DEI initiatives remained important in Canada in 2024, but climate commitments lagged.
The number of women and visible minorities in Canadian venture capital (VC) and private equity leadership positions rose in 2024—despite headlines to the contrary—as official environmental commitments took a hit, according to a new report from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
“Despite the headlines, people truly believe that [DEI] important”.
Paula Cruickshank
BDK
The Crown Corporation, through its venture capital arm BDC Capital, is the most active venture capital investor in Canada, investing directly in companies and indirectly in funds. Its 2025 DEI & ESG Industry Report, released Wednesday, surveyed dozens of companies in which BDC invests and found an increase in the number of women in senior positions at firms and a decline in climate change commitments.
BDC senior vice president of investments Paula Cruickshank said the numbers tell a different story than the anti-DEI backlash that has intensified since the 2024 U.S. election. She was encouraged by the report's consistency in diversity and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments compared to last year.
“Despite the headlines, people truly believe this is important,” Cruikshank told BetaKit.
Many post-election headlines tell the story of corporations and technology companies. rollback Recruitment policies and practices designed to promote equity and inclusion. While proponents say the shift in Canada has been less pronounced, it has still emerged in some related programs And sponsorship completed mainly in 2025.
The success of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and ESG policies in improving fund performance is one reason why they have not been abandoned so quickly in Canada. Other CEOs interviewed for the report confirmed that DEI and ESG lead to increased financial returns. Katherine Wortsman, managing partner of Toronto-based Amplify Capital, said its financial success is “closely linked to diversity within our portfolio companies,” especially at the leadership level. Olivier Quenneville, CEO of investment network Réseau Capital in Quebec, said in a statement that funds with an ESG strategy “strengthen the financial performance of their portfolios.”
More women at the top, but retention lags
Gender representation on general partners' (GP) investment committees, which make investment decisions at a particular fund, increased in 2024. Eighty-eight percent of firms included at least one woman on these committees, up from 63 percent in 2021, the report said.
However, gender parity was still only 34 percent in the workforce, and the makeup of junior teams became a little less diverse each year.
CONNECTED: CWVC wants to map the career progression and retention of women in Canadian venture capital.
The report also offers a look at the policies companies have in place to encourage diverse hiring and retention. More than 90 percent now have family leave policies and anti-bias hiring policies, and 71 percent have a harassment reporting system.
Fewer than half of firms track progress on inclusion through internal culture surveys, while 41 percent set a diversity goal for portfolio companies.
While nearly 90 percent of general partner investment teams in Canada now have at least one woman, retaining these venture capitalists remains a challenge, the report says. Of the 54 percent of general practitioners, at least half of all departures were women. Canadian Women in VC tracked a similar trend this year, finding that about one in four women left the industry between 2019 and 2024.
Cruickshank believes women gaining more ownership could help improve employee retention. “Working in venture capital is hard work, so you need to be rewarded for it,” she said. “You need to get your piece of the pie.”
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated to BDCs to invest in women-led firms and startups. In 2022 it is launched the $500 million Thrive platform, which includes the $300 million Thrive Venture Fund for women-led startups. The Crown corporation also invested $50 million this year in entrepreneurship through acquisition a fund that helps women buy businesses from aging owners. According to him latest annual reportThe bank has directly supported 21,586 women entrepreneurs in Canada and plans to reach nearly 23,000 by fiscal year 2027.
Firms shy away from 'grand' ESG claims
On the environment, the report notes a decline in the number of companies committing to carbon neutrality, down to just five percent, down from 18 percent in 2022.
Cruikshank said the fewer commitments indicated a “maturity” in understanding the complexity of climate change and its impact on the economy. She pointed to an increase in actions with more immediate impact, such as implementing ESG as part of due diligence and adopting policies to restrict air travel.
“It's more under their control than trying to make a huge impact on something they have less control over. [over]said Cruickshank.
She added that reduction in government support clean technologies in the US have contributed to the uncertain environment around ESG.
The report notes that Canada's new greenwashing rules have prompted some organizations to “reduce” their climate disclosures. New clear anti-greenwashing regulations came into force in July 2024, targeting misleading claims that make a company's environmental performance appear better than it actually is. Amendments to the Competition Act have tightened the rules on how a brand, firm or company can present the environmental benefits of its activities.
Image provided Unsplash. Image by CoWomen.
