Financial Services Giant Opens Doors for Diversity Recruiting
Sun Life, one of Canada’s largest financial services companies, hosted WomenHack Toronto at their One York office in February 2020, welcoming over 80 women in technology for an evening of meaningful connections and career opportunities.
The company shared their enthusiasm on LinkedIn:
“Welcomed over 80 women in tech to our One York office yesterday for WomenHack Toronto. An incredible evening of connections, conversations, and career opportunities.”
Financial Services Embraces Tech Diversity
Sun Life’s decision to host WomenHack reflects a broader trend in financial services: the recognition that technology is now central to the industry’s future, and that building diverse tech teams is essential for innovation and customer service.
Insurance and financial services companies have historically struggled with gender diversity in their technology functions. While front-office roles may approach parity, IT and engineering departments often lag significantly behind. Events like WomenHack provide targeted access to qualified female technologists who can help close this gap.
The Scale of Commitment
Welcoming over 80 attendees to their offices represents a significant investment. Beyond the logistics of hosting, Sun Life made their workplace visible to potential candidates, allowing attendees to experience the environment where they might build their careers.
The One York office location—Sun Life’s modern Toronto headquarters—provided an impressive setting that showcased the company’s investment in their workspace and, by extension, their people.
Toronto’s Financial Technology Hub
Toronto has emerged as one of North America’s most important financial technology centers. The city benefits from a concentration of major financial institutions, a diverse population, strong universities, and immigration policies that support talent acquisition. This ecosystem creates both opportunities and competition for tech talent.
Sun Life competes for talent not just with other financial services firms but with technology companies, startups, and the Toronto offices of global tech giants. Differentiated recruiting approaches—like hosting WomenHack—help established companies stand out to candidates who might otherwise focus on pure-play tech employers.
The Timing Factor
This event took place in late February 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic would transform how companies approached recruiting and workplace interactions. The in-person connections made at this event became even more valuable as the world shifted to remote work.
For Sun Life, having recently strengthened their pipeline of diverse tech talent proved fortuitous as digital transformation accelerated across the financial services industry during the pandemic.
Thank you, Sun Life, for your commitment to women in technology and for creating space for 80+ talented women to explore opportunities in financial services technology.