We Are Womxn and BlackNorth Initiative have partnered to help end what they describe as “systemic anti-Black racism in the Canadian food and beverage industry” by empowering young Black women to see themselves as successful entrepreneurs and to offer them the tools to start them on their journey.
According to a release from the two organizations, while the “Canadian food and beverage industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry, very few Black woman are seen at any level, from producers to start-up entrepreneurs to C-Suite executives.
“COVID-19 has exponentially exacerbated the barriers woman in Canada face to starting, scaling, and succeeding in the food and beverage industry. Access to capital, systemic racism, financial disparities, gender stereotypes and sexism affect BIWOC and LGBTQ2S+ womxn-identifying persons at an even higher rate.”
The launch of We Are Womxn coincides with International Women’s Day taking place on March 8.
“We Are Womxn and BlackNorth Initiative invite corporate Canada to support the shared mission and make this year the first-year collective action is taken towards creating a brighter future for Black womxn in Canada,” the release went on to state. “Join us and support Black women entrepreneurs.”
We Are Womxn (WAW!) is a national not-for-profit and digital-first initiative “empowering Black, Indigenous, Woman of Colour and LGBTQ2S+ woman-identifying food and beverage entrepreneurs in all of the provinces and territories in Canada through one-on-one mentorships, grant opportunities, a business interview series, a national sampling box and other transformative programming.”
Its two key missions are to raise national awareness for under-represented woman entrepreneurs in Canada and increase sales of their products and services, and inspire, mentor and empower the next generation of woman entrepreneurs to build successful digital-first businesses across the country.
The BlackNorth Initiative was created by The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism to combat anti-Black systemic racism in corporate Canada.
The organization works with leaders from over 300 Canadian companies, totalling $1 trillion in value, across industries in public and private sector, major banks, insurance companies, law firms, government, and the largest asset managers and institutional investors to take action and reshape corporate structures that uphold anti-Black systemic racism against Black Canadians.
Further information is available at wearewomxn.ca and www.blacknorth.ca.
