A message to our community
Over the past week, we have witnessed a powerful and long-overdue social justice movement that has shaken us, broken our hearts, compelled us to read, reread, discuss, rediscuss and still have no adequate words. There are no words. We are just so sorry.
At The51, we are a financial platform, but we are also an activist organization. We knew it would take activism to bring awareness to the funding gap for women, and our goal was to leverage that awareness to drive change. We defined our collective action as “activating feminist capital,” and challenged our community to seek out women-led innovation and use their spending power for good.
However, witnessing the reality of what’s happening in the States (and yes, here in Canada) has challenged us to do better; if we are truly what we say we are, a feminist, activist organization, we MUST make sure we represent all women. We are an organization founded and staffed almost exclusively by white women, and we have a LOT to learn.
We know that words, thoughts, and apologies aren’t good enough. We must hold ourselves to account, and commit to our own action the assurance that representation in capital, representation in entrepreneurship, in our community and on our own team is communicated for full transparency. We may not know exactly what this looks like, but we know we have to start doing something. Right. Now.
We are immediately committing to ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are major considerations for The51, including for our events and in panelist representation. We will make a greater effort to feature and amplify the voices and stories of entrepreneurs that are Black and Indigenous women, and shine a light on their barriers to entrepreneurship and accessing capital.
Today we also announce that The51 will be putting in place a community council that will ensure diverse voices, perspectives and experiences are represented. This council will work with us to ensure we become what we need to become: a financial platform for all women. We will update you, our community, with more details as we assemble this council. In the meantime, our collective has donated to following organizations, and we urge you to do the same:
Canada — https://blacklivesmatter.ca/
USA — https://blacklivesmatter.com/
With love,
The51 Team