NEO Rings the Bell for Gender Equality in Honour of International Women’s Day 2020

Representatives of “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” partners along with representatives from Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG), Virtu ITG Canada Corp. (Virtu Financial), Emerge Canada, Miller Thomson, and Wildeboer Dellelce, joined Erik Sloane, Chief Revenue Officer at NEO, to open NEO Exchange in celebration of International Women’s Day 2020. Brice de Schietere, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Delegation of the European Union to Canada, honoured the celebration with his participation. (Photo: Business Wire)

Toronto | March 3, 2020 – NEO is proud to take part in the global collaboration across more than 75 stock exchanges to “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” in celebration of International Women’s Day 2020. Now in its sixth consecutive year, the initiative is a partnership between the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, UN Global Compact. UN Women, the World Federation of Exchanges and Women in ETFs. to raise awareness about the business case for women’s economic empowerment and the opportunities for the private sector to advance gender equality and sustainable development.

In January 2019, NEO became the first stock exchange in Canada to sign a CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), an initiative spearheaded by UN Women and UN Global Compact. Building on this commitment, NEO has raised awareness about the initiative among the Canadian capital markets, and successfully encouraged six industry partners to join Jos Schmitt in signing a CEO Statement of Support for the WEPs. NEO is pleased to recognize CIBC, Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG), Virtu ITG Canada Corp. (Virtu Financial), Emerge Canada, Miller Thomson, and Wildeboer Dellelce as signatories of the WEPs. With their signatures there are now 50 companies committed to the WEPs in Canada.

“NEO’s mission is to fight for fairness and challenge entrenched views that limit competition and growth across the Canadian capital markets. It is for this reason we readily embrace programs that promote equality and diversity at every level of an organization. We firmly stand by these values with our continued commitments to the Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative and Women’s Empowerment Principles, and we proudly recognize our partners who have answered the call and taken up the cause,” said Jos Schmitt, President and CEO, NEO. “We understand that our role as a senior stock exchange is to partner with public companies and fund providers as they achieve great things, which is why we also proudly support gender-focused investment products on our exchange.”

“The European Union is strongly encouraging business leaders to join the Women Empowerment Principles community and take guidance on actions we can all implement in the workplace, marketplace, and community to empower women and benefit both businesses and society,” said Chargé d’Affaires at the Delegation European Union to Canada Brice de Schietere. “We are proud to welcome these six partners as new signatories of the WEPs. We are particularly pleased that as the first Canadian Stock Exchange to commit to the Women’s Empowerment Principles, NEO both recognizes the importance of raising awareness for gender diversity, and demonstrates leadership in this area within its industry.”

About NEO Exchange
Neo Exchange Inc. is a progressive stock market that brings together investors and capital raisers within a fair and transparent environment. Fully operational since June 2015, NEO puts investors first and provides access to trading all Canadian-listed securities on a level playing field. The NEO Exchange lists senior companies and investment products who want a stock exchange that enables investor trust, quality liquidity, and broad awareness, including unfettered access to market data. For more information, please visit: NEOstockexchange.com.

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