Status of Women committee  Absolutely. That is something that we do in our training. We have a workshop called “the secrets of credit ratings”, especially for immigrant women entrepreneurs who come here and need to start a business because their credentials aren't recognized. They don't even know how the credit rating agencies build that history.

Status of Women committee  There are a couple of different factors that play in there. Definitely overall, in the big picture, women's credit histories are perhaps less established than their male counterparts, because they're listed second on the mortgage quite frequently. I am with my own home, even though I'm the one who pays.

Status of Women committee  Thanks. I guess I just wanted to finish off by saying that the federal government could have a very important role to play in helping to level this playing field by making all the services that the Women's Enterprise Initiative has in western Canada available across the country.

Status of Women committee  That's a really interesting question. I would have to say that there are both factors at play. In our work with our clients, we do know that women are less likely to ask for the full amount that they might need to finance their planned business growth. That puts them in a really tricky, difficult position.

Status of Women committee  Thanks for your question. Definitely women do face some challenges in starting and growing a business when compared with their male counterparts. In particular, they have the challenge of having less management experience and skills training for running a business than men do when they start a business.

Status of Women committee  Hello, and thank you very much for allowing me to present to your standing committee. I am Laurel Douglas, the CEO of Women's Enterprise Centre in British Columbia. I'm also on the board of the Women's Enterprise Organizations of Canada, which is our national association of service providers to women entrepreneurs.