A new study, titled Everywhere, Everyday Innovating—Women Entrepreneurs and Innovation, shows that innovations by female entrepreneurs are often under recognized. The research was co-funded by Carleton University, the Bank of Montreal, the Beacon Agency, and the Government of Canada, according to a press release.
The report found that female entrepreneurs lack representation of female role models and investors. Some interviewees said they experienced discrimination based on their appearance, level of experience, knowledge, and a so-called ‘lack of understanding’ of the differences between women’s and men’s business pitches.
Some entrepreneurs also explained they feel excluded from mainstream networks, business incubators, and accelerators. Another issue according to the study is that women are innovating in a large number of different areas, but because they don’t involve technology, they aren’t being looked at.
Clare Beckton, executive director of the Carleton University Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership, and Janice McDonald, president of the Beacon Agency, worked closely together to create this report. Beckton said the report gives a voice to the entrepreneurs’ voices, and they have had good responses from those they interviewed.
“These are an amazing group of women that we interviewed, and we were so honoured to meet them,” Beckton said. “The challenges some of these women have faced are unbelievable. But the ‘I won’t give up’ attitude was clearly very strong.”
The report is based on interviews with 146 female entrepreneurs including 23 Indigenous women, and a survey of another 1,000 female business owners across Canada. Beckton said the women were largely selected at random, through agencies such as Startup Canada, and Women’s Enterprise centres. They also did additional research to find even more diversity among the interviewees, for example by looking into business award candidates, to find the fastest growing businesses.
To fix this, the report recommends an inclusive innovation policy from influential decision makers across the country. Beckton said they are hoping to get this policy in motion as soon as possible.
McDonald said the hardest part is recognizing that there is a problem. She added that now that this issue is being publicly addressed through the media, and as more people become aware of it, the more can be done to start improving the issue.
“The most important thing to remember is that the women are resilient. They are not defeated by the challenges they face. They are strong, committed, and excited to grow their businesses,” she said.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
