Toronto – A gift from BMO will enable the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management to drive its mission to use rigorous academic research to change the conversation on gender and the economy.
The generous donation of $1.5 million will support GATE’s research agenda, including a global collaboration on the care economy and studies of behavioural interventions to create inclusive organizations.
The gift will provide funding for the newly renamed BMO GATE MBA Fellowships, which issue a bursary each year for five Rotman students to work on a project related to the mandate of GATE. Congratulations to the inaugural recipients of the BMO GATE MBA Fellowships: Syed Ahmad Nafisul Abrar, Alex Foty, NIshtha Taneja, Wendy Nguyen and Corrina Vali.
“BMO’s gift is transformational for GATE. Their backing supports cutting-edge research and ensures our MBA Fellowships program can continue for the next five years. We are grateful to BMO for recognizing the importance of rigorous research and training on achieving a more inclusive economy,” says Sarah Kaplan, GATE Director and Distinguished Professor of Gender & the Economy at the Rotman School.
“GATE’s research is driving the discourse on gender and the economy forward, providing important data and evidence that can be used to inform systemic change here in Canada and around the world,” says Helen Seibel, Head of Employee and Community Giving at BMO. “Supporting research like this is an important part of how BMO is eliminating barriers to a more inclusive society.”
Since GATE was founded in 2016 by Prof. Kaplan, it has promoted an understanding of gender and other inequalities and how they can be remedied in the world of business and, more broadly, the economy. GATE has funded over 50 group and individual researchers investigating topics as varied as de-biasing job ads, care work, fair lending practices and women in STEM, andhas engaged hundreds of undergraduate, MBA and Ph.D. students in taking a gender-inclusive perspective to create innovative solutions to complex problems through design sprints, case competitions and the MBA Student Fellowship Program. GATE also brings its transformational insights to a broad range of audiences through its platforms, including social media, webinars, public events, conferences and courses, including an offering on Gender Analytics with Coursera and a Rotman Executive program on Inclusion by Design.
The gift supports the University of Toronto’s Defy Gravity Campaign, the largest university campaign in Canadian history. The campaign’s ambitious $4 billion-dollar fundraising goal, paired with an unchartered target to engage 225,000 alumni, addresses the most urgent issues of our time by rebuilding the world around us to be more inclusive and responsible.
About BMO Financial Group
BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.25 trillion as of April 30, 2023. Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to over 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future and inclusive society.
About The Institute for Gender and the Economy
The Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management promotes an understanding of gender inequalities and how they can be remedied—by people of all genders—in the world of business and, more broadly, in the economy. At GATE, we are changing the conversation on gender equality by using rigorous research to investigate the hidden mechanisms that propagate gender equality; funding, translating, and disseminating innovative academic research; and engaging executives, policymakers, and students to create new solutions for achieving equality, advancing careers, and creating economic prosperity. Visit Rotman's Institute for Gender and the Economy website for more information: www.gendereconomy.org.
About the Rotman School of Management
The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global centre of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca
-30-
For more information:
Hannah Webster, Toronto
Voice 416.867.3996
E-mail Hannah.Webster@bmo.com
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
Voice 416.946.3818
E-mail mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca