Jennifer Reynolds
President & CEO Women in Capital Markets
- Toronto ON
Advocate for the advancement of women in the capital markets and for increasing the representation of women in leadership in Canada.
Media
Social
Biography
Jennifer is a Director on the Board of the Canada Development Investment Corporation (“CDEV”), and is a former Member of the Ontario Venture Capital Fund Advisory Committee, Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Microskills Business Incubator, and Director on the Board of Studio 180, an independent, a Toronto based theatre company. Jennifer is also active in her community as the Honorary Chair of the Princess Margaret Hospital Weekend Walk to End Women's Cancers and a Member of the YWCA Women of Distinction Committee. In 2015, she was named a Women's Executive Network (WXN) Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner.
Jennifer is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Women's Leadership program, and she received her MBA from McGill University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Economics and Political Science from McGill University.
Industry Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winner
2015
Awarded by Women's Executive Network.
Education
Harvard University
HBS Education
HBS Women's Leadership Program
2014
McGill University
M.B.A.
Finance
1998
McGill University
B.A.
Economics and Political Science
1994
Affiliations
- Director Board of the Canada Development Investment Corporation
Media Appearances
WCM Job Shadow Day
The Exchange, CBC tv
2016-04-27
On Friday, April 22nd, WCM hosted the 6th annual Job Shadow Day. This year, almost 100 female high school students participated in this free, day-long event, featuring interactive workshops, networking and mentoring sessions, presentations profiling women with diverse careers in the capital markets, and an afternoon of job shadowing with a mentor who works in the industry.
Among the media coverage generated was this interview on CBC's The Exchange. It features Jennifer Reynolds, WCM President & CEO, and Claudia Fournier, a grade 12 high school student, discussing the importance of attracting women to the industry. "Quite simply, you have start early," Jennifer said.
Jennifer and Claudia also spoke to the realities of careers in capital markets, specifically that the "locker room mentality" is a thing of the past.
Program aimed at helping women return to finance jobs expands to Montreal
The Canadian Press online
2016-03-16
Reynolds says part of the program’s success has been rooted in the fact that it allows women to re-enter the industry at a similar level to where they were when they left — rather than starting from scratch in a junior position such as an analyst or an associate.
“Without this program, quite frankly, they can’t even get their resumes looked at seriously,” says Reynolds. “Just getting interviews is very, very difficult. People just say, ‘Well, this person’s been out. They don’t count.'”
Women on Bay Street: Why Canada is Lagging Behind?
Bloomberg Canada tv
2016-02-17
Jennifer Reynolds, President & CEO of Women in Capital Markets joins Bloomberg TV Canada's Pamela Ritchie to discuss challenges women face to work in the financial market and what needs to be done to improve women's representation in Corporate Canada.
'Having it All' Should Be The Norm, Not The Exception
Huffington Post online
2016-01-20
Much discussion, debate and hand-wringing has been had over the concept of "having it all." I am not sure who first coined this phrase or how we ended up obsessing endlessly over whether women can have successful careers and thriving, happy families, but it is time to unequivocally end this debate.
Corporate Canada needs a plan for gender diversity in the boardroom
Globe and Mail print
2015-10-22
It’s time for Canada’s boards and corporate leadership to stop defending a meritocracy that promotes only those in its own likeness.
The Tech Industry Can Learn From Women in Capital Markets
whatsyourtech.ca
2014-11-01
Women in Capital Markets (WCM) believes that once women in senior leadership roles leave the industry for an extended period of time, they find it difficult to re-integrate. The non-profit advocacy organization is working to change that for women in the finance sector. But Jennifer Reynolds, CEO, talked to us about how the program is as applicable, and easily replicated, in industries that face similar barriers, like the technology sector.
Want to be the first woman on the board? Here’s how to do it
Globe and Mail online
2014-10-15
Women on boards is a hotly debated topic today and as the CEO of an advocacy group that represents the largest network of professional women working in Canada’s financial sector, I am thrilled to see the spotlight on this issue.
5Q: Jennifer Reynolds - Why women don't run Bay Street
Yahoo Finance online
2014-09-08
Jennifer Reynolds is a great conversationalist – lightning fast on her feet, and chalk full of statistics about the world of high finance and women’s professional place within it.
