Workforce WindsorEssex has launched a new survey for female entrepreneurs that looks identify their needs and highlight local success stories.
It will support their annual RISE Needs Assessment report, which will outline recommendations and actions based on the survey results.
Manager of Research and Projects, Tashlyn Teskey, says they want to highlight the good work being done locally since a 2017 statistic of Windsor being the worst city in the country for women has continued to spread.
"We're trying to identify where we are doing good, where we're missing the mark and how those that are serving businesses in Windsor Essex can do better, specifically with serving females," Teskey said.
Teskey says they're encouraging female entrepreneurs to share their experiences because they know there's a couple of different ways that are lacking.
"We are struggling to address those that in more underrepresented groups. So, those that are racialized, visible minorities, newcomers, indigenous persons... we don't offer a lot of programming that are specifically for them, and a lot of what our research is showing is you can't just have a one size fits all program you need to really adapt."
The purpose behind RISE is to create a suite of services available to women in the Windsor-Essex region, by amalgamating and supporting resources with the goal of increasing the number of women in these fields.
Teskey laid out how to find the survey and who should take it.
"They can take the survey at workforcewindsoressex.com/rise, and anybody who identifies as female, and is either a founder of a business, is self employed or identifies themselves as an entrepreneur," she said.
The reports will provide an overview of the challenges facing women in their careers as entrepreneurs as well as any successes of community organizations, entrepreneurs, and education institutions.