Since theBoardlist launched in April, the organization — a database including the names of women willing to join company boards — has grown endorsements by 30 percent, candidates by 23 percent, and has seen a total of 13 companies using the platform.
For theBoardlist founder Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, the early traction is a positive sign as they work to make the faces of company boards more inclusive of women.
Globally, the organization has surpassed 2,000 women endorsed, 1,300 endorsements, and 300 searches. “The biggest feedback we see [in Canada] is a desire for us to be present for more Canadian events,” said Singh Cassidy, who said the organization is planning a fall lineup of events. “But obviously, we look at traction on the platform first and foremost, as that’s the best indicator of success.”
As the organization works to raise its profile in Canada, it’s also hoping to raise the profile of women in the tech community, a burgeoning sector in the country. The organization has released its lists of top Canadian women in tech, and top Canadian women in Silicon Valley.
The goal with the lists, says Singh Cassidy, is to highlight the diversity of potential board members even for people who aren’t yet on theBoardlist platform. To compile its ‘top Canadian women in tech’ list, theBoardlist aimed to highlight women leaders at all levels from founders to C-Suite executives, and used both its own database and nominations.
“We looked pretty evenly across what larger tech companies and startups, and tried to give equal representation to CEOs, founders, and execs,” said Singh Cassidy. “We used a sprinkling of larger companies, and put a pretty heavy emphasis on integration in our list in identifying new talent.”
Asked why theBoardlist also highlighted Canadian women in Silicon Valley, Singh Cassidy says it provides a broader perspective on Canadian talent. “That’s talent that’s bringing value to the Canadian ecosystem, whether it’s through initiatives like the C100, or whether it’s their successes. Even if they’ve been done on global soil, it’s still a win for Canada.”
See theBoardlist’s top Canadian women lists below:
Top Canadian women in tech
- Alice Reimer, board chair of Startup Calgary
- Andrea Stairs, managing director of eBay Canada
- April Dunford, managing partner and CEO of Sprint.ly
- Becky Finley, business lead & Canadian chief of staff at Facebook
- Candice Faktor, founder of Faktory Ventures
- Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify
- Denise Jasienczyk, SVP customer engagement at Intelex
- Erin Young, chief marketing and merchandising officer at Well.ca
- Huda Idrees, CEO of Dot Health
- Janet Bannister, general partner at Real Ventures
- Janice Taylor, CEO of Mazu
- Justine Kilby, EVP of strategy at Ceridian
- Kim Lewis, group head of lending technology at D+H
- Kristine Steuart, CEO and co-founder at Allocadia
- Magaly Charbonneau, former COO of PasswordBox
- Malgosia Green, chief product officer of Top Hat
- Meredith Powell, co-founder of The Next Big Thing
- Mychelle Mollot, CMO of Solace
- Nicole Verkindt, founder and CEO of OMX
- Sabrina Geremia, managing director of integrated solutions at Google
Top Canadian women in Silicon Valley
- Angela Strange, managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz
- Carolyn Pollock, managing director at RevelOne
- Catherine Lacavera, director of IP and litigation at Google
- Catherine Courage, VP of ads and commerce user experience at Google
- Cathy Han, founder and CEO of 42 Technologies
- Donna Morris, SVP global people and places at Adobe
- Heather Tatroff, chief strategy officer at Chegg
- Karen Hayward, managing partner and CMO at Chief Insiders
- Kiersten Stead, investment director at Monsanto Growth Ventures
- Kristina Klausen, founder and CEO of Panda Tree
- Lorna Borenstein, founder and CEO of Grokker
- May Habib, founder and CEO of Qordoba
- Melinda Richter, head of Janssen Labs at Johnson & Johnson Innovation
- Michelle Zatlyn, co-founder of CloudFlare
- Michelle Gonzalez, EIR at Comcast Ventures
- Sandi MacPherson, founder of Quibb
- Shaan Pruden, senior director of partnership management at Apple
- Shaherose Charania, CEO of Women 2.0
- Shivon Zillis, partner at Bloomberg Beta
Photo via CFC
