Women in Capital Markets Announces Recipients of Inaugural Return to Bay Street Award

TORONTO, April 2, 2012 /CNW/ - Women in Capital Markets (WCM), a non-profit organization that promotes the advancement of women in the Canadian financial services industry, today announced the recipients of the inaugural WCM Return to Bay Street Award - Sheralyn Mills and Catherine Staveley.

This new WCM award, generously sponsored by BMO Capital Markets' Equity Through Education program, will be given annually to assist and encourage talented women who have had an extended absence from the workplace and wish to re-launch their careers in the capital markets. The award recipients receive $5,000 towards an education program; a paid four-month internship with BMO Capital Markets; a WCM mentor; and a one-year WCM membership.

"WCM is pleased to have assisted in re-opening the door for these two very deserving women, recognizing not just their past career contributions, but also their future potential in this dynamic industry," said Martha Fell, CEO of WCM. "With this award we want to show women that transitioning back to the industry is an option and there are both programs to support them and organizations looking to hire them. This is another way we are inspiring women to consider, or in this case re-consider, the capital markets."

"BMO is committed to fostering a culture where all employees feel they can truly succeed," said Tom Milroy, CEO, BMO Capital Markets and BMO's Executive Diversity Champion. "One measure of our progress is the growth in the number of women who occupy executive positions at the bank.  We're now at 34% and it is our goal to reach 40% by the end of 2016."

WCM is a non-profit organization that aims to attract, retain and advance women in capital markets as well as foster accountability for diversity in the industry. Through innovative programming, WCM offers its members diverse opportunities for networking, career growth and personal development, and mentoring and coaching for both students and professionals. WCM is generously sponsored by eight Gold Corporate Champions, BMO Financial Group, CIBC, Manulife Financial, National Bank, RBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank, TD and UBS, in addition to three Silver Corporate Champions, Desjardins Capital Markets, ITG and KPMG. wcm.ca

About BMO Capital Markets' Equity Through Education Equity Through Education is a charitable initiative aimed at creating a more diverse workplace by offering support to help people realize their educational ambitions by giving them opportunities they might not otherwise have. Each year the equivalent of one day's worth of North American institutional equity trading commissions are donated to organizations dedicated to the education of bright and deserving individuals. To date, Equity Through Education has raised CAD$11.1million (US$10.4million). This translates into assistance to over 2,000 students through scholarships, bursaries and job search strategy forums.

please contact: Penny Reid, WCM Director, Marketing & Communications, [phone] or [email protected]