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38 SUMMER 2023 WOMEN IN BUSINESS Max Kashton, chief executive officer of Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba, and Alison Kirkland, new chair of Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and CEO of Women's Enterprise Organizations of Canada. PHOTO BY DARCY FINLEY More women in business make the economy stronger. According to the Govern- ment of Canada, advancing gender equality and women's economic participation could add up to $150 billion to Canada's GDP. The Women Business Enterprises Canada Council states that women influence 85 per cent of buying decisions. However, women own just 17 per cent of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and win less than five per cent of corporate and government contracts. In the entrepreneurial landscape, women are further under-represented. The national average of self-employed women among all women in Canada is a mere 6.3 per cent. Manitoba sits well below the average, with only 4.8 per cent of all Manitoba women identifying as self-employed, tied for third lowest in the country. The number of self- employed women plunged drastically during the pandemic as women were dispropor- tionately burdened with the responsibilities of caregiving and homeschooling. However, a shift is beginning as the number of women entrepreneurs is grow- ing. According to Women's Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub's State of Women's Entre- preneurship in Canada 2023 research pre- view, the number of self-employed women in Canada increased by more than 13,000 in 2022 compared to the previous year. The report also notes that the survival rate is higher for companies that are equally owned by women and men compared to single- gender-run businesses. "The longer I work here, the more I realize that there's no lack of great ideas coming from women entrepreneurs in Manitoba," says Max Kashton, CEO of the Women's En- terprise Centre of Manitoba (WECM). "If you want to make that [idea] a source of income and a business, you need a viable business plan. We can be a starting point for that." WECM is a non-profit organization dedi- cated to coaching and supporting women entrepreneurs through every stage of a business, from launching to scaling and eventually selling. Its three main pillars are business advising, financing and training. Women supporting women BY KRISTIN MARAND CONTINUED ON PAGE 40 The Women Business Enterprises Canada Council states that women influence 85 per cent of buying decisions. However, women own just 17 per cent of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses and win less than five per cent of corporate and government contracts.

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