TORONTO, March 8, 2023 /CNW/ - This International Women's Day, Scotiabank is renewing its support for Dress for Success Canada Foundation and its Professional Women's Group (PWG) program with a $900,000 investment over three years. This investment is part of ScotiaRISE, the Bank's 10-year $500 million initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups.

Today's announcement builds on a $400,000 donation to the program in November 2021, which supported more than 700 women and non-binary individuals at eight offices throughout the country and provided them with the tools and network to help improve their career paths.

Scotiabank's renewed investment in Dress for Success Canada Foundation will deliver enhanced funding to 13 Dress for Success offices across the country to empower 3,600 women and non-binary individuals to achieve economic independence. The contribution to the PWG program will help connect individuals, regardless of socioeconomic position, to networking and mentorship opportunities that will help advance their careers and build financial stability.

"As a member of the Board of Directors at Dress for Success Worldwide and on behalf of Scotiabank, I am delighted that we will build on our partnership with the Dress for Success Canada Foundation and work together on its mission to empower women and non-binary individuals to achieve economic independence," said Loretta Marcoccia, EVP and Chief Operating Officer for Global Banking and Markets (GBM) at Scotiabank and Executive Sponsor of The Scotiabank Women Initiative for GBM.  "Like The Scotiabank Women Initiative, the Bank's involvement in the PWG program is an excellent extension of our support for women to help them pursue their best professional and financial futures."

"Scotiabank's continued investment in our work across the country demonstrates their ongoing commitment to, and passion for, ensuring women and non-binary individuals have access to the programs and supports needed to thrive in work and life," said Catherine Curtis, CEO of Dress for Success Foundation. "Our Professional/Working Women's Groups ensure women and non-binary individuals can harness the power of networking and evidence-based content to advance their professional trajectories and build financial security, financial independence, and economic power. This creates a ripple effect - individuals who need it most, find the support they need to be fully employed, independent social and economic contributors for the development of their families, communities, and country."

Women make up 54 percent of the Scotiabank global workforce, and the Bank celebrates the many achievements of talented Scotiabank women, customers and clients across its footprint, showing up for women not just today, but every day of the year. The Bank's commitment to prioritize equality and the inclusion of women includes:

• The identification, development and advancement of women in all areas and levels of our business. 
• Scotiabank enacts gender-specific inclusion through various initiatives to drive the achievement of a strong talent pool, including eliminating biases in the recruitment and promotion processes and setting aspirational targets at the Vice President, and above, level. 
• Throughout the year, Scotiabank hosts various women-only campus recruiting events for all business lines.
• In 2022, 52 percent of all interns/co-ops in Canada, and 57 per cent of all new grad rotational program associates, self identified as women.
• Increasing the representation of women in senior leadership roles where 42 per cent of Scotiabank Vice Presidents and above in Canada are women, a growth of 11 per cent since 2013, and 38 per cent of Vice Presidents and above globally. 
• In 2022, globally, 42 per cent of those appointed to VP and SVP roles in the bank were women, and an additional 44 per cent of those appointed to Senior Manager and Director roles were women.
• In 2023, Scotiabank will introduce a new enhanced offering for employees in Canada that includes eight fully paid weeks for all parents welcoming a new child and eight additional fully paid weeks for parents who have given birth. 
• This new standard has been introduced in Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos and others. 
• By 2025, this new standard will be implemented for Scotiabank employees in 24 countries across the Bank's footprint including Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and more.
• The Scotiabank Women Initiative® which is a comprehensive program that provides unbiased access to capital and tailored solutions, specialized education and mentorship and advisory services to women entrepreneurs, investors and leaders, to increase economic and professional opportunities now and in the future. 
• Since 2018, the program has grown tremendously, expanding to all four business lines, offering guidance and support to women in business, those looking to move up in their careers and manage their wealth.
• The program has also expanded to support women entrepreneurs in Jamaica, Costa Rica and Chile. Today, on the one-year anniversary of the program's expansion to Costa Rica, the program is continuing its expansion to Peru to further support women entrepreneurs. 
• In Canada, we have deployed over $5.9 billion in capital to women-owned and women-led businesses, supported more than 70 women in their career journeys and path to board governance, and helped over 2,400 women and their families manage their wealth during major life transitions. 

*Participation in The Scotiabank Women Initiative or any program-related event does not constitute advice or an offer or commitment by Scotiabank to provide any financial products or services.

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 over 90,000 employees and assets of over $1.3 trillion (as at January 31, 2023), 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 @Scotiabank.

Dress for Success empowers women and non-binary individuals to achieve economic independence through pre-employment and job-retention programs, including providing a network of support, professional attire, and professional development tools to help women and non-binary individuals thrive in work and life. The Dress for Success Canada Foundation supports this work across 13 Dress for Success affiliate locations coast-to-coast by helping to mobilize funding to local affiliates and coordinate projects of national scope. For more information, please visit https://dressforsuccesscanadafoundation.org.

SOURCE Scotiabank