Minerva BC is a registered charity established in 1999. Our founders were accomplished leaders who knew firsthand the struggles women faced in business, politics and society. They created Minerva because they did not want future generations of women to face those same struggles.

They founded Minerva with a vision of “women helping women” and launched the foundation off the side of their desks. Twenty years later, Minerva BC has touched the lives of over 4,000 girls and women across British Columbia.

WHO WE HELP

We support and mentor individual women and girls in our programs as they work to identify their values, discover their strengths, and develop their leadership skills. These are the tangible assets they require to move forward with confidence and purpose. Minerva’s programs are designed to help women develop their unique voice, so that they can step into their full leadership potential.

We also support the business community, and wider community as we work together to break down implicit and institutional biases and replace them with attitudes and systems that are supportive to women’s achievement. We encourage women to seek leadership positions in business, government and the community, and we foster corporate strategies to recruit, advance and recognize women. 

WHAT WE DO

• Remove personal barriers for women and girls by developing their confidence and leadership capacity through evidence-based development programs
• Remove financial barriers by providing education awards to women who aspire to create better futures for themselves, their families and communities
• Remove professional barriers through strategic partnerships with the business community to support women leaders in the workplace

OUR WORK WITH INDIGENOUS WOMEN

Minerva BC prioritizes respectful, reciprocal relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Since the beginning, we have actively sought to engage, recruit and celebrate Indigenous women as beneficiaries, leaders and teachers in our programs.

In 2007, we launched the Combining our Strength™ initiative. This initiative created relationship and connection between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women through culturally-relevant career and leadership programming delivered across the province.

As a non-Indigenous organization committed to inclusion and reconciliation, Minerva is continually learning how we can embrace the spirit and intent of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations and put them to action.

Some of the ways we are working towards reconciliation:

• Ongoing learning about Indigenous history, culture and current issues
• Engaging Indigenous girls and women as participants, mentors, speakers and facilitators in our programs and Indigenous people on our Board of Directors
• Developing programs that meet the needs of Indigenous girls and women, and prioritizing Indigenous girls and women as beneficiaries of our education awards
• Attending and supporting Indigenous-led programs and events like RavenSPEAK, the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Summit and Reconciliation Canada