Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub Joins Ecosystem Partners to Talk About Doubling Down on EDI
At the April 29 Calgary stop of the Startup Canada Tour, Shannon Pestun, Senior Advisor at the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) and Co-founder of the Finance Cafe, delivered a powerful reminder: embedding equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging and accessibility throughout an organization is not only the right thing to do— it’s a strategic business imperative.
Speaking on the panel “Doubling Down on DEI: Why Inclusive Entrepreneurship Matters More Than Ever,” Pestun emphasized the importance of viewing company culture through the full employee life cycle, from the first impression to long-term retention: “You won’t keep great talent if you aren’t building the conditions for them to succeed.”
Moderator Dennis Agbegha emphasized that DEI is no longer optional but a fundamental driver of future business success and economic prosperity. Musap Abdel advocated for creating opportunities for underrepresented youth.
Their points reflect a broader shift in workplace expectations. As Dr. Wendy Cukier, Founder of the Diversity Institute and Academic Director of WEKH, recently stated: “Gen Z and millennials are sending a clear message: if your organization does not align with their values or foster inclusion, they will walk away.”
This demand for values-based, inclusive leadership is not just being voiced by the next generation of workers, it is being modelled by women entrepreneurs across the country. Key insights from The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2025 executive summary shows that women entrepreneurs are redefining what inclusive leadership looks like while advancing Canada’s economy.
In 2020 alone, 155,860 majority women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contributed $90.6 billion in revenue and sustained almost 1 million jobs across Canada. Following the increase in women’s ownership, their role as employers has grown steadily. Majority women-owned businesses employ one in five people in Canada. From 2005 to 2020, the percentage of employees employed by women has grown from 17% to 20%, underscoring the vital role women entrepreneurs play in Canada’s economy.
Moreover, these successful businesses are deeply mission-oriented. Previous State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada reports have documented a stronger commitment of women to sustainable development goals. The latest Statistics Canada data underscores this as majority women-owned businesses demonstrated the highest commitment to having a clear social, environmental, or cultural mission at 99.2%, slightly higher than majority men-owned businesses (96.2%) and equally owned (98.4%). The Diversity Institute’s Wendy Cukier and Morley Gunderson, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto collaborative research also shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) also have significant “multiplier effects” particularly in smaller communities. Wealth created by women entrepreneurs has significant impacts on families and communities as well as sustainability. Their strong values alignment also makes them uniquely positioned to attract and retain purpose-driven talent, especially in today’s competitive landscape.
As Cukier recently noted, “If we want to solve the toughest challenges facing SMEs, including digital transformation, rising costs and trade disruption, we need inclusive organizations. That is where innovation happens.”
Now in its third consecutive year supporting Startup Canada’s National Tour, WEKH continues to support and connect the women entrepreneur ecosystem of organizations that support women entrepreneurs. Startup Canada’s CEO, Kayla Isabelle, opened the Calgary event by stressing the impact of in-person connection for entrepreneurs and the organizations that support them. “This isn’t just another event. This is where you meet the people who are going to shape your journey.” By participating in national events such as this, providing Canada’s most comprehensive and relevant applied research about the state of women entrepreneurship and and network of over 250 partner organizations, WEKH’s impact on Canada’s SME-driven economy and women entrepreneurs, particularly those from diverse and underrepresented communities is growing.