Earlier this month, I was recognized as one of PROFIT and Chatelaine’s top 10 female entrepreneurs in Canada. It is an incredible honour – but it has also got me thinking about what it means to celebrate female entrepreneurs, and why it is so important. Right now, we live in a time where powerful women are beginning to truly shine.
We have a woman running to become the President of the United States, we have young women constantly challenging antiquated notions of what they can say, wear, and be, and we have some of the strongest media portrayals of female characters in recent years.
It’s an exciting time to be a feminist. However, that is still not enough. We are also living in a time where a young woman in college feels the need to carry a mattress around with her day in and day out just so that her concerns about consent and sexual abuse will be heard.
We live in a time where popular film and television continue to fail the exasperatingly simple Bechdel test. We live in a time where women continue to be paid significantly less than their male counterparts. Celebrating the successes of women and highlighting our potential to challenge these inequities is critically important.
We must continue to show future generations that we can be bold, that we can make meaningful innovations in male dominated spaces, and that we can have a seat at tables in which we have historically not been permitted to sit at.
While I recognize that this in no way accounts for the myriad of complex and unique intersections of oppression that women experienced based on their race, class, sexuality, or ability – I hope that women and men alike see lists like the W100 as progressive and challenging, and recognize that this is just one small way that women have been able to achieve success in a sector that continues to be influenced by power and privilege.
Being named to this list of top female entrepreneurs has been a great honour for me, but it has also made me aware of my responsibilities as an advocate.
As entrepreneurs and as women, we must work together to continue to challenge the oppressions we face, both within our own careers and for those who do not have the same networks, influence, and power that we may have.
With that said, I want to congratulate local Female Vancouver
Entrepreneurs: @Alexandra T. Greenhill , @Laurie Schultz, for receiving the 2015 YWCA Women of Distinction Award; @Carolyn Cross, @Debra Hewson, @Susan Wasylyk for winning the 2015 Influential Women in Business Awards, @Shannon Rogers for topping the W100 list; @Karen Flavelle, @Wendy Lisogar-Coccia, listed as Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 (WXN) and hundreds of others who inspire many women to pursue their dreams.