We Asked Inspiring Canadian Entrepreneurs What International Women’s Day Means to Them

Eva Hartling, Founder of the The Brand is Female

“At The Brand is Female, IWD is just a regular day because we support and amplify female leadership all year round,” says Eva Hartling,  podcast host and founder of a brand development, marketing and communications strategy incubator. “However, it’s important to leverage the occasion to call for more gender equity,” she says.

“The business world is still male-dominated,” she says. “We issued a report with Randstad Canada where we pointed out that women still earn 89 cents for every dollar men earn for similar work, and a staggering 65 per cent feel they lack the same opportunities as their male counterparts.”

The only way forward, she says, is to address these disparities and demand a complete revamp of corporate culture which requires “supportive work environments that offer mentorship, training, and development opportunities to empower women to ascend into leadership positions.”

She shouts out Isabelle Hudon, the first female President of BDC, who she says has been a huge influence throughout her career. “While I never worked directly for her, she always proved that women could dare [to] take leadership jobs that the world didn’t expect them to be qualified for. Isabelle took risks and was always outspoken about the need for equity in the workplace. She pushed boundaries and is now in charge of leading BDC’s strategy to support women entrepreneurs better, with actual capital and support to back up the nice intention.”

And while Hartling believes there is still a long way to go when it comes to equity, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate this year, including the success of the Barbie movie, the establishment of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and France’s decision to put the right to abortion into their constitution.