Boldly growing the good

BMO for Women is a supportive community that empowers women business owners, professionals, and investors. Because when there’s equal financial opportunity, everyone wins.

Our commitment

Women are progress makers — challengers of the status quo, innovators, and leaders for this and the next generation. Despite this progress, 57% of women say they wish they were more confident in their financial decision-making.¹

At BMO, we’re committed to real financial progress for every woman so they’re prepared to seize every opportunity. Our offerings are tailored to increase women’s confidence in their finances, reduce barriers, and make banking approachable.

Over a decade of dedication

2012

BMO hosts the first BMO Celebrating Women event, an evening dedicated to recognizing women of distinction within the bank and from the community.

2016

BMO establishes BMO for Women (CAN) and Women in Business (US).

2018

BMO partners with 1871, leading to the development the WMN•FINtech program. Since its inception, over 15 percent of all women fintech founders in North America have come through this initiative.

2020

BMO for Women launches the Celebrating Women Grant Program to support women entrepreneurs during the pandemic. Over the last three years, it has provided 56 business owners across North America with over half a million in grant funding.

2022

BMO supports over 130,000 women entrepreneurs across Canada and re-commits $5 billion in capital over five years to Canadian women-owned businesses.

2023

The Advocate Strategy begins connecting women business owners with region-specific Commercial and Business Bankers trained and dedicated to supporting women clients.

Leadership and representation at BMO

At S&P 500 companies, women make up just 21% of board members and 27% of executives.²We believe that cultivating a diverse workforce leads to innovation, better decision-making, and growth.

Progress in practise

Over 42% of BMO senior leadership roles are held by women, and half of the independent directors on BMO’s Board of Directors are women.

Since 2020, BMO has been recognized in the Report on Business, Women Lead Here list — an annual benchmark recognizing Canadian businesses with the highest achievement on executive gender diversity.