Calgary, Sept. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BDO Canada LLP (BDO) has confirmed a new sponsorship relationship with female-founded investment platform The51. The sponsorship is to support mobilizing capital towards other female-founded companies. After appointing their first Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer in 2018, the Canadian professional services firm is looking to make meaningful strides towards equality in the male-dominated financial services industry.
“BDO is committed to supporting women in professional development. Forming a partnership with The51 helps to level opportunities for all women,” says Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer Patricia Gonsalves.
After appointing Ms. Gonsalves to the post of CIDO in January 2018, this new relationship with The51 demonstrates continued vigilance towards BDO Canada’s initiative to equalize opportunities.
The strategic sponsorship was cemented by a shared commitment to women’s wealth equality. Founded by Canadian female powerhouses Judy Fairburn, Shelley Kuipers and Alice Reimer, The51 is a private sector-driven movement to create economic value by unlocking women’s capital to drive wealth creation for investors and entrepreneurs. The51 platform hopes to drive a new economic wave of female-powered capital based in Canada, as part of a movement they and others are calling Financial Feminism.
“We established The51 to actively drive wealth creation for women. We’re not about virtue-signaling or feel-good projects,” says The51 co-founder Shelley Kuipers. “We’re acting on what we all know to be true–which is that over 51% of the global population is being underserved. This is a commercial opportunity with profound social impact and having a partner like BDO who shares our vision is key to our movement’s success.”
BDO is proud to promote firm-wide equality. In recognition of the deep value women bring to the table, the firm is constantly integrating initiatives for equal opportunity into all aspects of the organization. Investing in a meaningful relationship with The51 is further reinforcement of the firm’s values.
ABOUT BDO:
BDO Canada has spent more than 98 years providing assurance, accounting, tax, and advisory services to a broad range of clients across the country. As a member firm of the international BDO network, we leverage access to resources and advisors in more than 160 countries around the world.
Founded in 1921, we have grown from a single office in Winnipeg to more than 4,500 partners and professionals in over 125 offices across Canada. Our strengths remain firmly rooted in the communities we serve.
We aim to create a collaborative working environment that makes it possible for our professionals and clients to achieve their goals. We always begin at the local, individual level, delivering highly personalized guidance, industry-specific knowledge, and unparalleled service to exceed the expectations of every client―public or private, big or small. As our team and our clients’ needs expand globally, we draw on our resources around the world.
ABOUT THE51:
The51 is a Canadian-based wealth creation platform. Founded in Calgary, we are building a new movement to create value, tapping into Canada’s underutilized female wealth and investing it in talented female entrepreneurs and venture funds who invest in women. By uniting Canada’s untapped female wealth, we can create a new critical mass of female investors that will drive the next economic wave and make Canada the centre for female-powered capital.
CONTACT: Kristen Mundy, Marketing, Western Canada BDO Canada LLP 403-205-5760 kmundy@bdo.ca Karen Garth, Communications Manager The51 403-890-5778 karen@the51.com