Yaletown Principal, Sophie Gupta, has been named Co-Chair of Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) Diversity and Inclusion Program, alongside CVCA Board Chair, Whitney Rockley.

The mandate of the Diversity Program is to pursue ways to improve diversity and inclusion in the Canadian venture capital and private equity community.  Initially, it will focus primarily, but not exclusively, on gender diversity and inclusion, however, beyond gender, the program broadly defines diversity to include orientation (LGBTQ), ethnicity, people with disabilities, indigenous people.

Sophie has always been a passionate advocate for social justice and a strong voice for the promotion of gender equality. Her new role as Co-Chair of the CVCA Diversity Program is another demonstration of her commitment to align her actions with her values.

‘’I believe moving the needle on gender equality in the hopes of achieving meaningful, sustainable change, is a feat that no single sector or entity can tackle alone. The goals of the Diversity Program are to not only recognize and celebrate the great contribution of members within the CVCA community, but also to continue to raise awareness, break down silos, test new approaches and engage new champions.

The Program will also seek to create the tools needed to truly understand and measure gaps that may exist and to work toward ensuring a more diverse and inclusive ecosystem.  I am eager to work with the members of the Diversity Program, and across other industries more broadly, to embed principals of diversity and inclusion into the fabric of the systems that govern us and catalyze our intellectual and financial resources toward transformational impact.‘’

It’s the second announcement of this nature in a week for Sophie. On May 25  The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development, , announced  the launch of a new public-private equality funding initiative, which was co-designed and developed by Sophie, The objective of this equality initiative is to strategically invest in deeply under-resourced global women’s movements and organizations driving the cultural, economic and political changes required to make gender equality a reality.

Again, the Yaletown team wants to congratulate Sophie for her nomination and to express how proud we are of her passion and dedication.