RBC and Women of Influence honour female entrepreneurs

Clara Angotti, president and CEO of Next Pathway Inc., is honoured to be recognized for her work. (Photo by Jared Clinton)

RBC Royal Bank is set to honour the women of business with its 2012 Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards.

Clara Angotti, one of the nominees for the award, is no stranger to accolades like this. In 2011, the Women’s Executive Network named Angotti one of Canada’s most powerful women.

Angotti is being recognized for her work as president and CEO of technology consultation firm Next Pathway Inc.,

“The [nomination] is a nice validation for me personally – that I’ve done a good job – and then I think as well for our staff,” said Angotti. “It’s nice to be recognized for them, because I couldn’t do it without them.”

She said that young women looking to enter the business world should try to think “five steps down the road” and be thinking not just about the degree, but what they want to do once they’ve graduated.
While women may have some disadvantages when entering the workforce, Angotti said, they might bring to the table what some men may not.

“[Women] have a great sense of intuition,” she said. “I find very often that, especially in the business world, when you’re starting out on your own, there’s no real manual that tells you what to do next under a different situation – a lot of it is good judgment.”

As well as intuition, Angotti said the ability to communicate and pay attention to detail were strengths that some women had over their male counterparts.

Women of Influence Inc., an organization dedicated to the advancement and promotion of women’s professional success, produces the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards.

Its website states that the awards aim to expand the honourees’ personal networks, provide them with more opportunities, and increase the number of role models for both males and females in business.

Carolyn Lawrence, the president and CEO of Women of Influence Inc., said she has seen the amount of female entrepreneurs deserving of the award “almost quadruple” in her seven years with the organization.

“The inspirational stories that we see, and the women who are just so passionate about what they do, are just so great,” said Lawrence.

A University of Guelph-Humber student said the organization’s work is meaningful.

“If there’s an organization backing up women and their success, then I think it’s encouraging for not only me, but other women,” said Eleni Gagovski, a 19-year-old business administration student.