Members of the media may directly contact the following expert:
Barbara Orser (English only)
Professeure titulaire, Professeur Deloitte en gestion des entreprises de croissance à l’École de gestion Telfer.
[email protected]
A recent study found women-owned SMEs are, on average, taking almost twice as long to recover from financial setbacks associated with the pandemic compared to businesses owned by men and compared to all businesses, majority women-owned SMEs are more likely to pivot products or services, close temporarily or cancel contracts as a means to adapt to the pandemic. Over 65% of businesses majority-owned by women and 70.2% of all businesses reported a decline in revenue in April 2020 compared to April 2019.
Professor Barbara Orser believes developing a robust, inclusive recovery plan not only requires a policy reboot in Canada’s feminist recovery plans but also a better understanding of who our business leaders are.
“The pandemic has exposed a fragility in the social and economic gains that many women and other underrepresented groups of entrepreneurs have achieved. Canada’s feminist recovery plan requires broadening the view of entrepreneurship as economic activity to entrepreneurship as a means of social change. This means supporting all types of enterprises and not only high growth firms.
“Rebranding any policy as feminist also infers that recovery policies must be underscored by a commitment to women’s economic empowerment and gender equality.”