The Rosenzweig Report keeps corporate Canada and other nations like it accountable. Without data, we have nothing but assumptions, excuses, and ill-informed opinions. Data helps destroys these dispositions, and I appreciate Jay and his team’s extensive reporting to showcase the slow moving progress of diversity in corporate life.

As the numbers in The Rosenzweig Report show, we still have a ways to go to achieve gender equality. But I believe that there has never been a better time to be a woman in business. I would encourage our community to push for more continued change while simultaneously ensuring that all women feel energized and enthused about the opportunities that exist for them. I would want every young woman to know that she can be herself, work hard, be true to her values, and be very successful in whatever field she chooses.

While the statistics around women in business are discouraging, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to represent women while I’m in rooms filled with men. I’ve learned how to thrive despite obstacles, and am dedicated to sharing the space in these rooms with more women. My startup is fortunate to have a group of both men and women who are almost equally represented on our cap table. Jay Rosenzweig is one of those investors and advisors. He has always encouraged our founding team to be conscious of diversity in our workplace. Having Jay as our mentor has really helped us shape how we think about our hires, partners, advisors, and investors. He’s the motivating force that keeps my head up when I face challenges in the workspace due to my gender. 

Society succeeds when we all succeed, and the progress of women is a significant measure of overall economic success across Canada and around the world. To create equal opportunities across economic, political or social arenas, both men and women have to be involved. Women need to be willing to take calculated risks, operate outside of our comfort zone and commit to mentoring and sharing our knowledge, and men need to speak up and challenge views to ensure women have a seat at the table. Organizations that have strong diverse representation are more successful organizations – and that means that all of us feel included and have a voice that is heard.

The sports industry is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in the area of diversity and inclusion because ultimately in sports, people are judged on performance, and not race, gender, or sexual orientation. Workforce diversity is not only the right thing to have, it’s an essential component to driving the growth of our game and business globally.

The fact that the Rosenzweig Report and companies like Rosenzweig & Company exist should make everyone feel better about the world economy. At Girl Starter our mission is to pay it forward by using entertainment to inspire, mentor, highlight and fund the next generation of female business owners and leaders. Jay Rosenzweig is the ultimate Girl Starter. He wants men and women to work together to end gender inequity. He is a role model and is dedicated to educating, hiring, investing and empowering women. We need more business leaders to follow the Rosenzweig example and understand that supporting women is an economic imperative. 

We need more female entrepreneurs and executives to be role models. To show other women, that if they can do this, so can you. Women control 80% of consumer purchasing power but women do not make up 80% of boardrooms. The Rosenzweig Report reminds us of the work we still need to do.

Fashion and education are universes apart when evaluating our knowledge of the images we see in the media daily. Advertisements have been manipulating us and guilting us into buying products for years. With the overwhelming influence of technology and social media, I found a void in educational curriculum. Why are we not learning about Photoshop and the subliminal messages in advertising that damage our body image and self-esteem? Who is responsible for the education? We all must collaborate to fight for equality, and to embrace diversity. That’s why I founded Be Body Aware. A global fashion and educational project to celebrate and educate on diversity and making changes to the universal standards of beauty. And that is why Jay Rosenzweig has been advocating for gender diversity through his report for the past 13 years. Kudos for his efforts. United we stand!

The global drivers that are reshaping economies, societies and politics are remarkable and without precedent. Through this, diversity is emerging as a key plank of global competitiveness. We aim to lead by example when it comes to advancing talented women to leadership roles — and have been unwavering in our commitment to doing so. We will continue to push for change beyond BMO and celebrate the individuals and corporations that have demonstrated exceptional and visible leadership in the advancement of women, with the goal of inspiring and mobilizing more champions.

Creating greater gender balance in leadership positions is not only important for our economy, but it leads to more innovative decision making and improved performance. To effect real change, we need men and women working together, leaning in and taking accountability to champion gender parity. It’s not a women’s issue, it’s a business imperative, and we all have a role to play.

We have to be mindful that our intention and our impact aren’t always the same. Let’s focus our society on having shared human values that make life better such as access, freedom, transparency, meritocracy, respect, empathy, courage, kindness and generosity.

The Rosenzweig Report provides a good reminder about how much still needs to be done to achieve true gender equality in the workplace. Diversity at all levels of the organization is critical to enable and drive business success. That’s why we are committed to accelerating the advancement of women at Manulife, and to embedding diversity and inclusiveness in our culture.

Enhancing equitable corporate representation of women is not only good for business – good for the economy – but is empowering women in the pursuit of justice, good governance, equality – and the making of a better Canada and a better world.

The Annual Rosenzweig Report is absolutely critical to driving real change because it holds up a mirror to the fact that true equality is still long overdue in corporate Canada and our progress is too slow. This awareness enables us to collectively challenge the status quo, and work hard together to #movethedial to advance the entire talent pool tactically, with vigour, and measure our progress, holding ourselves accountable as a nation. This is what Canada needs to do to win globally in the new economy, and demonstrate the values of true diversity and inclusion that are innate to who we are as Canadians.

Gender diversity is fundamental to good corporate governance. Increasing the representation of women in the boardroom helps drive and maximize long-term business success. As the Rosenzweig report points out, the body of research showing this is only growing. Investors have a large role to play in pushing for progress, continuing to call on companies to ensure their director nomination process has due regard for the benefits of gender diversity.

The inclusion of women in the workforce provides access to a tremendous talent pool of resourceful and industrious leaders. Women are leaders who will bring different perspectives and insights for better decision making in business and policy development.

As the breadth of workplace harassment and intimidation becomes clear, we need compassionate, empathetic leaders more than ever before. Unfortunately, women who can bring this style of leadership are often held back by stereotypes, double standards and gendered language that suggest female leaders can’t be both kind and strong. The Rosenzweig Report offers critical data about the state of women’s leadership that can help us better understand the barriers that continue to hold women back and - at the same time - challenge common perceptions about who and what a strong leader looks like.

As someone who appreciates the value of keeping score and understands the power of numbers, I applaud Jay Rosenzweig for tracking the advancement of women in the corporate world. Progress in gender equality requires careful measurement and accountability. By presenting the facts on an annual basis, The Rosenzweig Report performs an invaluable service. As one who is passionate about defending human rights and fostering human dignity, I commend this outstanding effort.

It’s embarrassing that in 2018, we’re still such a long way away from a world of work where women have the same opportunities as men. The Rosenzweig Report shows us how far we still have to go to break glass ceilings and clear bottlenecks in the middle.