Stock Exchange Bells Ring Around the World in Support of Gender Equality

NEO Exchange and Women in ETFs ‘Ring the Bell for Gender Equality’ in
Canada

TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aequitas
NEO Exchange Inc. (“NEO Exchange” or “NEO”) is proud to take part in
today’s global collaboration across 43 stock exchanges to “Ring the Bell
for Gender Equality” in celebration of International Women’s Day 2017.
The initiative, organized by Women in ETFs and UN Women, focused on the
theme “Women at Work” for it’s third annual event.

Celebrating with NEO today were Som Seif – Founder and CEO, Purpose
Investments, Deborah Frame – Canadian Chapter Co-Head, Women in ETFs,
and CIO, Frame Global Asset Management, Carrie Kirkman – Chair,
G(irls)20 and Mariefaye Bechrakis – Human Rights and Gender Equality
Consultant, UN Global Compact. These individuals participated in a panel
discussion, moderated by Jos Schmitt – President and CEO, NEO Exchange,
on empowering women in the workforce, dissecting current barriers to
gender equality and enabling private sector solutions.

“Real change begins with strong leadership and an unwavering passion to
improve the world around you,” said Schmitt. “Today I am humbled to
share a room with so many leaders of this kind, who prioritize the path
to equality and use their positions to give a voice to those who have
none. At NEO, we are no stranger to fighting for fairness and pushing
back against entrenched views that limit competition and growth. That is
why we readily embrace and foster female employees throughout each level
of our organization, and it gives me great pride to confirm these values
today.”

“We established the Canadian chapter of Women in ETFs with the goal of
increasing the proportion of women joining the industry,” said Frame.
“Looking around the room this morning I’m proud to see we have come a
long way, but there is still a long way to go. Together, through
initiatives like this, we can identify the unconscious bias that exists
for women in the workplace and embrace the right attitudes required to
effectively address it. I’d like to thank NEO and everyone involved in
this year’s event for helping us amplify the voice of female leaders in
prominent roles and supporting women in the financial industry.”

Building on its existing commitments as part of the Sustainable Stock
Exchange Initiative, NEO was pleased to purchase 500 non-trading shares
of G(irls)20 ‘stock’, representing an investment in girls and young
women via education, entrepreneurship and global experiences. Carrie
Kirkman accepted the cheque for $5,000 on behalf of G(irls)20, a
Canadian-based globally active organization that exists to cultivate a
new generation of female leaders.

“Female leadership has been shown to improve performance metrics while
reducing volatility,” said Carrie Kirkman. “G20 leaders have previously
acknowledged this fact, recognizing the economic benefit of investing in
girls and women and the impact they can have on global growth. While we
are dedicated to placing girls and young women in the career pipeline,
we cannot do it alone. Thank you to NEO and all of our valuable
partnerships that allow us to execute our impactful programs around the
world.”

Following the discussion, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa
delivered an address that reinforced the importance of collaboration
between government and the private sector to develop and support
initiatives aimed at driving gender diversity today and into the future.

Now in its third iteration, the event series is a partnership of Women
in ETFs and UN
Women, together with the Sustainable
Stock Exchange Initiative, UN
Global Compact, the IFC
and the World
Federation of Exchanges. The market open ceremonies raise awareness
about the opportunities for the private sector to advance gender
equality and sustainable development.

About NEO Exchange
Aequitas NEO Exchange Inc. is a new
Canadian stock exchange using a bold new blueprint that puts investors,
businesses looking to raise capital and dealers first. Launched in March
2015, the NEO Exchange currently offers an innovative trading venue and
a value added listing venue for capital raising companies and investment
products. The NEO Exchange is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aequitas
Innovations Inc., a company founded by a diverse group of prominent
investors representative of all Canadian capital market stakeholders.
For more information, please visit: www.aequitasNEOexchange.com.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Smithcom
Adam Bornstein, 905-505-2540
adam.bornstein@smithcom.ca