10th Annual Talentueuses Awards Ceremony of the Association of Québec Women in Finance

The AQWF celebrates the talent of professional women in finance and plans initiatives
to provide for the next generation

MONTRÉAL, April 29, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - The Association of Québec Women in Finance (AQWF) celebrated last night its 10^th Annual Talentueuses Awards Ceremony. The event highlights the achievements of professional women who work in the finance sector. The evening was hosted by Marie-Lin Hamel of the National Bank of Canada, and winner of the 2011 "Relève" Award.  Her co-host was Jean-Philippe Décarie, business columnist at La Presse and former reporter for TVA and for 98.5fm.

Under the theme Les Talentueuses en Avant!, eight women were honoured for having overcome obstacles with intelligence, energy and professionalism, thereby making their mark in the finance sector. The AQWF also took the opportunity to highlight notable achievements in 2014 and unveil its initiatives for 2015. This year, for the first time, the focus will be on providing for the next generation of women in finance.

"We are proud to announce that we have not only achieved, but exceeded our 2014 objectives, said Dana Ades-Landy, Regional Vice-President, Québec and Eastern Ontario, Commercial Banking Scotia Bank and Chairman of the Board of the AQWF. I would also like to mention the success of our mentorship program, where the number of participants has almost doubled, going from 12 to 22 pairs. We are also excited to announce the participation of the AQWF in an initiative called "Ensemble vers la parité", a group of associations who have come together to support the Comply or Explain initiative."

Women and governance: "Comply or Explain"

Since October 2014, with the exception of British Columbia, Alberta and Prince-Edward-Island, the securities regulatory authorities of every Canadian province, as well as the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, have required, in compliance with the amendments made to Regulation 58-101 respecting disclosure of corporate governance practices, non-venture issuers to disclose information pertaining to the following in their management proxy circulars and annual information forms:

• policies on female representation on the board of directors;
• the consideration given to female representation by the board of directors or the candidate selection committee in its search for and selection of candidates for administrative positions;
• the consideration given to female representation by the issuer in the appointment of upper management members;
• objectives pertaining to female representation on the board of directors and upper management team;
• the number of women on the board of directors and upper management team.

"In Québec, barely 20% of the members of boards of directors are women, and this has been achieved primarily due to fact that crown corporations are required to comply with an equal opportunity policy" said Ms. Ades-Landy. The objective of "Ensemble vers la parité" consists not only in raising awareness on this regulation among men and women in corporate leadership and the business community, but also to provide a "tool kit" to these companies, their boards and their HR and governance committees to support, promote and facilitate their efforts in promoting the targeted increased presence of women on boards of directors."

The AQWF plans to continue to assess the progress of this situation over the course of the next 2 years. After such time, the Association will be prepared to draw conclusions depending on the progress achieved and elaborate on what they see as potential next steps.

In 2015, the AQWF will also focus on young women in high school, and in university. Via informational conferences, awareness days, corporate job shadowing opportunities and internships, the Association will offer young women students a serious look at the benefits that finance, as a field of study, can bring to their future. Several ideas are currently being discussed, such as creating a program that would draw on the expertise of various organizations, including "Women in Capital Markets" which has already launched a finance awareness program for women students at the high school and university levels.

Winners of the 10^th edition of the Talentueuses Award Ceremony

"Inspiration – Andrée Corriveau" Award (presented by the Board of the Directors of the AQWF)    
Monette Malewski
President, M Bacal Group

"Leadership" Award
Nathalie Pilon
President, Thomas & Betts Canada, Thomas & Betts Ltd.

"Grand Mentor" Award    
Daphné Guerci
Senior Manager, Data Management, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

"Étoile Montante" Award
Katia Marquier
Director – Corporate Control and Budget, Gaz Métro Inc.

"Relève Desjardins" Award
Julie Cardinal and Lou Fang
HEC Montréal

"Relève RBC" Award
Myriame Landry
Université Laval

Sponsors
The Association of Québec Women in Finance would like to thank the following sponsors:

Senior Partners: Desjardins, RBC Royal Bank
President's Circle: BMO Financial Group, National Bank of Canada, Scotia Bank, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Desjardins, RBC Royal Bank
Elite: Aon, PricewaterhouseCoopers, l'Ordre des CPA du Québec
Premium: Air Canada, André R. Dorais

The AQWF thanks its media partners
Les Affaires
La Presse, La Presse +
Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations
Premières en affaires

About the Association of Québec Women in Finance
Founded in May 2002, the Association of Québec Women in Finance is comprised of nearly 500 Québec women in finance. It organizes several networking, professional development and international business activities each year and provides its members with preferred access to a major worldwide network of women in finance, including women in the New York market.

Photos available upon request.

SOURCE Association des femmes en finance du Québec (AFFQ)

Image with caption: "From left to right: Dana Ades-Landy, Regional Vice-President, Québec and Eastern Ontario, Commercial Banking Scotia Bank and Chairman of the Board of the AQWF, Françoise Lyon, senior Vice-President, Pembroke Private Wealth Management Ltd., and Monette Malewski, President, M Bacal Group, winner of the “Inspiration - Andrée Corriveau” Award. (CNW Group/Association des femmes en finance du Québec (AFFQ))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150429_C7370_PHOTO_EN_15890.jpg

or to schedule an interview, please contact: Angélique Lecesve, Massy Forget Langlois Public Relations, Office: 514 842-2455, ext. 10, Mobile: [phone]; [email protected]