TORONTO, March 8,
2024 /CNW/ - Throughout the month of March, BMO joins
global festivities to mark International Women's Day and Women's
History Month through a number of initiatives. BMO is dedicated to
breaking down gender-based barriers and to continued investment in
support of the progress of women and girls, including our clients,
colleagues and the communities we serve.
"International Women's Day is a time to honour the achievements
of women and celebrate the progress we are making towards gender
equity," said Mona Malone, Chief
Human Resources Officer and Head of People, Culture & Brand.
"At BMO, we are committed to building a society with zero barriers
to inclusion and helping groups facing systemic challenges overcome
them. Supporting women is an important way we live our Purpose, to
Boldly Grow the Good in business and life."
Plan International Canada, Girls
Belong Here – BMO Leaders Share Their Seats
To reinforce the bank's ongoing commitment to fostering women
leaders of tomorrow, Deland Kamanga,
welcomed a youth participant on February
28 to shadow him in his role as Group Head, BMO Wealth
Management. Through the Girls Belong Here program, BMO and Plan
International Canada aim to amplify girls' voices and support their
capacity as decision-makers by creating meaningful opportunities
for them to interact with leaders directly.
"BMO is proud to participate in the Girls Belong Here
program for the seventh consecutive year, as Plan International
Canada shares our values and aligns with our Purpose," said
Deland Kamanga, Group Head, BMO
Wealth Management. "I am honoured to share my seat with the youth
ambassador for the day and help provide opportunities for young
women to explore future career paths and sharpen their leadership
skills."
BMO has taken part in 22 Girls Belong Here activations globally
in partnership with Plan International Canada.
The Prosperity Project 2024 Annual
Report Card
For the fourth year in a row, BMO is partnering with The
Prosperity Project on its 2024 Annual Report Card on
Gender Equity and Leadership (ARC), which acknowledges
the representation of women, including Racialized Women, Indigenous
Women, 2SLGBTQIA+ Women, and Women with Disabilities, at the
leadership level of a group of public and private companies, crown
corporations, co-operatives, not-for-profits, and Canadian
subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations.
The ARC provides invaluable insights into the landscape of
women's representation in Canadian leadership, offering a
comprehensive overview of current trends and future
developments.
The Carol Shields Prize for
Fiction nominees
For the second year, BMO is supporting the purse for
the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. The
Prize is the largest English-language literary award in the world
for women and non-binary writers, celebrating creativity and
excellence in fiction in Canada
and the United States while aiming
to help address continued inequality.
Novels, short story collections, and graphic novels
written by women and non-binary authors published in the United States and Canada are eligible for the Prize. The
longlist is being announced today.
Powerful Women: A photo exhibition
by Angèle Etoundi Essamba
BMO is co-presenting with The Consulate General of
the Netherlands in Toronto an exhibit of the extraordinary
photographs of Black women by Angèle Etoundi Essamba, a well-known
Amsterdam-based artist. In
partnership with Brookfield Properties, the art will be on display
in the lobby of First Canadian Place in Toronto until March
29.
BMO's ongoing commitment to supporting the advancement of
women also includes:
- In 2022, BMO supported over 130,000 women entrepreneurs
across Canada and re-committed $5 billion in
capital over five years to Canadian women-owned
businesses.
- In 2023, BMO Alliance for Women, BMO's largest Enterprise
Resource Group with over 10,000 members, celebrated 10 years of
championing the inclusion, connection, development, advancement,
and support of women within BMO's workforce and
culture.
- BMO has established customer
programs, BMO for Women
(CAN) and Women in
Business (US), which focus on advancing
gender parity for the bank's clients, supporting the growth of
women-owned businesses and empowering women to feel confident about
their finances and their financial futures.
- In 2018, BMO partnered with 1871, leading to the
development the WMN•FINtech
program. Since its inception, over 15 percent
of all women fintech founders in North America have come
through this initiative.
- In 2020, to support women entrepreneurs during the
pandemic, BMO for Women launched the Celebrating Women Grant
Program. Over the last three years, it has provided 56 business
owners across North America with
over half a million dollars in grant funding.
- In 2023, the Advocate Strategy began connecting women
business owners with region-specific Commercial and Business
Bankers trained and dedicated to supporting women
clients.
- BMO has been recognized on the Globe and Mail's Report on
Business Women Lead Here list for the three consecutive
years, which names Canadian corporations with the highest degree of
gender diversity among executive ranks.
- BMO recently partnered with National Women's Soccer
League (NWSL) team Angel City Football Club (ACFC). As part of
ACFC's sponsorship model, the organizations reallocated 10 percent
of the partnership into the community through a sponsorship of
Girls Play Los Angeles (GPLA), where BMO is supporting over 400
high school-aged girls and non-binary youth across Los Angeles with no-cost access to
soccer.
Learn more about BMO's support for women entrepreneurs and
its Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life,
by visiting bmoforwomen.com.
BMO Gives. Good grows
here.
Helping communities thrive by supporting the organizations
that sustain them and encouraging employee giving and volunteerism
is at the heart of BMO's Purpose, to Boldly
Grow the Good in business and life.
In 2022, our social impact included more than $69 million donated to hundreds of charities and
non-profit organizations across North
America to help drive progress by enabling individuals to
thrive and communities to prosper. Our colleagues spent almost
50,000 hours volunteering in the community and contributed more
than $26 million of donations through
our annual employee giving program. For more information, please
visit BMO.com.
About BMO Financial
Group
BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in
North America by assets, with
total assets of $1.3 trillion as of
January 31, 2024. Serving customers
for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged
employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial
banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking
products and services to 13 million customers across Canada, the United
States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single
purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO
is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making
progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive
society.
SOURCE BMO Financial Group