Events by this organizer

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives and livelihoods. It has shed a spotlight on all inequities and exacerbated the already longstanding systemic barriers through the glare of systemic racism and in particular, Anti-Black Racism and related inequities in employment, resources and wealth that have further compounded socioeconomic inequities. The extreme experiences of Anti-Black Racism have brought to the fore, the prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement and protests around the world calling out Anti-Black Racism, raising heightened awareness about the rights of Black people and Black communities. This February, as we honor Black History Month, reflecting on the profound traumas of Black History and honoring the remarkable contributions and struggles of Black Canadians, it is a watershed moment to acknowledge the tremendous work still needed to address Anti-Black Racism. It is also an opportunity to discuss the challenges caused by the pandemic unique to Black entrepreneurs, who, over the years, have strengthened the Canadian economy and labour market.

Research has shown that the Black Canadian population across Canada has been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Black Canadians face higher rates of unemployment and are over-represented in the industries like food and accommodation services that are most affected by the pandemic. They are also over-represented in precarious employment in jobs that are at the greatest risk in the work of the future. Research has also shown that Black people are pursuing self-employment and entrepreneurship due to the negative experiences in the workplace caused by explicit racism, discrimination and microaggressions, and exclusion from employment.

The pandemic has been a harsh blow to Black entrepreneurs adversely affecting the scale and revenue of their businesses. Black entrepreneurs have faced financial losses and challenges, the urgent need to invest in digitization to balance their stalled offline and physically based business activities with online business, the lack of a stable customer-base exacerbated by the physical distancing norms and series of lockdowns causing many businesses to shut down. Many Black entrepreneurs have also faced financial exclusion due to biases at financial institutions making accessible financing a major hurdle for their businesses. In sum, Black entrepreneurs have been sidelined by the systemic discrimination embedded in the institutions in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, ranging from education, finance, business support, incubators and accelerators, and government funding. Moreover, there is also a lack of support in the ecosystem in the form of encouragement, mentorship, sponsorship, and access to networks and information.

With the pandemic paralyzing Black-owned businesses, this has taken a mental health toll on Black entrepreneurs. Black women entrepreneurs have been hardest hit faced with more disruptions in their businesses, picking up more of the childcare and household responsibilities. As the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum in 2020, it gave visibility to some Black-owned businesses through the Buy Black-owned campaigns but many continue to struggle to stay afloat. These unique struggles of Black entrepreneurs have led to the federal government extending aid to qualifying Black entrepreneurs. Questions still arise: is this enough? What polices should be put in place to deconstruct systems that help perpetuate Anti-Black Racism? Can more loans truly help businesses already experiencing financial constraints?

As Canada gears up for a reset, key discussions should be on how to build a more equitable future for Black entrepreneurs and providing for the right business ecosystems that can mitigate or negate the effects of structural obstacles to business building for Black business owners. The economic recovery policies should also take on board provisions to support Black-owned businesses and empower Black entrepreneurs to become more resilient and equipped to offset entrepreneurial challenges.

Join us on February 23 to discuss challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the existing Anti-Black Racism and its magnified impact on Black-owned businesses and the economy. The session will highlight how Black entrepreneurs are tackling the unique challenges to keep businesses afloat and explore ways to create sustainable change and a lasting legacy for Black entrepreneurs to succeed and thrive. The session will bring together business leaders, innovators and changemakers to discuss solutions and policies to support Black-owned businesses and create an equitable ecosystem. It will also call for concerted efforts by public-, private-, and social-sector organizations to address Anti-Black Racism and the racial inequality and social injustice it spews and how to close that gap.

Diversity and inclusion are both fundamental to a more inclusive society, where all Canadians are able to participate and thrive.

Canada is home to diverse women with a rich linguistic, ethnic and multicultural diversity. This includes newcomers, immigrants and refugee women of color who have chosen Canada as their home. The journeys to their settlement are stories of hope, resilience and promise but have recently been marred by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has impacted Black women and women of colour the most, disrupting their careers and their ability to contribute to the workforce. The pandemic has also shed a spotlight on all inequities and exacerbated the already longstanding systemic barriers through the glare of systemic racism, gender inequalities and related inequities in employment, income, healthcare, housing, family and resources. Recent research has also found that Black women and women of colour were more likely to be laid off or furloughed, while working mothers were picking up more of the childcare and household responsibilities.

Despite these harsh trajectories, these women have time and again triumphed with resilience. Resilience has been interwoven in their journey as they navigate their dreams and aspirations through cultures and social processes, and advocate their rights often governed by gender inequality and everyday discrimination. This is the norm for most racialized women. History is witness to their resilience and perseverance, enduring challenging times while reinforcing their faith in compassion and humanity and keeping hopes alive for a better world. The recent global movements spotlighting Black Lives Matter have renewed calls for justice, equality and diversity, but there remains a gap in women’s representation in shaping the conversation, sharing their diverse perspectives and inspiring other racialized women. The Black History Month presents an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Black women in Canada who have molded the future of a multicultural Canada.

The Diverse Women of Canada: Stories of Resilience event is a testament to the resilience of racialized women and aims to celebrate racialized newcomer, immigrant and refugee women who form an integral demographic in Canada’s population. The event organized by Skills for Change and supported by the Government of Canada, will bring together 20 women from diverse backgrounds to acknowledge their remarkable journeys highlighting thematic topics on empowerment, leadership, equality, employment, education, entrepreneurship and mental health and wellbeing. The event will provide a reliable and safe knowledge sharing platform where women will share their authentic stories, be heard, highlight challenges unique to women of colour and build a community that fosters integrated thinking and develops innovative approaches to tackling challenges such as racism, microaggressions in the workplace, systemic bias, discrimination and related inequalities. The event also provides the chance to build solidarity, seize opportunities to reshape narratives and to rebuild a fairer, more equitable, inclusive and resilient recovery that celebrates Canada’s growing diversity.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the event will be held on 9 March 2021 with the objective to promote intercultural understanding of Black women and women of colour while celebrating their unique heritage and culture in respective ways, creating more awareness about Canada’s diverse and inclusive society. Through the event we hope to inspire more women to emerge as leaders and to mobilize support for their further integration in the Canadian economy, raising awareness of the unique challenges they face, and work towards enabling societal behavioral changes through an enlightened mindset and create a network of respect. These inclusive and equitable outcomes are essential to ensure that racialized women are not left behind as Canada continues to embark on rebuilding better.

The event running from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. will be broadcast virtually via pheedloop, streamed and shared on different social media platforms, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It will be preceded by a two-hour networking session providing for deeper engagements between participants. A subsequent multimedia campaign will profile the stories of 20 racialized women, their achievements, lessons learned, resilience and journey of overcoming obstacles only unique to Black women and women of colour.

Join us on March 9 to celebrate the stories of resilience of Black women and women of colour, their heritage and applaud their accomplishments while uplifting all racialized women with a message of hope, recovery, reconciliation, peace and unity to progress as a multicultural and inclusive Canada.

Diversity Women of Canada: Stories of Resilience: “This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.”, “Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce au gouvernement du Canada”.