Thank you very much for the question.
This is a challenge that I'll put out to the entire committee. On April 16 of this year, I launched a campaign through Status of Women Canada called, It Starts with One—Be Her Champion.
I want to challenge all of you to take the pledge. This program is very different from most mentorship programs. In doing the research we have found, particularly for women entrepreneurs, but we see it in other fields, that when young women have a mentor, have a champion, they are more likely to succeed. We know for women entrepreneurs, as outlined on this card, that if a young woman is an entrepreneur and has a champion, a mentor, at the three-year mark, 88% of those businesses are thriving, but if she doesn't have a mentor almost 50% of them are failing at the three-year mark. So this program really puts mentorship on its head.
We're used to young people looking for mentors and signing up for a cup of coffee and wanting to chat, sometimes with us as parliamentarians and those who want to run for office. But what I think is very important, as my sister brought to my attention as a young professional engineer, is that she didn't need to have coffee with someone again; she needed someone to champion her career and be the advocate for her.
This program is asking prominent Canadians, including us as parliamentarians, to choose that one woman under the age of 35 whom you will invest a year of your time in and champion her in her chosen career. As I said, we launched the campaign in Toronto on April 16. We've done a series of other events to encourage Canadians across the country to step up and invest in young Canadians, but particularly young women under the age of 35.
I'd like to encourage all of you parliamentarians to take the pledge and participate in making sure that a young Canadian woman has an opportunity. We know when they are successful, when they see their career path realized, particularly those who are entrepreneurs, they may be in the legal field.... The person I am championing is a young lady named Leah Hillier, who has an undergraduate degree in business, but is now graduating from family practice and will become a physician with a brilliant career. We know they will contribute to the economy and will be able to help grow our country.
So I would like to ask all of you to step up, take the pledge—we'll give out our cards here—and also visit the website we have. It's at women.gc.ca/startwithone. I would encourage all parliamentarians from all parties to participate in this because it's only good for Canadian women. It's particularly great for these young women.
I know that I feel really good about it when I'm investing time with the young Canadian I'm working with, Leah Hillier, and I'm sure you will feel the same, but it's also good for the country.
Thanks for asking, and I encourage everyone to take the pledge.