DMZ’s Women Innovation Summit is taking place on Thursday, March 7, 2024, and will incorporate several events throughout the day, including the Women of the Year Breakfast, founder and industry roundtable sessions and the Women Founders Pitch event.

Nominations for 2024 Women of the Year award were open from December 2023 to January 2024. Nominees were reviewed by DMZ and an external Steering Committee. Nominations are evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Impact through tech:
• Has the individual made a significant impact in a community, group, or sector using technology?
• Have they shown leadership and been a driving force in creating this impact?
• Innovation & creativity:
• Is their success a result of innovative and out-of-the-box thinking?
• Is their solution or impact unique and different from others in the field?
• Inspiring role model:
• Does their story inspire upcoming leaders in tech?
• Can their journey change the lives of others and serve as a role model for women and underrepresented individuals in tech?
• Continued success:
• Are they likely to achieve more milestones and bring about significant change?
• Can an award like this propel them to further success in their journey?

The pitch competition is for women tech founders with a functional MVP and business dedicated to solving a compelling problem using innovative technology. A call for applications was held from December 2023 - January 2024. Applications were evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Product stage
• Scalability
• Leadership proficiency
• Market assessment
• Technological capabilities

Investors or partners who are interested in participating in the Women Innovation Summit should reach out to Annie Long at annie.long@torontomu.ca.

The Women Innovation Summit Steering Committee is comprised of industry leaders from a variety of verticals within business and technology. Their role is to ensure a wide range of perspectives, experiences and ideas are considered to reduce bias and facilitate an equitable review process of women-founder pitch finalists and Women of the Year award recipients. The Committee’s feedback and insights are shared with The Firehood and DMZ for their consideration. For any additional information, please reach out to dmz@torontomu.ca.

Women entrepreneurs drive innovation and the global economy. However, they often encounter disproportionate barriers to business growth. That’s why women-identifying entrepreneurs at DMZ receive additional opportunities and boosted support to propel their growth – on top of the standard programming that all entrepreneurs receive. Whether you’re just getting started or have an established startup, you can tap into specialized support through our Women Innovation Programs. Learn more here.