Gender Equality Week 2025: Breaking Barriers, Building Futures as Women Founders
- theequinoxdigital
- Sep 23
- 4 min read
Every September, Canada marks Gender Equality Week (September 21–27, 2025). It is a time to celebrate progress, recognize women’s contributions, and recommit to closing the gaps that hold too many of us back.
Equinox Digital, doesn’t see this as just another campaign moment. We live this conversation every single day. We are women founders. We are women of colour. And we are building in industries that were not designed with us in mind.
That is why this week matters. Because equality in business is still far from reality. And because when women, especially women of colour, build, everyone wins.
Why Gender Equality in Business Still Matters
It is tempting to believe progress means we have arrived. Yes, more women are starting businesses. Yes, gender is a bigger part of the conversation than it was ten years ago. But progress does not equal parity.
Women account for 38% of all business owners in BC.
On average, Canadian women launch businesses with 53% less capital than men.
Globally, women-led startups receive less than 3% of venture capital funding.
These gaps don’t just exist on paper. They determine whether businesses scale, survive, or fail. They shape which voices get amplified and which innovations make it to market.
For women of colour, the barriers multiply. Access to mentorship is limited, networks do not always welcome us, and bias means credibility is constantly questioned.
What It Feels Like to Build as a Woman Founder
Founding a business is never smooth. Adding gender to the mix makes the road uphill.
Women founders are underestimated.
They are required to show more proof and more results to earn trust.
Assertiveness is praised in male founders and criticized in women.
Now add race and identity:
Women of colour are often the first or only ones in the room.
Networks and introductions are harder to access.
Bias compounds, creating additional barriers to capital and opportunities.
Edna Batengas, Co-Founder of Equinox Digital, reflects:
“There are rooms where people look past me for the ‘real founder.’ We know what that feels like. But every time I show up, I remind myself that the work we are building is proof in itself. We don’t need permission to belong here.”
Representation Creates Outcomes
Representation matters, not for optics but for impact.
Companies with diverse leadership are more innovative and profitable.
Teams led by women build stronger employee culture.
Women leaders bring perspectives that create products and campaigns that reflect the real world.
But without equal access to funding, representation stalls. You cannot scale visibility or opportunity if you are working with half the resources. That is why the 3% global VC figure is so alarming. It signals how much talent and innovation is being overlooked.
Shout Out to WeBC
This is where WeBC (Women’s Enterprise Centre of BC) makes a difference.
WeBC provides:
Funding: loans and access to capital that women founders need.
Mentorship: experienced advisors who share lessons and open doors.
Training and Community: workshops, leadership development, and peer networks.
For women of colour, WeBC is even more important. It is a space where we do not need to justify our lived experience. We can just build.
Karina Perez, Co-Founder of Equinox Digital, shares:
"Having organizations like WeBC means we are not building in isolation. It's about knowing someone understands the specific challenges women face and actually does something about it. For women of colour especially, it feels like someone is actually holding the door open."
Gender Equality is Smart Business
Equality in business is not a handout. It is a strategy.
When women founders succeed:
Innovation grows.
Communities benefit.
Economies strengthen.
According to McKinsey, advancing women’s equality could add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025. Gender equality is not a side issue. It is an economic imperative.
What Still Needs to Change
Progress is not enough. Here is what must shift:
Equitable Funding
More grants, loans, and investment for women founders and women of colour.
Transparent reporting on capital allocation.
Representation in Decision-Making
Women at investor tables, on boards, and on panels.
Leadership that reflects our communities.
Mentorship and Sponsorship
Long-term relationships that open opportunities.
Sponsors who advocate for women when they are not in the room.
Policy Support
Affordable childcare and parental leave.
Recognizing caregiving as infrastructure.
Challenging Bias
Investors questioning their assumptions.
Employers checking pay equity and promotions.
Allies amplifying, not replacing, women’s voices.
Our Perspective as Equinox Digital
We did not wait for permission. We built anyway.
We have faced no’s, dismissals, and pressure to over-deliver. And yet, here we are, building an agency rooted in storytelling, strategy, and cultural fluency.
Our story is not unique. Women founders everywhere are doing the same. But we should not have to fight this hard to be funded, recognized, or included.
That is why Gender Equality Week matters. It is more than a celebration. It is a recommitment.
Edna Batengas, Co-Founder of Equinox Digital
"Equinox Digital is proof that women of colour can build with vision and impact even in spaces that were not built for us. But the bigger vision is not just our agency, it is creating an ecosystem where women founders everywhere are funded, supported, and celebrated as leaders.”
Call to Action
This week, and every week, here is what needs to happen:
Investors: Write bigger checks for women-led businesses, especially women of colour.
Entrepreneurs: Mentor and sponsor others. Share your networks.
Leaders and Policymakers: Build systems that make equality possible.
Consumers: Support women-led brands. Spend with intention.
Equality in business is not just a women’s issue. It is about the future we are all building.
Final Word
Gender Equality Week is about reflection. But it is also about action.
Equinox Digital, will keep building, keep telling stories, and keep proving that women founders are not the exception. We are the future.
And the sooner the system catches up, the better it will be for everyone.
To every woman building right now: you are not just running a business. You are making history.
Got a project in mind? Work with us and book a complimentary strategy session here.
