December 2003

OWIT-Toronto Meets Second City in “Strangers in a Strange Land":
December 11, 2003 - Global Girls and Backward Boys”
The annual OWIT-Toronto holiday event, December 11th, was a huge success. Women in a wide range of businesses came together to share experiences, laughter and their generosity.
The evening began with some serious networking by attendees at the Cassels, Brock and Blackwell location in Scotia Plaza.
Former Ontario Premier and current Chairman of the firm, David Peterson, also dropped in briefly.
Sarmite (Sam) Bulte, MP Parkdale-High Park, kicked off the presentations, citing the extraordinary growth of women-owned businesses and she provided a review of the final report presented to former Prime Minister Chretien by the Task Force on Women Entrepreneurs.
She highlighted the implementation of such initiatives as the Women's Enterprise Centres to be opened in Ontario and Quebec.
The report also focused on the need for the government to tailor programs to meet the specific needs of women business owners, such as access to maternity leave, and the review of other social programs, such as extending Employment Insurance (EI) and other benefits to entrepreneurs. Sam mentioned U.S. legislation supporting women business owners passed in 1988 that addressed some of these needs. This demonstrates the fact that Canada has to play catch up in order to provide relevant programs and funding to support the growth of women-owned businesses. She urged all of the attendees to encourage their government representatives to carry out the recommendations in the report.
Lorraine Behnan, former Second City comedian and current President of ExpressionLab Communications Inc.
T: 1-866-551-5587;
E-mail: lorraine@lorrainebehnan.com

Took the stage and provided a highly entertaining look at the challenges that women can face while travelling for business. Lorraine gave a hilarious and sometimes eyebrow-raising run down of true stories women have encountered in the airport, the taxi, the hotel, at the dinner table, in the business meeting and with technology.
Her bottom line message?
Be aware and alert of potential challenges, but use your resources and humour as tools to surmount difficulties. Lorraine also chose some inspired volunteers to participate in a spontaneous improvisational session. The audience supplied a business travel storyline, the characters and the props, while the volunteers had the audience in an uproar with the results.

Betty Wood, National Manager of Women's Markets for RBC Royal Bank, outlined the opportunities of participating in the upcoming Women Trading Globally Mission, March 31 - April 6, 2004. The trade mission/forum, to be held in Vancouver, with additional business matching in Toronto, is dedicated to the full spectrum of women entrepreneurs who operate and own small, medium, or large-sized enterprises from all sectors. The main focus is to continue to foster and support the economic empowerment of women trading globally among the Global Banking Alliance communities of Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.

Another evening highlight was the silent auction organized by Cassels, Brock and Blackwell to benefit the Canadian Women's Foundation. The Foundation leverages public and private funds to support women's business start-ups and violence prevention.

Many thanks to Cassels, Brock and Blackwell for generously providing the location for the event and to all of the members and guests who attended this inspirational and festive evening.