Reflect on your first job. What age were you, and how did you get started? What has been your experience so far, and how does it compare to what you do currently? Are you satisfied with that journey, or do you strive to accomplish more? For immigrants around the world, it can be truly challenging to land in another country, plant your roots again, and restart in a new environment. That being said, it can be incredibly rewarding and inspiring, if you are resilient, tenacious, and dedicated to your vision; and, as many women all over the world this month are featured for their accomplishments in diverse industries, it proves that, is not impossible to achieve success, even with a plethora of challenges.
Today, our spotlight is on Canada’s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade, Hon. Minister Mary Ng, and a role model for women in leadership and business.
Mary Ng was only seven years old when her family moved to Canada from Hong Kong and grew up in her family’s Chinese restaurant, giving her valuable exposure to the world of business. Her debut into entrepreneurship began when she turned sixteen years old, and like every teenager, she obtained her driver’s license, and immediately started her first job in the takeout delivery service of her family’s restaurant business. Small businesses and entrepreneurs, as it’s widely known, encounter a myriad of challenges, but the fortitude, perseverance and hard work, as demonstrated by Mary’s parents, provided the business environment and canvas, upon which she built strong work ethics. As memorabilia, the original menu of her family’s restaurant business, which hangs on her office wall to date, is a reminder of her personal journey and a source of daily inspiration.
“In Canada, advancing women’s economic empowerment is not only the right thing to do, but it is also necessary for our country’s success”
The experience of growing up within an entrepreneurship ecosystem and family, provided Mary the insights into the challenges entrepreneurs and immigrant business owners face on their entrepreneurship journey. These insights further provided her with the understanding of the importance and critical role that incubation plays in the growth and development of start-up businesses. Mary exemplified her commitment, contributions and support for businesses through various roles and activities within the Canadian entrepreneurship ecosystem for several years, and in particular, was instrumental to the creation of a world-leading business incubator for tech start-ups, as Executive Director, Office of The President, at Ryerson University, with the objective of providing an enabling environment for new initiatives, and an ecosystem that connected students and their innovative ideas with businesses.
In recognition of her commitment to entrepreneurship and her community, Mary debuted into politics with the Appointments Director role in the Prime Minister’s Office, and subsequently, her first election as a Member of Parliament for the Markham/Thornhill area in April 2017. As Member of Parliament for her Riding, Minister Ng, advocated the inclusion of Markham’s tech-innovation hub - Venture-Labs, in the Southern Ontario Super-cluster, as part of the Government’s commitment to invest in Canadian ideas and innovators.
“Canada’s government will keep supporting women in a kaleidoscope of ways: from legislating pay equity and universal childcare, to creating an action plan for women in the economy, and making inclusive investments so women can grow their businesses in Canada and globally.”
Her appointment to Cabinet in July 2018 as the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade, is a ‘full cycle’ and testament of an entrepreneurship legacy, as inherited from her parents. Throughout her twenty years of public service, the mandate, driving force and focus of Minister Mary Ng has been on fostering entrepreneurship, creating jobs, and empowering small businesses to innovate and grow, while building an enabling entrepreneurship ecosystem for Canadian entrepreneurs. Her experiences and leadership roles through the years, define her life’s ambition and dedication to supporting small businesses, to start up, accelerate, and access new markets. In support of women and their economic advancement, she keeps her focus on indigenous, racialized and women entrepreneurs.
“To women entrepreneurs, your contributions are invaluable. As we work to rebuild, we will continue to be here to support you to move forward together. We are making inclusive investments to ensure women-owned businesses grow in Canada, and around the world.”
According to Minister Mary Ng, “In Canada, advancing women’s economic empowerment is not only the right thing to do, but it is also necessary for our country’s success”, and since launching a program in 2018, the government has invested close to five billion dollars in the first-ever Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. As this has been a challenging year that has disproportionately impacted women business owners, we know that women’s empowerment continues to be the way forward”. She further reiterated that, “Canada’s government will keep supporting women in a kaleidoscope of ways: from legislating pay equity and universal childcare, to creating an action plan for women in the economy, and making inclusive investments so women can grow their businesses in Canada and globally.”
Regarding this year’s theme for International Women’s Day 2021, #ChooseToChallenge, Minister Mary Ng responds that, “When we question and challenge the world around us, we find opportunity”. She has exemplified this with her achievements and leadership throughout her journey in Canada, and her closing words of advice resonates with the voice of women leaders across the world, “To women entrepreneurs, your contributions are invaluable. As we work to rebuild, we will continue to be here to support you to move forward together. We are making inclusive investments to ensure women-owned businesses grow in Canada, and around the world.”
Every Monday in March, we shone the spotlight on women and their impact, as we shared their inspirational stories, highlighting their struggles, accomplishments, and plans for the future, in recognition and celebration of International Women’s Month 2021 and the impact of women globally.
To check out these articles, and to follow us on our journey to empowerment, visit “The Future is Women Inc.” page on LinkedIn, and watch out for the concluding part of Minister Mary Ng’s interview this week.
