THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF SUPPLIER DIVERSITY

BMO 2021 TOP CORPORATION

As one of WBE Canada’s founding corporations, BMO continues to demonstrate their core values of diversity through their commitment in expanding their supplier diversity program across the bank. BMO has had a long-standing, established supplier diversity program in which they provide opportunities to and network with certified diverse businesses, hold their large non-diverse suppliers accountable for supplier diversity, and embed supplier diversity into the procurement sourcing process. In 2021, BMO embarked on several aggressive growth initiatives that included expanding the supplier diversity council to have an enterprise focus and enhanced level of leadership with executives from each line of business and several functional areas; setting supplier diversity goals at the line of business level, and launching BMO’s firstever diverse business development program - BMO Elevate. Working with diverse suppliers is an integral part of the bank’s commitment to meeting the needs of their stakeholders, customers and communities BMO serves..

WBE Canada: What are the continuing challenges women-owned businesses face in this coming year and what advice can you give as they go forward in 2022?

BMO: Women-owned businesses, and small and diverse businesses, are no strangers to demonstrating courage and resilience and the pandemic will continue to cause significant impact and challenges to many, both personally and professionally. Leading through the global pandemic has become a test of agility and endurance, while being conscious of the understandable anxiety and fatigue affecting our employees, our clients and ourselves. Managing beyond the current environment to build back better will be a key focus for women-owned businesses this year as they navigate return to work, continued supply chain issues, sales impacts, staffing and resource challenges.

As we go forward it’s important to first reflect and draw strength from what you’ve accomplished these past couple of years to fuel hope and confidence for the future. Secondly, commit to carving out time for your own mental health and wellness. We’ve seen how critically important this is to our overall health and ability to perform - to give our best, we must be at our best. Then, as you focus on evolving and future-proofing your business, research, collaboration and communication are key.

Being present and in tune with your clients is imperative, now more than ever. Learn what keeps them up at night, what challenges they are facing and may continue to face. The more you listen and learn about their shifting challenges, the more strategic you can be in tailoring your approach and solutions, the more you become their trusted advisor and partner.

BDC 2021 WBE CANADA CHAMPION

BDC has been a supporter of WBE Canada for many years and in 2019, became a corporate member. BDC recognizes the impact supplier diversity has on Canadian women-owned businesses, and has been excited to share the work of WBE Canada with women-owned businesses who might benefit from WBE certification or organizations with buying power and potential to impact the growth of Canadian women-owned businesses.

WBE Canada: What would you say was the biggest influence and the biggest challenge for womenowned businesses as a result of the Pandemic in 2020 and 2021?

BDC: The pandemic continues to have a staggering impact on Canadian business owners. It’s not been an easy journey navigating lock-downs and new regulations but it’s inspiring to see entrepreneurs’ resilience, perseverance, and innovation, as they have adapted to the challenges - particularly women entrepreneurs.

Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland coined the term “she-cession” in response to the impacts of the pandemic on women who were having a harder time returning to work due to childcare issues, and because they tended to work in industries most impacted. It shone a light on issues that already existed. As a result, we saw a few important outcomes:

1PLANNING AHEAD – Women are used to juggling a lot of balls and the pandemic has instilled a new level of planning in many women business owners. Just over a year later, we are blown away at the fore-thought going into business and contingency planning, financial and cash flow projections, as well as the creative focus on adapting to the digital marketplace. Women are building a stronger foundation for their business that will serve them well into the future.

2NETWORKING – The one piece of advice every woman entrepreneur we speak to can agree on, is the value of their network – and the power of human connections in our new virtual world is critical. We continue to see women coming together in very creative ways, to support one another.

3RESILIENCE. Probably the biggest driver of success over the past year is the business owner’s desire to survive and thrive. They

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continue to work hard despite taking more steps backward than forward. So many business owners have achieved the impossible over the past two years which has undoubtedly made them stronger.

MELISSA SIMMONS 2021 PRESIDENT’S AWARD

As CEO and Publisher of Diversity Professional, an interactive international magazine, Melissa has been integral in directing and highlighting the focus on issues that impact employment, entrepreneurship, business, social trends and all aspects of the diversity space. Together with her team, Melissa has generously and continuously supported WBE Canada’s work and the advancement of womenowned businesses and supplier diversity in Canada by sharing our events and updates with a much larger audience.

WBE Canada: What was the most inspirational story you covered in 2021?

Melissa: Without a doubt, it was our profile of Shay Gillespie, business development manager at World Wide Technology and founder of Color Coded Kids. The reason is simple: inspirational stories like Shay’s connect with our readers’ hearts.

They help us discover their “why,” what motivates them to do what they do. And they show us the challenges they faced – and overcame.

Shay was searching for coding and other STEM classes for one of her sons. Finding few options in her predominantly African American neighborhood, she took matters into her own hands and in 2016 launched Color Coded Kids (CCK) in her home basement. The organization is now helping school districts across the country teach programming to under-resourced children as young as seven and instill an early interest in technology-related careers. CCK never would have happened without Shay's leadership.

Balancing three full-time careers – working at a tech company, launching a tech startup, and being a mom to two teenage sons, one of whom has Down Syndrome – wasn’t enough of a challenge. In 2021, Shay became a professional bodybuilder. Her fitness journey started with a family history of diabetes and understanding that she can't help others without taking care of herself. High-intensity sports like bodybuilding adds to her joy which, as she shared with our readers, helps her focus on doing something that motivates her to become the best version of herself – mind, body, spirit and soul.

ANNE-MARIE DESLAURIERS 2021 PRESIDENT’S AWARD

Anne-Marie Deslauriers, President of DELAN, has worked tirelessly to ensure the growth of her IT Recruitment company, quadrupling her team over the past five years, while remaining a predominantly female team. Thanks to this growth and diversity, she has made a real impact in her industry by creating jobs in Quebec, with more than 240 permanent candidates hired in the last two and half years, helping companies find concrete solutions to overcome the labor shortage in the province. Committed to encouraging companies to recruit more women in the IT industry, she actively participates in networking and training activities, organizes conferences on the IT workforce shortage as well as on best practices in recruiting and attracting talent. WBE Canada: What do you see as the future of women-owned businesses in IT in Canada in the coming year?

Anne-Marie: I think the future is more than bright for women-owned IT companies in Canada, and the coming year will be a good time for them to grow and prosper.

The pandemic has not slowed down the growth of the IT sector, quite the contrary. With remote work, automation of tasks, modernization of systems, adoption of new technologies and the expansion of online commerce, IT companies in Canada are at the forefront of growth.

Currently technology is even more important than ever since it contributes to the growth of all sectors of the economy. WBE Canada’s Excellence Awards, while applauding those who have shown outstanding contributions to our communities, are truly a shoutout to all our WBEs, Corporate and Government Members and Partners who are impacting Canada’s economic recovery and growth and amplifying the supplier diversity conversation.