Top 25 Women of Influence 2018: Anna Mackenzie & Ella Gorevalov

Anna Mackenzie & Ella Gorevalov

Co-authors of The Expecting Playbook

When they realized that the majority of tech start-ups were not only vague and noncommittal about their parental leave policies, but actually didn’t have policies in place at all, Anna Mackenzie and Ella Gorevalov decided to help usher in a change. So, they wrote The Expecting Playbook, a guide and pledge focused on supporting new parents in the tech industry by sharing the parental leave policies of some of Toronto’s tech heavyweights, encouraging a spirit of open source information. The goal is trifold: 1) To affect positive change for new families by allowing them to spend time with their children while providing financial support for their newly arrived family member(s); 2) To increase the tech industry’s transparency surrounding parental leave policies; 3) Encourage companies to be forthcoming about their parental leave policies, thereby reducing the risk of unconscious bias against potential job candidates who ask about such benefits. The initiative is already backed by the likes of Wealthsimple, hackerYou, Nulogy, and Opencare.

Who else are we honouring? See the full Women of Influence Top 25 list for 2018.