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    MEDIA ADVISORY: The Business Case for Women on Corporate Boards

    Catalyst COO, Deborah Gillis; Manulife past Chair, Gail Cook-Bennett; and BMO CEO, Bill Downe, to lead panel discussion at Toronto Region Board of Trade

    TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 9, 2013) - News Media are invited to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, on Wednesday, May 15 at 8 a.m. EDT, to hear Gail Cook-Bennett, past Chair of the Board, Manulife Financial, Deborah Gillis, COO, Catalyst Inc., and Bill Downe, President & CEO, BMO Financial Group, discuss the merits of increasing the representation of women on corporate boards.

    Panellists will discuss:

    • The business case for women in leadership and how a higher representation of women on boards improves the bottom line;

    • How organizations can benefit from having a higher representation of women, and how the added skills and perspectives produce positive business results;

    • Ways to address inequalities, for example with the Catalyst Accord, a call to action for Canadian businesses to increase the overall proportion of board seats held by women in Canada to 25% by 2017.

    Who: Gail Cook-Bennett, Past Chair of the Board, Manulife Financial
    Bill Downe, President & CEO, BMO Financial Group
    Deborah Gillis, COO, Catalyst Inc.
    When: Wednesday May 15, 2013
    8:00 a.m. Panel discussion
    Media availability to follow
    Where: Toronto Region Board of Trade Downtown Centre, 4th floor
    1 First Canadian Place (use 77 Adelaide St. W. entrance)
    For further information:
    For News Media Enquiries:
    Toronto Region Board of Trade
    Matthew Kofsky
    416-862-4558
    mkofsky@bot.com

    BMO Financial Group
    Ralph Marranca
    (416) 867-3996
    ralph.marranca@bmo.com

    Catalyst
    Negin Neghabat-Wolthoff
    (416) 645 5867
    nwolthoff@catalyst.org