Concordia offers two new scholarships for female finance students at the John Molson School of Business

A large gender gap still exists in the finance sector. At the beginning of 2021, women accounted for about 52 per cent of the industry, according to research by McKinsey & Company, but their representation fell at every step up the corporate ladder.

The 2021 Canadian Private Capital State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report highlights the severity of the gap in the private equity field: women account for only 28 per cent of junior investment team members and only nine per cent of senior partner positions.

Quebec-based Novacap, one of the most prominent buyout and growth equity firms in the country, is collaborating with Concordia to take steps to address this inequality. To attract more women to finance, Novacap will be funding two new scholarships of $5,000 each, for the next five years, for the Goodman Institute of Investment Management at the John Molson School of Business.

The important gift reflects Novacap’s commitment to gender parity. The private equity firm’s leadership team created a diversity and inclusion committee as part of its concrete measures in promoting equality.

“Novacap shares the Goodman Institute’s ambition to attract more women into careers in finance,” notes Yasmine Sardouk (BComm 06, EMBA 19), director of marketing and communications for the firm. “Developing this scholarship and paid internship program is our way to help enable Concordia students to accelerate their integration into the currently male-dominated industry.”

Pascal Tremblay, president, CEO and managing partner at Novacap, emphasizes his firm’s commitment to countering this persistent gender gap.

“Novacap is very proud to partner with the Goodman Institute to address the underrepresentation of women in the private equity industry,” he notes. “This award is indicative of the importance we place on advancing our diversity, equity and inclusion priorities very early in a candidate’s career path.”

‘New role models in the industry’

With these new scholarships in place, the Goodman Institute of Investment Management now has four scholarships available per year, ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 each, dedicated to attracting more women applicants to the program:

• One scholarship of $3,000 per year funded by Adriana Arrillaga
• One scholarship of $3,000 per year funded by Christine Sayegh-Filgiano
• Two scholarships of $5,000 per year funded by Novacap

Rahul Ravi, director of the EMBA Program and the Goodman Institute, notes that the persistent “boy’s club” image of the finance industry has kept many women from pursuing finance as a career.

“Initiatives such as this one with Novacap will go a long way in attracting and training more women in finance,” Ravi says. “Over time, these women will be the new role models in the industry, and they will help dispel the old characterisations. We thank Novacap for partnering with us in this endeavour.”

Anne-Marie Croteau, dean of the John Molson School of Business, also stresses the significance of these new scholarships.

“We are extremely appreciative of Novacap’s initiative and dedication to creating more opportunities for women in finance,” she says. “Gender parity in the industry is something that is long overdue and benefits everyone.”

In addition to the above scholarships, the Goodman Institute also has several internal scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 a year to attract more women in finance. These scholarships are renewable conditional upon a student’s cumulative GPA remaining above 3.6.

Learn more about the Goodman Institute of Investment Management.

Find out more about student award and funding opportunities at Concordia.