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Promoting women entrepreneurs…
Leadership in action
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Charlie Coffey
Executive Vice President
Government Affairs
RBC Financial Group
Financing Women's Enterprise Forum
International Finance Corporation, The World Bank
Washington, DC, USA
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Thanks again Amanda for another marvellous introduction…
Some of you may have attended The International Alliance
for Women (TIAW) Global Partnership Forum: Uncommon Women
on Common Ground last November, right here in Washington.
I was reading the summary report by Stephanie MacKendrick,
President of Canadian Women in Communications and particularly
noted her recap about Amanda's comments at the conference:
she "spoke about the ways in which sharing information
could help propel forward women entrepreneurs, not just in
the western world, but in developing countries as well. She
outlined an initiative to create a master directory of women
entrepreneurs from existing directors and (ideas) to connect
women entrepreneurs from countries where women's roles are
restricted, with North American CEOs who can help with access
to markets. (And) in order for such initiatives to succeed,
Ms. Ellis stressed the importance of engaging male champions
on issues to ensure they are seen as important by male peers
who largely control the business environment." Now I
get it - this is why Amanda invited me to speak today!
Since Hannah Sorscher, President of TIAW has joined us this
afternoon, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate
her on a fabulous forum and TIAW's support with tsunami reconstruction
efforts! To all of you who have stepped up to the plate in
one way or another to help southeast Asia during this horrendous
disaster, a special thank you and round of applause. Talk
about leadership in action.
I'm delighted to be here this afternoon - to participate
in this forum on International Women's Day. If there's anyone
in the room (and this includes you Amanda), who's hearing
me speak for the third time today, I appreciate your staying
power. In light of this special day that's celebrated around
the world, coupled with the gender equality theme, I want
to share the words of Agnes Macphail, Canada's first female
Member of Parliament with you, as spoken in our House of Commons
on February 26, 1925: "When I hear men talk about women
being the angel of the home I always, mentally at least, shrug
my shoulders in doubt. I do not want to be the angel of any
home; I want for myself what I want for other women, absolute
equality. After that is secured, then men and women can take
turns at being angels."
I'm a strong advocate of women entrepreneurs, women executives,
women in public life and women in community leadership. And
more often than not, these women are also wives, partners
and mothers - sometimes single moms. When you grow up with
six sisters, you learn pretty darn fast about the importance
of women in families, society, communities and business. And
yes, the Women Entrepreneurs of Canada Foundation named me
a honourary woman in 2001. I wear the distinction with great
pride…
On February 28, Alison Maitland of the Financial Times wrote
an article "The puzzle of the lost women." She spoke
of "women graduates (who) enter many companies and professional
firms in nearly equal numbers to men, but drop out as they
rise up the ranks. How to hold on to this talent, and increase
women's representation in senior jobs, has become a serious
concern for leading employers." She poses the questions:
"Is discrimination to blame? Is corporate culture at
fault by favouring the linear career path traditionally taken
by men? Or are women less ambitious, less willing to play
power games and more susceptible to demands outside work?"
Apparently all these elements could be at play, as several
new studies reveal.
Alison goes on to write: "One survey, sponsored by Ernst
& Young, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, was initiated
by the Center for Work-Life Policy, a New York-based non-profit
organization that has created a taskforce of 19 global companies
looking for ways to reverse the hidden brain drain.
For companies that lose talented women, the survey contains
worrying news. None of those who left jobs in business, banking
or finance wanted to return to their former employer: the
overriding factor in their decision to take a career break
was not family, as people might assume, but lack of job satisfaction."
Some interesting research and food for thought…
The impact and influence of women on the prosperity of Canada
and nations around the globe is not lost on RBC Financial
Group or me. As I mentioned at lunch, women are also part
of the diversity advantage. Although business interest and
opportunity led RBC to pursue the women entrepreneurs' market
eleven years ago, I saw other agendas at play - the big one
being the critically and strategically important contributions
that women make in advancing a civil society. The countless
women I've met over the years have given me insight into the
intrinsic connection between the economic and social agendas
of our country. And RBC's work in this market has made it
crystal clear to us (call it self-enlightenment if you will),
that Canada's prosperity is contingent on the key link between
these two diverse agendas.
When RBC targeted the women entrepreneurs market, our initial
strategy was community/grassroots-based…we created advisory
councils. Women told us to put dollars into learning - provide
education and support, break down barriers and help build
networks. Knowing we had to change the culture and mind-set
of our staff, we embarked on training our workforce - small
business account managers - men and women across the country.
The program taught gender communication but it also served
to raise market awareness within our sales force. We needed
a way to sustain and spread the learning, so we created local
champions - the cornerstone for delivery of our programs.
The national network comprises approximately 100 women entrepreneur
market champions. And our national market champion is here
today - Kristina Depencier, RBC Royal Bank's recently appointed
director of women's markets.
RBC also wanted to make it easier for women entrepreneurs
to find useful information faster, as that's what good relationship
building is all about. This was on our minds when we launched
the web site for women entrepreneurs (http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/sme/women/)
and our Champions newsletter. These resources provide
information, association listings and news, as well as tips
about access to markets, networking, financing, growing your
business and much more. Copies of our newest edition of Champions
are available here, so please pick one up at your convenience.
RBC Royal Bank (Canada) is a founding member of the Global
Banking Alliance (GBA) for Women, dedicated to helping accelerate
the growth of women-owned businesses. Other founding members
include: Westpac (Australia), FleetBoston (based in Boston,
Mass., USA), Bank of Ireland and RBC Centura Bank (based in
North Carolina, USA). These banks have been recognized by
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) as best-practices banks for their programs for women.
Amanda participated in the Women Trading Globally Trade Mission
and Forum presented by RBC last April in Vancouver. The GBA
certainly had a presence at that event…
It's no surprise there's several myths about obtaining financing
for women entrepreneurs. The reality is that, when it comes
to financing their businesses, women and men are both approved
at the about the same rate. The size of the company, length
of time in business and the type of industry are just some
of the factors that influence decisions made about financing
- and these are non-gender specific.
For example, a common perception is that women entrepreneurs
are approved for credit less often then men. In fact, women
are more conservative when they approach their financing requirements
- and they borrow less. When we surveyed our customers, 68%
of women-owned businesses reported they have business borrowings
versus 75% of male owned businesses. This includes borrowings
from RBC or any other lender whether they are company loans,
lines of credit, leases, or commercial mortgages.
Women-led businesses also tend to have a more conservative
capital structure with less debt. As a result, women get approved
at the same or better rates than their male counterparts.
In a survey, Statistics Canada found that 85% of female owned
businesses were approved for credit vs. 80% for men. And a
Thompson Lightstone survey found the approval rate for women
to be 91% vs. 82% for men.
We realize that access to financing/expertise is essential
for any business, so we created partnerships both in and outside
the country to help support the development of small business
and share best practices. The GBA is one such partnership.
RBC also initiated and participated in trade missions and
alliances with the federal government.
Needless to say, RBC is proud to be the #1 bank for women
entrepreneurs in Canada, with 22 per cent market share. We
know the women entrepreneurs' market is the market of the
future and the future is now: we also know that consumer spending
accounts for two thirds of the economy and that women make
85% of all consumer purchasing decisions. Women entrepreneurs
also account for 70% of new business start-ups.
RBC still has a way to go in meeting the needs of women entrepreneurs,
yet we're gratified with our accomplishments to-date. Through
our activities, initiatives and feedback from clients, we're
generating more awareness about the economic power of businesswomen
and women consumers. We believe very passionately in serving
and supporting women entrepreneurs.
On the Canadian front…
- Did you know that Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin
foresees "a Canada where the increasing number of women
entrepreneurs has every opportunity to succeed and contribute
a vital new dimension to our economy - a Canada where there's
no glass ceiling for women entrepreneurs." Since close
to 821,000 women entrepreneurs contribute $18 billion to
the Canadian economy each year, women need to raise the
bar and raise their voice. In the Federal Budget, delivered
on February 23rd, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said: "We
will continue to work with grassroots business organizations…on
how to further improve the productivity environment for
Canadian SMEs, including the steadily increasing numbers
of women entrepreneurs." Talk about leadership in
action…
And in countries around the world…
- Did you know that on February 23rd, "the Government
of Uganda signed a financing agreement with The World Bank
worth a total of US$70 million to support Private Sector
Development in the country? This is the second project in
which the World Bank is assisting the Government to support
Ugandan enterprises more directly. It contains several innovative
schemes intended to increase value added, support the linkages
between enterprises, and improve skills, with a focus on
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). It's also designed
to improve enterprise creation…including women entrepreneurs."
Congratulations to World Bank and the Government of Uganda.
Talk about leadership in action…
- Did you know that the China Association of Women Entrepreneurs
(CAWE) projects women entrepreneurs to make up 30% of all
entrepreneurs in China within three to five years? It also
urges women to study strategies for managing a business
as well as study skills to achieve domestic happiness. "A
recent survey by the association showed that 85% of women
executives look after their kids' education and 60% look
after their parents." We cannot underestimate these
findings (including the impact of child care), which have
wider spread application. Talk about leadership in action…
- Did you know that in India, the Union ministry of small-scale
industries (SSIs) has decided to increase the credit-linked
capital subsidy scheme from 12 to 15 per cent for the technology
upgradation of SSI units? Sole proprietorships, partnerships,
cooperative societies, private and public limited companies
in the SSI sector were eligible for the capital subsidy
scheme…and "priority shall be given to women entrepreneurs."
Talk about leadership in action…
I would be remiss not to mention the Equator Principles in
a room with IFC and World Bank colleagues. On July 23, 2003,
RBC joined leading international banks in promoting responsible
environmental and social development globally, when we became
the first Canadian financial institution to adopt the Equator Principles, the voluntary set of guidelines to manage social
and environmental issues related to large-scale project financing
in developing countries. We're applying these principles globally
to project financings in all industry sectors, including mining,
oil and gas, and forestry. As a leading North American financial
services provider, we recognize our role in supporting and
advocating sustainable business practices.
The adoption of the Equator Principles enhances our existing
environmental risk management policies and commitment to sustainable
development. We provide loans only to those projects whose
sponsors can demonstrate to our satisfaction, that they have
addressed key social and environmental issues in accordance
with our policies and processes. Since RBC occupies almost
20 million square feet of office space and employs over 60,000
people worldwide, our businesses are required to adhere to
environmental policies regarding everything from responsible
lending, to choosing suppliers and recycling. RBC Financial
Group was also the first North American company, to sign the
United Nations Environmental Programme's (UNEP) Statement
by Financial Institutions on the Environment and Sustainable
Development.
I noted the IFC launched its annual Sustainability Report
for fiscal 2004 on March 2, which includes an update on the
"ongoing adoption of the IFC-led Equator Principles by
banks and financial institutions…and a commitment to
expand its portfolio of renewable energy and energy efficiency
projects and the establishment of a program to promote gender
equality and business opportunities for women." It's
great to see that on March 3, just a few days ago, state-owned
Brazilian bank, Banco do Brasil, adopted the Equator Principles,
becoming the 29th financial institution to do so.
Speaking of principles, what RBC is doing in terms
of integrity of business, contribution to economic prosperity
and support for community causes, is documented in our 2004
Corporate Responsibility Report. I brought a few copies with
me or you can follow our web site link below: http://www.rbc.com/community/rbc_community/
community_reports/index.html.
As I wrap up, special thanks to Amanda Ellis, Aya Okajima
and Ann Pasco for coordinating my visit.
In closing, whether it's promoting women entrepreneurs or
promoting sustainability, we must create and stimulate our
local, national, North American and global work environments
to capitalize on opportunities, participation, growth and
diversity. There's no turning back - there's only learning
and moving forward - leadership in action!
Thank you.
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