Promoting women in the workplace spurs economic growth in Canada: The Prosperity Project.

When women succeed, we all prosper: That’s the mantra of The Prosperity Project, an organization that works to break down barriers and promote women in the workplace.

The not-for-profit organization was created four years ago in response to the high number of women disproportionately impacted by the global pandemic. Since its inception, The Prosperity Project has grown from a small, volunteer-led start-up to a well-established organization with a board of directors, a comprehensive strategic plan and six full-time staff.

The organization carries out research, mentoring and advocacy work to advance gender equality in the workplace and, in turn, promote Canada’s economic growth. 

Executive Director Julie Savard-Shaw says the focus has moved from identifying the barriers to mapping out solutions to address them. The annual report card on gender equity and leadership produced by the organization shows that while there has been progress in terms of elevating women in senior leadership positions, progress has not been achieved for Black, Indigenous and women of colour, in addition to women with disabilities and 2SLGBTQIA+ women.

“There’s still a lot to do to advance gender equality from an intersectional lens,” Savard-Shaw said.

The Prosperity Project’s annual report relies on information provided voluntarily by Canada’s top 500 companies (based on revenue) on the number of women on boards, in C-suites and in a pipeline to senior leadership positions. It notes that in 2024 there were 44 per cent of women in pipeline to leadership roles, down from 55 per cent in 2022 - a situation the report describes as a matter of “significant concern.”

“There’s still a lot to do to advance gender equality from an intersectional lens.”

Julie Savard-Shaw, Executive Director, The Prosperity Project

Savard-Shaw said the number of women being groomed for senior management positions is “basically stagnating,” but it’s not clear if some of these women may have moved on to smaller companies or became entrepreneurs starting their own enterprises.

The report says while there have been some gains, it is important to acknowledge they are happening slowly - and that there is still a “long road ahead.” 

In addition to the annual report card, the organization has the Canadian Households’ Perspective (CHP) initiative, which collects Canadian data through polling and focus groups to better understand the daily challenges that can impede a woman’s professional advancement and make data-based recommendations to improve economic prosperity for women – and the country.

Savard-Shaw said it’s important to rethink promotion and retention practices to avoid “affinity bias” – when outreach tends to extend only within existing networks. She said there are opportunities to level the playing field and expand the outreach, including adopting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to remove the inherent “human” bias. Savard-Shaw said corporations must embrace recruitment and retention practices that don’t simply “check off the box,” but rather ensure that a positive culture for women is embedded in the corporate culture.

Savard-Shaw said the private sector is catching up with the public sector in truly understanding the benefits of achieving greater gender and diversity balance. 

“I think they’re trying to see it from an economic lens. It’s not just a moral imperative, it’s an economic imperative. This really shows that where you have more diversity in the company, results are better. You’re reaching new audiences with your products, you think differently. There’s an economic benefit to that,” she said.

The Prosperity Project’s free mentoring program also recognizes that under-represented women in senior positions are those who are most urgently seeking access to mentors. The program matches mentors with mentees for six-month periods, drawing participants from various fields such as health care, website development and trades to help advance women in leadership positions.

As a relatively young but growing organization, Savard-Shaw said The Prosperity Project finds the annual Scorecard report produced by the Coalition for a Better Future provides valuable information, especially on issues related to gender equality. Being a member also provides opportunities to network and get the message out about the organization’s work.  

“The Coalition for a Better Future has the reach that not many organizations have, and so we feel that in being a member of the Coalition and working with the Coalition, we have an opportunity to get our message across even more,” Savard-Shaw said.