Breaking Barriers: Building Opportunities, Understanding Challenges for Immigrant South Asian Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship
This event is accessible only for Vancouver Startup Week All-Access pass holders. Get your pass here. Use code VSWxLotus20 to get 20% off!
In a time when DEI commitments are being questioned, rolled back, or deprioritized, racialized women and immigrant entrepreneurs are forced to navigate not only systemic barriers, but also a growing climate of resistance. This isn’t just about representation anymore—it’s about resilience, reimagination, and reclaiming power.
This session—led by Lotus STEMM, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing South Asian women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine)—offers an unfiltered look at how intersecting identities like race, gender, and immigration status shape the entrepreneurial journey in Canada.
Backed by data and lived experience:
- South Asian women make up 13% of racialized people in Canada, but face 22% higher unemployment rates in STEM than other racialized women
- Immigrant South Asian women face an unemployment rate of 12.7%, in stark contrast to 2.8% for South Asian men
- Despite high levels of education, South Asian women remain underrepresented and overlooked in STEM leadership and startup ecosystems
Why this session?
Because Lotus STEMM doesn’t just talk about the barriers—we work across academia, policy, industry, and community to dismantle them. Our approach blends research, advocacy, and community empowerment, and we’ve been at the forefront of building visibility and equity for South Asian women in science, tech, and entrepreneurship.
Our panels have brought together over 500 South Asian women and youth, creating space for honest conversation and collective action. With support from Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), our projects have focused on equity, multilingual science communication, and community-based outreach. We’re not just raising awareness—we’re building real momentum.
Join our Board Chair, Dr. Vidya Chamundeswari Narasimhan, and a dynamic panel of racialized women leaders in an unconference-style discussion that’s real, reflective, and radically hopeful.
We’ll explore:
1. The toll of imposter phenomenon and the power of reframing confidence
2. Meta-reflexivity: how cultural and systemic pressures influence personal choices
3. Navigating underemployment, bias, and exclusion in STEM entrepreneurship
4. Strategies for rising, leading, and disrupting spaces not built for us
This isn’t your typical panel. This is a space for entrepreneurs, changemakers, allies, and those ready to lead differently—with truth, courage, and community. If you care about equity in innovation, you need to be in this room.