Join us as we come together as a national community to take action on a powerful shared goal: the creation of a safer, healthier, more equitable and inclusive future for all women from every walk of life.

We look forward to welcoming women, champions and allies to this impactful International Women’s Week (IWW) hybrid event hosted by Invest Ottawa in partnership with RBC. We will explore concrete opportunities to advance gender equality and create a future worth building where no woman is left behind.

We will bring together visionary leaders and experts to discuss key imperatives impacting women during and beyond the pandemic. These include gender-based violence; women’s mental health; and purpose-driven and inclusive leadership.

Please join us on Monday, March 28 from 12:30pm to 4pm EST in-person at Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub, and online via our Hopin event platform for an afternoon of inspiration, actionable insight and empowerment.

Agenda Snapshot

• 12:30PM: Open networking
• 12:50PM: Welcome remarks from Jenna Sudds, MP for Kanata-Carleton, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, and Sonya Shorey (She/Her), Vice President, Strategy, Marketing and Communications, Invest Ottawa; and Land Acknowledgement by Rita Alma (She/Her), DE&I Strategist, Invest Ottawa; Co-MCs of this event
• 1PM: Opening fireside chat with the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, and MP for Toronto Centre, facilitated by Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh (She/Her), Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Wealthsimple; Director of the Board, Invest Ottawa, and Chair of Invest Ottawa’s Women Founders and Owners Sub-Committee of the Board
• 1:30PM: The Shadow Pandemic: A national panel discussion on sexual and gender-based violence against women during COVID-19. It will explore critical needs, challenges, and opportunities to take greater action, facilitate access to new resources, and create new solutions. Panellists to be announced.
• 2:15PM: Short Break
• 2:20PM: Mission Critical: Women and Mental Health During and Beyond the Pandemic. This national panel discussion will be introduced by Jamie Petten, President and Executive Director of Kanata North Business Association, and moderated by Joanne Bezzubetz PhD, President and CEO at The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. It will explore the detrimental and disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the mental health of women, particularly those from marginalized communities; key needs and challenges; opportunities to drive change; available tools, resources and support. Panellists to be announced.
• 3:05PM: Short Break
• 3:10PM: The Power of Purpose-Driven and Inclusive Leadership. A keynote fireside chat with Katherine (Katie) Dudtschak, (She /Her) ICD.D, EVP, Personal and Commercial Banking at RBC. This inspirational interview will be facilitated by Karla Briones (She/Her), Immigrant Serial Entrepreneur, Business Strategist for Underrepresented Entrepreneurs, Small Business Columnist and TEDx Speaker, Business College Professor.
• 3:53PM: Concluding remarks from Michael Tremblay, President and CEO, Invest Ottawa, and Co-MCs
• 4PM: The event concludes

We look forward to welcoming you to this important and impactful discussion and helping to create a more equitable, safe and inclusive future for all women. Register for this special event today.

Special Note: By registering for this event, you accept that you will receive event-related emails, as well as an invitation to subscribe to our mailing list.

Your Health and Safety is Our Top Priority: Invest Ottawa, Bayview Yards and our partners are committed to taking all steps required to preserve the health and safety of our employees, licensees, guests, and community. This is our top priority.

We look forward to welcoming you back to our innovation hub safely by employing the following pandemic protocols. Please reference our Invest Ottawa homepage for dynamic updates as we go forward.

Although we plan to host Empowered as a hybrid event with a safe, limited number of participants onsite at Bayview Yards, this may change depending on the current status of the pandemic. We will keep all participants apprised of any developments.