Diana by Blue Easel Labs

Co-Founders: Brigitte Dreger-Smylie and Brendan Thorn

Though women represent more than half of all university graduates, women are not being hired or promoted as quickly as their male counterparts. This gap becomes more pronounced toward the Senior Vice-President and C-Suite levels, particularly for women of colour. Research has shown that there are three major barriers for women in career advancement: a lack of mentors, lack of engagement with senior management, and not asking or negotiating. 

The team behind Diana worked on a two-part solution based on evidence that helps female employees negotiate and communicate more effectively, and helps management identify and manage workplace tendencies or biases with respect to gender diversity.  Diana aimed to empower women and teach them relevant and transferable skills, and also give managers the tools to engage more meaningfully with their female staff, increasing the number of opportunities for women in the workplace.