Today, March 8th, marks International Women’s Day. The first International Women’s Day (IWD) took place in 1911.  IWD is a day to celebrate women and their contributions to society. In the last 100 years women have made significant economic gains.  Sadly the pandemic,is having a significant negative economic impact on many Canadians, in particular women. Almost half a million Canadian women have lost their jobs during the pandemic.  More than 100,000 women have had to exit the labour market entirely, 10 times more than their male counterparts.  Dawn Desjardins, RBC's Deputy Chief Economist, has been researching this topic and shares some of her findings in how COVID Further Clouded the Outlook for Canadian Women at Risk of Disruption.  Dawn joined Anjum Sultana, Director of Public Policy for YWCA Canada this past Friday, for a RBC Wealth Management discussion on the pandemic's impact on women in the work force. For a replay watch A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada (45 minutes)

This year's theme for International Women's Day is #ChooseToChallenge. The last 12 months has seen an increase in dialogue on diversity and inclusion leading many people to challenge the status quo.  McKinsey & Co, a global consulting company, has done research on this topic. Their 2019 analysis found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have an above average profitability compared to those in the fourth quartile. When you looked at ethnic and cultural diversity, this out-performance jumped to 36% for top quartile companies with more diverse executive teams.  McKinsey's research concluded that there is a potential $12 trillion in additional US GDP to be had if the gender gap is narrowed by 2025.  To learn more about their work, visit McKinsey & Co's Diversity and Inclusion.

Women entrepreneurship has been growing and helping drive Canada's economy. American Express' (2018) State of Women-Owned Business Report found that women make up 36% of small business owners, up from 4.6% in 1972.  Discover the stories of some of these businesswomen and get inspired by Women Entrepreneurs: Making a Difference Through Leadership and Innovation.

I really enjoy the RBC Disruptor's series and last month's topic covered Diversity In/Action: Improving Inclusivity in the Tech Sector.  This podcast features RBC Capital Market's Global Head of Technology Investment Banking, Michael Carter and Dax Dasilva, CEO of Montreal based software company Lightspeed.

Women face a gender wealth gap that is much larger than the gender pay gap.  A study by Closing the Women's Wealth Gap, found that U.S women have only 32 cents of wealth for every dollar a man owns.  We are here to help close this gap and ensure you have the flexibility and plans in place to achieve the goals you have for you and your family.  

We are thankful for our many female clients, business partners, family and friends that continue to inspire us and wish each of you a Happy International Women's Day!

Kieron and Michelle