BC Business
Two Vancouver female business leaders honoured with national award for their contributions to gender equality
Jill Earthy and Lois Nahirney, co-chairs of the We for She movement, have been awarded the HSBC Community contributor of the Year Award by the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI).
This is the first time two winners have shared the award, presented in Calgary on May 24. It seeks to recognize the strides both have taken in advancing equality for women in business in B.C.
“Along with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, I congratulate Jill and Lois on this tremendous recognition. The annual We for She conference is unlike any other event we host and its success is due in large measure to their inclusive leadership, passion and dauntless pursuit of change,” says Anne Giardini, 2017-18 chair of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. “The dialogue among business leaders at We for She has made all of us more aware and more committed to implementing diversity and inclusion strategies in our organizations.”
Started in 2014 as collaboration with the WEB Alliance of Women’s Business Networks (co-founded by Earthy) and the Premier’s Women’s Economic Council (chaired by Nahirney), the We for She conference has quickly become one of North America’s biggest gatherings for women in business. Their first event in 2014 resulted in an action plan to help individuals, corporations and government to achieve gender equality.
The 2017 We for She event, supported by the B.C. government, saw more than 1,400 attendees.
This year’s We for She conference is set to take place on November 16, 2018, at the Vancouver Convention Centre.