CanWCC Celebrates 5 Years, Launches New Equity Pricing Model
TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2023 /CNW/ - This year, the Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce (CanWCC) is proud to celebrate its fifth year anniversary and is commemorating the occasion by launching its new Equity Pricing Membership.
The Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce is the only chamber that is specifically focused on women-identifying and non-binary business owners in Canada. It is also the only Chamber in Canada that is now offering an Equity Pricing Membership for our annual Business memberships.
CanWCC believes in providing inclusive access to its programs, services, and resources. The chamber recognizes the diverse experiences of newly immigrated, racialized, Indigenous, LGBTQIA2S+, gender non-binary, francophone, northern and rural, low-income, young and senior women, and women with disabilities.
"We advocate for greater access to capital for women-owned businesses because we recognize that our member community is undercapitalized," explains Nancy Wilson, CEO of CanWCC. She adds, "Membership in CanWCC shouldn't be another barrier to starting or growing a business. It doesn't make sense for disadvantaged populations to bear the cost of fixing a system that continues to disadvantage them."
While CanWCC also has a free community membership, those who identify with any of the criteria below can self-determine the amount they can pay for their Annual Business Membership, with the minimum being $1 and the maximum being $98 for their first year.
- Income less than $30,000 CAD annually
- Have less than two employees (self-included, not including contractors)
- Is a member of the global majority
- Operates out of rural or northern Canada (small towns, villages and other populated places with less than 1,000 population, rural areas of census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations that may contain estate lots, as well as agricultural, undeveloped and non-developable lands and remote and wilderness areas)
This collective, feminist model is people-powered, and it is fostered by CanWCC and individuals in our membership coming together to dismantle economic barriers to participation with the intent to build an inclusive, welcoming and equitable ecosystem in which women and non-binary entrepreneurs can thrive.
Throughout 2023 and beyond, CanWCC members and our community will be able to participate in CanWCC's advocacy agenda, get updates on our system-changing funded projects, experience panels that don't reflect the status quo, get featured in our video spotlights, and listen to our forthcoming podcast which will launch in Q1.
Current CanWCC Business Members who have already paid their annual membership fee and would like to contribute to the Equity Pricing Model can find out more on our Equity Pricing page in our member portal at https://canwcc.circle.so/c/member-announcements/equity-pricing-model.
Background
The CanWCC exists to improve the quality of life for the 1.2 million entrepreneurial Canadian women through advocacy with policymakers, and to build a healthier and more inclusive Canadian economy. We are here to amplify their stories and their voices, and fight for economic equity.
In 2015, CanWCC founder Nancy Wilson left the relative security of corporate employment behind in favour of the possibility of entrepreneurship. She quickly realized that being a woman and an entrepreneur in Canada came with some significant challenges and barriers, and couldn't help but notice that those same challenges weren't the same for entrepreneurial men. At the same time, Nancy was looking for community, resources, and a way to change the way that women and their enterprises were supported. While many networking groups existed or supported women in traditional corporate roles, there were significant gaps in resources and advocacy for women entrepreneurs. So she decided to do something about it, and in 2018 The Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce (CanWCC) was born.
The Canadian Women's Chamber of Commerce is a nationally incorporated, not-for-profit organization dedicated to advocacy, advancement, and connection for and on behalf of its members. CanWCC's membership consists of women-identified entrepreneurs and organizations that are at least 50% woman(en)-owned and led.
Photos and press kit accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10suCbuyLbUXmzQd3lQB6OOzbfeipOgTAyy-8VqqppKU/edit#
SOURCE Canadian Womens Chamber of Commerce
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