Status of Women committee  Any time we can agitate for that would be very helpful if organizations saw that as an important thing to do. Why would you not want women on your boards? The business case is made; diversity is important, and you want to reflect your consumers certainly around the corporate board.

Status of Women committee  I'd really like to make it a figure that is not a figure of discussion anymore. I would like the right people to get the job, which means we're not talking about that as a gender issue anymore. We have qualified candidates. The right people are on the job and that's men and women.

Status of Women committee  Again, thank you. Anything we do to shine a light on the problem will enable change to happen at a quicker pace, I think, and saying which measures matter. If we look for those outcomes and make a concerted effort to say we want to see those numbers change and rise and improve, I think there is an opportunity there.

Status of Women committee  I think that with advantages comes responsibility. As long as those young women are aware that they have a greater responsibility, that's critical. And yes, women who don't have those advantages definitely need to be supported in other ways.

Status of Women committee  There are a few different things. I think your example of making sure that young women see leaders in action is critical, because the saying that you can't be it unless you see it is I think very true for women. You have to have the role models and see them to know what is possible.

Status of Women committee  What do you mean?

Status of Women committee  I think any time you shine the light on a problem it can be very effective. Certainly, tracking the outcomes would be a great starting point: how many women, how many businesses, are getting funding, and how much they are being funded and how that compares to their male counterparts.

Status of Women committee  Change everything.

Status of Women committee  Yes, what are the steps? Awareness is the first thing. I think we need to be aware that that's happening. Perhaps a separate fund that is focused on women's start-ups would be beneficial. It's not really my area of expertise in terms how to solve that; I'm just recognizing that it is a challenge and that something needs to be done.

Status of Women committee  There are two things. Mentorship is happening across the country, but I think we can still do a better job in letting women know how to access it and the host of opportunities that exist. As I mentioned, there is Futurpreneur, and Startup Canada is another one. Also, to answer in regard to the University of Ottawa, I usually have an intern every year from its entrepreneurship program.

Status of Women committee  As Ms. Archer said, I do believe that skilled trades are an important opportunity for women, but I think it's interesting that as more women are getting their liberal arts degrees, they're finding that they're getting paid less. I will also say that I think a liberal arts degree has never been more important than now.

Status of Women committee  I think education is critical. Business is so complex now, and I think tremendous resources are available online, even if you're not in a position necessarily to go through a traditional institution. A lot of amazing information is available. Also the whole focus is different. There's an entrepreneurship community, a start-up community that you can tap into, which can really benefit young entrepreneurs in how you grow your business.

Status of Women committee  As I mentioned, in 1992 when I originally wrote on this, we considered women one of the two genders. Obviously, things have changed now, and needed to in a whole bunch of ways, but we weren't a diversity. Change has been slow. I go back and forth because change has been slow, but comply-and-explain seems to fit with me.

Status of Women committee  I think that benefit corporations are tremendous. Conscious capitalism says the triple bottom line is people, profit, and planet, although lately purpose is being added to that as well. I think where benefit corporations are interesting to me is they change the legal framework and allow companies to look at those other elements and not just profit.

Status of Women committee  Sure. Thank you. I finished grad school and opened my first business with my partner straight out of grad school. I would say it was the beauty of youth and that we didn't realize things couldn't work out. We just thought it would work. Fortunately we were lucky. We picked an industry, the music industry, which at the time was going through a significant change, but also it was a very wonderful time to be in that industry.