2017 EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program now open for applications

15 Mar 2017 EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program now open for applications

(Toronto, 15 March 2017) Women entrepreneurs aren’t getting the support, financing and sponsorship they need to grow their businesses into market leaders at the same rate as men. But EY is looking to change that. Today, the firm announced nominations are open for its 2017 North American Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ program.

“There’s a big gender disparity in entrepreneurship – and we’re not okay with that,” says Carrie Marchitto, EY’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women Leader in Canada. “Entrepreneurial Winning Women is one way we’ve committed to helping achieve gender parity. It’s something we know is more than just a ‘nice to have’ – it’s an economic imperative.”

The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program is an annual competition and executive leadership program that identifies a select group of high-potential women entrepreneurs whose businesses show real potential to scale — and then helps them do it. Currently in its tenth year, the North America program is open to businesses in Canada and the US.

The program encompasses ongoing educational programs, events, networks and media exposure — on both national and regional levels — designed to provide actionable guidance, contacts, tools and resources for leadership development and business growth. The program is evergeen, meaning entrepreneurs selected to participate are welcome to remain engaged in Entrepreneurial Winning Women for as long as it benefits them.

“The success of this program is indisputable,” says Marchitto. “According to an independent impact assessment directed by the Babson College Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, North America program participant companies’ total 2014 revenue was 54% higher than their total revenues in the years before they joined the program. On top of that, individual participants average 20% revenue growth annually after participating in the program.”

In a recent blog, François Tellier, EY’s Canadian Growth Markets Leader and National Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director, highlighted that women can grow their companies at a rate comparable to men – they just need the right support.

Are you a woman entrepreneur with big plans? Do you know a woman with the vision and passion for growing her company? Could your company be a multi-hundred-million- or billion-dollar enterprise? Nominate a deserving woman today.

The application deadline is June 9, 2017. For updates follow @EY_WFF and #winningwomen