10th edition of Women in Governance’s Recognition Gala in Montreal

MONTREAL, September 26, 2023 – This year again, a record number of organizations submitted their application to obtain the Parity Certification™. To celebrate itsremarkable success, Women in Governance (WiG) is holding its prestigious Annual Recognition Gala this Tuesday, September 26. This long-awaited evening is presented by Bell, and held under the honorary co-presidency of Manuelle Oudar, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) and Éric Martel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bombardier.

The event brings together Canada’s top executive leaders to pay tribute to the 83 organizations that achieved the Bronze to Platinum levels of the Parity Certification™. In addition, many political figures will be in attendance, including The Honorable Marci Ien, Pierre Fitzgibbon, Jean Boulet, and Kahsennénhawe Sky-Deer.

WiG’s Parity Certification™—the first of its kind in North America, launched in 2017—helps organizations increase the representation of women in sectors where they have historically been underrepresented, as well as in senior management positions. Evaluation partners Accenture, Mercer, and WTW support the WiG team in assessing applications. Its robust questionnaire not only evaluates parity at the decision-making level of an organization, but also the systems that enable women at all levels to advance their careers, creating a pipeline of female talent. An added focus on intersectionality ensures that the compound impact of diversity factors isconsidered when working towards gender parity. Nearly 1,000,000 employees across Canada and the USA work for an organization that has been Parity Certified!

“Equity, diversity, and inclusion must be at the heart of the thoughts and actions of every organization. Contributing to the creation of an organizational culture based on such key values promotes not only openness, social justice, and acceptance, but also the mobilization of everyone towards common goals. Together, let us continue to convey these values to remain leaders not only in Quebec but also across the world.” — Manuelle Oudar, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work.

“It’s a great honor for Bombardier to be awarded the Parity Certification™ in recognition of all the progress we’ve made to increase the number of women among our ranks, and to give wings to their ambition. There remains much more to accomplish to close the gender gap in the aerospace industry, but the efforts of our dedicated teams, as well as being part of the Women in Governance community, will ensure that we reach our goals.” — Éric Martel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bombardier.

“As the positive impact of diversity on financial performance, innovation, employee engagement, and branding, is more vastly recognized, an increasing number of organizations are working to close the gender gap through Women in Governance’s Parity Certification™. There are still a few weeks left to join our 2023 Parity Certification™, and SMEs can also now take part in the certification process!” — Caroline Codsi, Founder and Chief Equity Officer of Women in Governance.

The following 10 organizations have obtained a Platinum-level Parity Certification™: Accenture | National Bank | CBC/Radio-Canada | Intact Financial Corporation | Mercer Canada | Desjardins | Sanofi Canada | Sodexo Canada | Sun Life | Ville de Montréal. Five of them—National Bank, Intact, Desjardins, Sodexo, and Sun Life—are Parity Certification™ “pioneer organizations,” having been certified every year since the very first cohort in 2017!

ABOUT WOMEN IN GOVERNANCE

Women in Governance (WiG) is an organization founded in 2010 to support women in their career advancement and access to decision-making bodies. The organization pursues its mission through its Parity Certification™, inspiring events, as well as governance training and mentoring programs.​​

More about Women in Governance: https://womeningovernance.world

More about the Parity Certification™: https://paritycertification.org