IBM, Microsoft, Nestlé, and Shell.

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In 2020, under former president Donald Trump, the United States famously withdrew from the Agreement. However, in his first Executive Order as president, newly-elected president Joe Biden re-joined the Agreement in February 2021.

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ALEJANDRA BRAVO Director of Leadership and Training, Broadbent Institute

Photos courtesy of Alejandra Bravo

by Carlie Doan Mentor, trainer, facilitator, strategist, multilingual social activist, and political candidate — when it comes to progressive politics and community building, Alejandra Bravo is well versed. With over 25 years working with grassroots, immigrant, and labour groups for economic and social change, this fall Bravo made a run for Member of Parliament in Canada’s 2021 federal election.

Bravo spoke to The Edge about her career as a community organizer, and it’s clear that her fighting spirit and dedication to progressive activism transcends past politics in everything she commits to.

As Director of Leadership and Training at the Broadbent Institute and Director of the Power Lab, you’ve supported and built campaigns focused on empowering historically disadvantaged groups and spearheaded several progressive movements. What issues do you believe should be at the forefront of Canadian politics today?

Canada’s growing inequality crisis was finally revealed to all by the pandemic, and facing it is overdue. The labour market is increasingly characterized by precarious or gig work and low wages. Housing is so unaffordable in cities big and small that too many are living in substandard conditions while others increasingly become homeless. The disaster of climate change

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has repeatedly hit Canadians this year with wildfires and drought, while we witness growing threats all over the world. As a society, we are also facing the living legacy of colonization and seeing the extreme harm done to Indigenous people.

At this time, it is clear that decision makers need to take on structures and systems that create poverty and disadvantage, and they know they have the backing of a majority of Canadians to do so. We need to redefine economic growth, which means shifting to sustainability and equity as the metrics that will deliver us from the greatest threats to our society.

At Maytree, you designed and delivered political and civic training for emerging and diverse leaders. What advice would you give to the next generation of young diverse leaders looking to impact their communities?

Focus on the contribution you are best positioned to make, not on your deficits. Do more of what you’re good at. Build on your strengths. When people come together in this way, bringing true value to a shared campaign or effort, they become unstoppable as a collective.

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You recently ran for Member of Parliament in the 2021 federal election. What inspired you to shift from community organizer to federal politics?

I unexpectedly felt called to run for Parliament this year after our former MP decided he wouldn’t run again. People in my riding, collaborators from different parts of the country, and members of the Latin American community asked me to go for it. I’ve never not been a political person because my very presence in Canada is the result of a military coup in my country of birth, Chile. Escaping a dictatorship and seeing the impact on my family have made risk-taking for principle something I value. The levers for making transformational change at the federal level are powerful. They touch on all the things that matter. Relying on the market to solve the greatest threats has proven not to work, from climate to housing. Governments have a leadership role to play.

You have been working towards progressive social changes for over 25 years. What part of your career are you most proud of?

Emerging leaders who seek my counsel don’t come from rich and established families that open doors to corridors of power. They need to diligently build their own connections. I advise them to volunteer on projects big and small, join boards, become active in a local school. I also urge people to get political — choose a party or a candidate reflecting your values and join a campaign, because there’s so much to be learned there. If you really want to shift civic and political culture, you need to grow your network and to think about power.

Your job isn’t to fix people. Everyone has inherent value and power, and if you’re a facilitative leader, you will help them find it and tap in so that every effort you join will be aided by a base of motivated people willing to act collectively.

Get good at difficult conversations. This is an essential and often neglected leadership practice. You get good at this by facing tensions and conflict head on. Eventually, you learn that relationships are built out of moments of discomfort.

What satisfies me most is seeing flourish the leadership of people who were previously excluded from corridors where decisions are made. I’ve invested energy in racialized leaders and activists, especially in the Black community, and sometimes I privately feel proud while recognizing that the accomplishments of individuals I’ve supported are all their own. The pride I feel is in the privilege of accompanying people as they walk the road to justice.

I feel exhilarated when I work with a group through the inevitable, and maybe even necessary, tensions that arise when people aspire to big changes and impact. Facilitation is one of my work’s greatest gifts. It’s about following the lead of the people most affected by a campaign, a policy, or a process — and never substituting their agency with my agenda. It’s truly exhilarating to know yourself useful in the moment people are recognizing their own rights and power.

The contributions that matter most to me are largely unseen and uncelebrated, and that is a private pleasure. When I go to bed at night, I know my life is about walking alongside people as they learn themselves to lead, to demand better, and to organize to win those improvements for themselves, their families, and their communities. //

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CELINA CAESARCHAVANNES

Author and Former Member of Parliament

Photos courtesy of Celina Caesar-Chavannes

by Jericho Tadeo

For Celina Caesar-Chavannes, the former Member of Parliament for the riding of Whitby and former Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, the medium is the message. Right now, that medium is Can You Hear Me Now? The memoir chronicles Caesar-Chavannes’ personal and professional journeys as a Black woman entrepreneur and politician. Indeed, the roadmap of her career hasn’t been without its share of twists and turns, but that’s precisely the message of Can You Hear Me Now? — the climb to the top and the fight for change come with both triumphs and mistakes. The trick is to embrace those mistakes, learn from them, and forge through.

Before serving as a Member of Parliament, you worked in the field of research management consultancy. What inspired your transition into politics?

There wasn't really “inspiration” to transition. I was in an [Executive] MBA course and, as part of the program, there was a politics component. It was the first time ever that I'd had a political science angle to any of my formal education. I thought, “Oh, this is interesting. I can gain political capital.” At the time, I was co-chairing Canada's first national epidemiology study on neurological conditions, looking at scope, impact, risk factors for diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, et cetera, and finding that people were facing real challenges having to move from province to province to get medications covered, or that caregivers [were

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experiencing] burnout, or that they weren't able to survive on the monies that they had. I thought political capital can help with [this] business problem. I needed to put these two things together. That was the impetus for running.

Your work has been driven primarily by your advocacy for gender and racial equity. Where did your advocacy begin for you?

My initial cause was to have a national brain strategy. Looking at all of these challenges that people have with neurological conditions, [the question became,] “How do we invest in brain research in development that actually looks at how the brain functions?” The second was related to seniors [and] wanting to have a national senior strategy because many of these people with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's were below the poverty line, and their caregivers were really burnt out.

I wanted those two things, not necessarily from an equity perspective, but from a “this is not fair” perspective. It just so happened that while I was [on Parliament Hill], the conversations that I was hearing from other people made me want to speak out about things that nobody really was talking about. It’s easy to talk about a national brain strategy — it’s difficult for people to talk about racism. I wanted to amplify those voices of people who have these conversations [of their experiences with sexism and racism] in whispers.

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Your book Can You Hear Me Now? dives deep into your own personal and professional journeys from being an entrepreneur to becoming a politician. When did you first decide to write your story? And how important was it for you to tell your story?

I had started writing the book in a different sort of form: I just was writing down lessons that I learned in business when I had my company. Penguin [Random House] said, “No, you have to give us a story behind the lesson.” I thought it was really important to write the book because our histories — histories of Indigenous, Black, people of colour — are erased from the history books and the consciousness of Canadians.

The book [allowed me to tell] my story in my own voice. The medium is the message. I have been careful to avoid some media outlets because I know that they will spin my story into their agenda. The medium, then, becomes their message, and my message is filtered through their medium, and therefore becomes their message.

What are some things you are proud of having accomplished during your time in office?

The thing that I'm most proud of in being in parliament was my advocacy around mental health. I ended up being an advocate for mental health and racial and social justice. When Jane Philpott [former Minister of Health] was advocating for the 2016 budget, she wanted $3 million for a national mental health program so that youth under 25 could get the services that they needed. I said, “Let’s be bold and ask for five.” Many of us went up to the microphone and spoke about [our mental health challenges], and we ended up getting $5 billion in the budget. So, yes, things can happen [in government] if there is the political will to make it happen.

I wanted my story to be not just about politics but one of healing, of forgiveness, and of empathy. I could have written about all the great things that I've done in my life because there's a lot, but I wrote about the pain and the hurt and the shame and the things that made me feel guilty because we need to heal if we want to change spaces. The obstacles that I have to go through as a Black woman are completely different from someone who has a disability or is white. We need to have these truths [out there] in order to build towards the reconciliation.

Now that you are out of office, what does advocacy look like for you?

When it comes to advocacy, it really is, for me, understanding [myself first]. I went through politics ill-prepared, personally, for some of the challenges that I met. What I need to do now is personally understand Celina and really find her in order to be able to authentically go out and do the work around equity and empathy. I'm also hoping to do my PhD in understanding the intersection of empathy and equity: how the brain functions and what it does when empathy is either lacking or in abundance and how it impacts equity. //

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