The Scotiabank Women Initiative® celebrates five years of empowering women

Scotiabank has supported 25,000+ women across five countries with
more equitable access to financial and professional growth opportunities

TORONTO, Dec. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Scotiabank celebrates five years of empowering women clients through The Scotiabank Women Initiative® by providing equitable access to financial and professional growth opportunities, enabling women to succeed on their own terms.

The Scotiabank Women Initiative launched in Canada on this day in 2018, focusing on women-owned and -led businesses. Since then, the Initiative has expanded to become a comprehensive program that supports small businesses and commercial clients in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Peru, as well as corporate, institutional clients and wealth clients in Canada.

The Initiative was founded and developed by leading women and their allies at Scotiabank to better address the unique needs of clients who identify as women or non-binary. It is designed to increase economic opportunities for Scotiabank's women clients by providing equitable access to financial solutions, specialized education, and inclusive, women-centric advisory services.

Supporting women's success through an inclusive, women-centred approach, The Scotiabank Women Initiative's notable achievements over the last five years include:

Enabling equitable access to finance and financial solutions

• Expanded the program's availability to women clients across five countries: Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Peru.
• 25,000+ women entrepreneurs engaged since launch.
• Facilitated $8 billion in capital for women-led and -owned businesses in Canada, nearing a goal to mobilize $10 billion by 2025.

Providing holistic advice and specialized education that helps women advance their businesses, wealth and careers

• 80+ women in senior leadership roles gained insights and support on their path to new or expanded board participation through The Good Corporate Governance program, and in turn, assisted corporate clients seeking increased diversity on their boards.
• 3,400+ Wealth clients and their families have benefited from women-centric advice and wealth management educational sessions designed to help them manage major life transitions such as retirement, estate planning and caregiving.
• 1,300+ wealth professionals have received customized training to better support women clients' unique challenges and wealth management needs.

Women champions and advocates from Scotiabank's senior leadership team share their voices to celebrate The Scotiabank Women Initiative's achievements to date and future ambitions:  

Erin Griffiths, Senior Vice President of Client Solutions, Canadian Wealth Management, says:

"I am proud of the strides we are making for women clients to help them achieve financial success as they navigate life transitions, grow their businesses and move forward in their careers. Through The Scotiabank Women Initiative, we support women by providing unbiased financial advice and support to remove barriers and counter bias. We have received tremendous response and feedback through our events and webinars. Our advisors are playing an important role in shaping the financial futures of our clients as they experience major life events such as retirement, caregiving, divorce or the loss of a loved one."

Lesly Tayles, Regional Senior Vice President ? Ontario, says:

"Everyday, we are inspired by the passion, the grit and the leadership exhibited by our clients. The Scotiabank Women Initiative is a proud example of how we've put our corporate purpose ? for every future ? into action. By prioritizing the development and advancement of women and those who are gender expansive, Scotiabank is here to support all people to succeed and grow. Our commitment to fostering an inclusive community, built on genuine trust, provides a safe and supportive space for teammates to feel truly empowered to reach their fullest potential."

Anya Schnoor, Executive Vice President of the Caribbean and Central America, says: 

"Five years ago, we developed The Scotiabank Women Initiative with an ambitious goal: to make it possible for women in Canada to dream big and pursue their best futures. We wanted to help address unconscious bias related to capital-lending decisions for women. Fast-forward to this day, and we have successfully expanded the program to Jamaica, Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru. It is truly a privilege to contribute to breaking down barriers to increase economic growth and professional development opportunities and empower women to succeed on their own terms.

Loretta Marcoccia, Executive Vice President of Global Operations, says:

"We knew The Scotiabank Women Initiative would be game changing for women-led and women-run businesses and we wanted to offer the same opportunity for our corporate and institutional clients who face their own set of unique professional challenges. We worked with them to create a tailored, comprehensive program to help women ? and leaders and companies who stand behind an inclusion agenda ? take their careers and businesses to the next level. From emerging leaders to senior executives, we are proud to support our women clients to achieve their professional futures, and to help drive the realignment of under-representation of women in corporate C-suites and boards of directors."

Gillian Riley, Executive Vice President of Tangerine and founder of The Scotiabank Women Initiative®,  says:

"As we look towards the next five years, it's thrilling to imagine the doors that this program will open as The Scotiabank Women Initiative continues to unlock women's economic potential globally. The Initiative started with a promise to make a meaningful difference for Canadian women in business; connecting them with improved access to resources, financing, and support. Five years later, we have expanded to five countries, deployed $8 billion for women's companies and engaged over 25,000 entrepreneurs. We are committed to this program and can't wait to bring the next five years to life so we can continue to make a difference for women."

Scotiabank is an ally to women, 365 days a year
Scotiabank is committed to advocating for equity for diverse women every day of the year. Learn more about the Bank's commitments to gender equality, economic empowerment, equitable remuneration, parental supports and inclusion of women across the diverse communities it serves through Allyship for every future.

About The Scotiabank Women Initiative
The Scotiabank Women Initiative® is an enterprise-wide program designed to increase economic and professional opportunities for our women clients, empowering them to succeed on their own terms. It provides equitable access to financial solutions, specialized education, and inclusive, women-centric advisory services and mentorship to help people who identify as women or non-binary to pursue their best professional and financial futures. For more information, visit scotiabankwomeninitiative.com.

About Scotiabank 
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future," we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of almost 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.4 trillion (as at October 31, 2023), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on X @Scotiabank.

SOURCE Scotiabank

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