TORONTO, March 8, 2022 /CNW/ - Scotiabank today is proud to announce the expansion of The Scotiabank Women Initiative™ to Costa Rica. Currently available in North America and Jamaica, the program has built on its previous successes to deliver a tailored program designed specifically for women-led businesses in Costa Rica.  

The Scotiabank Women Initiative will provide equitable access and personalized solutions and products to women-owned and women-led businesses across the country. Specially curated offers and features include:

• Discounts of up to 50 per cent off on loans rates for women-led businesses that do not meet the Development Banking Law requirements.
• A four-month online program for 150 women, in alliance with Grupo SET Consulting, a prestigious international chain specializing in SMEs.
• An alliance with the Association for Leadership and Social Advancement (ALAS) to develop a series of informative and educational materials for our clients, focused on leadership topics.

"After successfully launching The Scotiabank Women initiative in Jamaica, we're thrilled to be expanding in Costa Rica providing the resources women need to help bolster their businesses in this country," says Ignacio Deschamps, Group Head, International Banking & Digital Transformation, Scotiabank. "By expanding the program, we're meeting a need in Costa Rica by creating opportunities for the advancement of women-led businesses. We're proud to be helping break down barriers that women face when it comes to financing their businesses."

Launched December 2018, The Scotiabank Women Initiative is a comprehensive program designed to increase economic and professional opportunities for Scotiabank clients who identify as women or non-binary by providing access to capital and tailored solutions, specialized education, advisory services and mentorship to help them succeed on their own financial terms.

The Scotiabank Women Initiative has achieved many notable milestones since its inception including:

• Deployed more than $3 billion in capital to women-owned and women-led business in Canada
• Expanded into Global Banking and Markets and Global Wealth Management and launched internationally in Jamaica this year with imminent plans for Latin America.
• Engaged almost 7,000 women-led entrepreneurs in Canada in mentorship sessions.
• Launched The Scotiabank Women Initiative Digital Hub in collaboration with Shopify, Google Canada, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook and HubSpot to deliver key resources to help women entrepreneurs adapt to uncertain economic times.
• Trained 500+ employees in client-facing roles on how they can empower their women clients to take charge of their financial futures.
• Integrated into several of our key business lines including Global Banking and Markets (GBM), Global Wealth Management (GWM) and International Business (IB)

On International Women's Day and 365 days a year, Scotiabank's commitment to gender equality, economic empowerment, inclusion of women across the diverse communities it serves include:

• As the people of Ukraine, especially women and families, continue to be impacted by the humanitarian crisis, Scotiabank has donated to the Red Cross' Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal, to support relief efforts for those affected by recent events in Ukraine and surrounding countries.
  
  
• Scotiabank is committed to increasing the representation of women in senior leadership roles as part of its efforts to build an inclusive workforce. As of January 31^st 2022, 42% of Vice Presidents and above in Canada are women which has grown 11% since 2013. Outside of Canada, Women representation in these roles has grown by 16% since 2013 to 27%. With women representing 37% per cent of Vice Presidents and above globally, the Bank continues to work towards increasing the representation of women in these roles to 40% globally by 2025.
  
  
• In January, Scotiabank announced a new global standard for parental leave across its global footprint by 2025. The enhanced offering includes 8 fully paid weeks for all parents welcoming a new child and 8 additional fully paid weeks for parents who have given birth. This new standard will be introduced in 24 countries across the Bank's footprint including Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and more.
  
  
• Equal pay is part of our commitment to gender equality and discrimination-free decision-making. We annually conduct a thorough review of gender and compensation in our Canadian business to ensure we offer equitable remuneration as part of our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We made efforts in 2021 to close the gender wage gap, including pay adjustments for select populations.
  
  
• Through ScotiaRISE, Scotiabank's 10-year, $500 million initiative to promote economic resilience among underrepresented groups, the Bank is providing support to organizations committed to advancing inclusion for women including: Windmill Microlending, Groupe 3737, The Redwood, Dress for Success Canada and many more.
  
  
• Scotiabank efforts to prioritize gender equality and an inclusive culture have been recognized globally.
• Aequales PAR Ranking: Scotiabank was recognized in all four of the Pacific Alliance countries by the PAR LATAM ranking, awarded by consultancy Aequales. This ranking annually measures concrete advances in gender equality, recognizes the most equitable organizations in each country and serves to promote good employment practices in Latin America. Scotiabank ranked: #1 in Chile, #3 in Peru, #4 in Mexico, #2 in Colombia (0-200 employees), and also received an honourable mention in Mexico and Colombia as "best-in-class" in the financial services category.
• Canada's Best Diversity Employers: Scotiabank was named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers 2022 by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizers of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which recognizes the nation's leaders in creating inclusive workplaces for employees from five diverse groups: women; members of visible minorities; persons with disabilities; Indigenous peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples.
  
  
• This year, Scotiabank deepened its partnership with Catalyst by becoming a Global Expert Community Supporter. This enables Catalyst to develop action-oriented research to build inclusive cultures and address workplace issues at the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity and culture. With this support, Scotiabank receives input from subject matter experts to provide recommendations on diversity strategy, the opportunity to share and learn best practices from other Supporters and lastly, have a deeper understanding of current issues impacting workplaces. Starting this March, Scotiabank and Catalyst are delivering a series of events in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru, designed to create awareness, dialogue and action around advancing women. The series will begin in Chile this month and we will conclude with Peru in July 2022.

About The Scotiabank Women Initiative
The Scotiabank Women Initiative is a signature program designed to increase economic and professional opportunities for our clients who identify as women or non-binary to be successful, now and in the future. This globally expanding, unique offering helps thousands of women pursue their best professional and financial futures by providing unbiased access to capital and tailored solutions, bespoke specialized education, holistic advisory services and mentorship. Whether supporting women to take their careers and businesses further, collaborating with inclusion-focused leaders and companies, providing women-owned and women-led businesses with equitable access to funding or helping women take charge of their finances, The Scotiabank Women Initiative breaks down barriers to empower women to succeed on their own terms. For more information, visit scotiabankwomeninitiative.com.

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of approximately 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.2 trillion (as at January 31, 2022), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank