L’Oréal Canada – Creating a scholarship for Canada’s women technology entrepreneurs

Client: L’Oréal Canada

Services

• Communications campaign for women technology entrepreneurs
• Definition of the philanthropic scholarship experience
• Copywriting

Context

53% of Canadian technology companies do not have a single female executive
15% of Canadian technology companies have a female CEO
5% of Canadian technology companies are founded by a solo woman

L’Oréal Canada has a long tradition of feminist philanthropy. Firstly, through its “For Women in Science” initiative, the company inspires female students in high school, encourages female researchers and rewards excellence in a field where women should be much more numerous; then through its “Beauty to feel better and cope better” initiative, which enables women affected by illness, precariousness or isolation to rebuild their self-esteem, thanks to training programs in the beauty professions.

L’Oréal Canada has always been close to women and their issues, so it’s only logical that the cosmetics company should turn its attention to a current challenge: the under-representation of women in technology. L’Oréal Canada decided to create a $20,000 bursary to support a female technology entrepreneur in Canada. The program is called “Femmes en Numérique”, and consists of three stages: nominations, pre-selection and final selection. The winner receives her award at an evening of pitches before a jury.

L’Oréal Canada called on URelles for its extensive pan-Canadian network of women in technology and excellent knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Objectives

Create a scholarship that addresses the issues and needs of women technology entrepreneurs,
Make this program known to all women technology entrepreneurs in the country.

Challenges

A useful bursary – How can we ensure that this $20,000 bursary goes to an entrepreneur for whom it will make a difference? What criteria should be attached to the bursary, both precise enough to target the female tech audience, and broad enough to benefit as many women as possible? These questions enabled us to design a philanthropic program that was truly adapted to the needs of female entrepreneurs.

Entering a new market – In the U.S., the equivalent of the Women in Digital program had already existed for several years, but in Canada, there was nothing. How do you get the word out about a new program whose impact is unknown to the audience? Femmes en Numérique had to gain the trust of Canada’s women entrepreneurs.

A very large territory – L’Oréal Canada’s head office is located in Montreal, but its jurisdiction is pan-Canadian, as is the Femmes en Numérique program. The challenge was to ensure that all Canadian female technology entrepreneurs were aware of the program.
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Solution

Identifying best practices – We interviewed women business owners to understand what motivates them to apply for fellowships. We studied existing philanthropic programs to understand how the L’Oréal Fellowship could stand out. Then we decided on best practices. For example, most competitions for women entrepreneurs require that women own at least 51% of the company, but in reality, this requirement is polemical and unrealistic. We recommended that L’Oréal Canada remove this constraint so that more women could access the program.

Where the women are – We mapped female entrepreneurs, tech media, tech clusters and startup hubs for every province in Canada. We identified where female technologists were and how to reach them.

Customer testimony

“I had the privilege of working with Chloé Freslon on the first edition of our L’Oréal Canada Women in Digital program. Her great expertise in digital gender issues, her ultra-professionalism and her unwavering dedication to making our first edition a great success, not only enabled us to exceed our target objectives, but above all allowed us to do so with the utmost respect for the program’s mission: the advancement of women in technological fields of entrepreneurship.” – Virginie Hotte-Dupuis, Head of External Communications & Philanthropy, L’Oréal Canada

Results / success factors