RESILIENCE & INNOVATION: WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS DURING COVID-19
WWW.CBJ.CA
If you were to ask Canada’s small business owners one year
global markets. Additionally, women deal with unpaid caretak-
ago today what they thought their largest challenge would be
ing, household labour, and wage inequality, according to CEO
in 2020, likely none could have predicted a global pandemic
of The Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce
and the massive disruption it has brought to countless
(CanWCC) Nancy Wilson.
sectors across the country. “These issues have only been exacerbated by the current Small businesses and start-ups within Canada have been hit
crisis and social distancing,” she says. Keeping businesses
hard, leaving many in vulnerable financial positions. In fact,
running and employees on the payroll is difficult, especially
nearly 60% of the country’s small businesses reported
with increased domestic and caretaking responsibilities they
declines in revenue of 20% or more. Despite these difficult
are taking on in the home.
times, adversity is fueling innovation in the nation’s entrepreneurial landscape.
The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), recently implemented by the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small
Canada’s women entrepreneurs have been disproportionately
Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, promis-
impacted – the industries most heavily hit by COVID-19
es to provide $15 million in additional funding to support
including hospitality, tourism, and education – tend to host
women entrepreneurs across the country. This new program
higher concentrations of women. According to a recent
will focus on supplying women with business workshops,
Canadian Labour Force Survey, employment levels among
mentorship, and skills training to adapt to the new digital
women (particularly those with children) dropped more than
marketplace.
among men at the outset of the lockdown. Of about one million Canadians who lost their jobs in March, 60% were
The resilience of women entrepreneurs is inspiring.
women, leading to many dubbing it a “she-cession.”
Women-owned start-ups have pivoted business models, altered products to match the changing societal landscape,
In the technology industry, there is often a failure to finance
and implemented new client connection strategies all while
women entrepreneurs despite their positive performance. This
going above and beyond to develop innovative solutions to
underfunding makes surviving COVID-19 difficult.
help their communities.
“It’s a sad and shameful fact that gender bias has been a
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed – the 2020 Canada
severe obstacle for women-led companies securing invest-
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards (CANIE Awards),
ment,” says Suzanne Grant, CEO of the Canadian Advanced
powered by the Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation,
Technology Alliance (CATA). “Government investment
highlighted numerous start-ups from coast to coast that have
matching programs are largely available to top up people
risen to the challenge of finding unique ways to navigate the
already ‘in the system’ which means a majority of the bridging
hurdles brought on by COVID-19. A few of these innovative
investment will exclude a lot of women.”
women-led start-ups include:
In our 2019 Canadian Entrepreneurship Census, Startup
Deep Trekker
Canada found women entrepreneurs were more than 20%
Deep Trekker adapted its services to address shortfalls in
less confident about their future success, as they struggled
sanitation and hygiene technology. Based in Kitchener-Water-
with accessing support, resources, finance, training, and
loo, they are the winner of the CANIE Ontario region Product
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MBE BUSINESS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020
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