Queen's Women in Leadership – QWIL

What Queen's Women in Leadership – QWIL does

Queen's Women in Leadership (QWIL) is a student-run club operating within Queen's University's Smith School of Business in Kingston, Ontario. The organization was founded around 2017 (though one firmographic source lists 1996) and works to connect, inspire, and educate aspiring women leaders. QWIL operates through three pillars—Impact, Education, and Empowerment—delivering programs targeting women and gender-diverse students through mentorship, leadership development, community outreach, and equity education. Its primary constituents are Queen's University students, with secondary engagement extending to a professional alumni network now working at firms including McKinsey, Deloitte, Oliver Wyman, EY, BCG, RBC Capital Markets, TELUS, Google, Accenture, L'Oréal, and CIBC.

QWIL's product surface comprises a digital content platform (WILPower Blog, with 58+ posts across categories including Career, Leadership, Empowerment, Gender Equality, Feminism, Wellness, and School), an annual print magazine (WILPower in Print, four editions released between 2021 and 2024, most recently themed 'lagom'), a signature Equity Summit and recurring networking events, the First-Year Membership Program, the Men's Round Table ally engagement initiative, the Care Packages community outreach program, an academic Research Initiatives stream, and a Resources Hub covering mental health, Indigenous education, and sexual violence support. The underlying technology stack is conventional—website CMS, blog platform, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), email ([email protected]), and physical print distribution—with no proprietary platform, custom software, or technical moat.

QWIL is a non-commercial student organization with no revenue model. Membership and participation in all programs are free for Queen's students. Operations are supported through volunteer labor and what appears to be nominal support for specific initiatives such as the Care Packages program, which sources items from local and Indigenous businesses in Kingston and donates proceeds to the Kingston Sexual Assault Centre and Kingston Dawn House (approximately $600 raised in 2023). The organization is led by student Co-Chairs (currently Riya Pathak and Emma Moriarty for 2024-2025) and operates with approximately 27 active student members. There are no funding rounds, no investors, no parent-company ownership beyond academic affiliation with Queen's University, and no commercial pricing or product sales.

Name

Queen's Women in Leadership – QWIL

Legal name

Queen's Women in Leadership

Website

https://qwil.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Queen's Women in Leadership (QWIL) is a student-run club at Queen's University's Smith School of Business delivering mentorship, events, an annual print magazine, and digital content to advance women's leadership development among Queen's students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Leadership Community

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

Keywords

• Student leadership programs
• Women in business
• Equity education
• Community engagement
• Student publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Kingston

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership and Event Participation: QWIL is a student club that operates primarily through voluntary membership and event participation. There is no commercial revenue model. The organization relies on student engagement, volunteer participation, and potentially university or corporate sponsorships for specific initiatives like Care Packages.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

QWIL is a student-run club at Queen's University that delivers leadership development, mentorship, equity education, and community-building programs for women and gender-diverse students. Core offerings include the annual WILPower in Print magazine, the WILPower Blog, the Equity Summit and networking events, the First-Year Membership Program, the Men's Round Table, the Care Packages initiative (with proceeds supporting Kingston charities), and a Resources Hub.

Product overview

QWIL is a student-run organization at Queen's University offering a portfolio of programs and content platforms focused on women's leadership and equity. The core offerings include the WILPower Blog (digital content), WILPower in Print (annual magazine), Events and Equity Summit (networking programming), First Year Membership Program, Men's Round Table, Care Packages, Research Initiatives, and a Resources Hub. These programs work together to connect, inspire, and educate aspiring women leaders while engaging all genders in equity conversations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WILPower in Print Magazine An annual printed magazine showcasing stories of women leaders, featuring themes such as 'lagom' (balance), and highlighting diverse perspectives from the Queen's University community. Distributed to members and at events.
• Events and Equity Summit Programming Networking events and an annual Equity Summit bringing together Queen's University students, alumni, and industry leaders to discuss gender equity and leadership.
• First Year Membership Program A mentorship and support program for first-year Queen's University students providing safe spaces for conversations about equity-based issues and connections with QWIL executive members.
• Care Packages Exam care packages created in partnership with mental health organizations, featuring items from local and Indigenous businesses in Kingston, with proceeds supporting Kingston Sexual Assault Centre and Dawn House.

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Student Wellness Centre (Queen's University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQWIL partners with the Queen's Student Wellness Centre as part of their Care Packages initiative during exam season. The partnership aims to support student mental health by including wellness resources and information in care packages distributed to the student body.
• Bloom (Queen's)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQWIL collaborates with Bloom, a mental health club at Queen's University, for the Care Packages initiative. Bloom contributes to providing mental health resources and support information for students during exam season.
• Step Above the Stigma (Queen's)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Step Above the Stigma mental health initiative at Queen's for the Care Packages program, combining efforts to support student wellness during high-stress exam periods.
• Kingston Dawn HouseminorOthersQWIL's Care Packages initiative donates a portion of proceeds to Kingston Dawn House, a shelter for women and children experiencing violence. The 2023 initiative raised funds for this organization along with Kingston Sexual Assault Centre.
• Kingston Sexual Assault CentreminorOthersAnnual recipient of funds raised through QWIL's Care Packages initiative. In 2023, approximately $600 was raised for these local charities supporting survivors of sexual violence.
• Local and Indigenous Businesses (Kingston)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQWIL sources all items in Care Packages from small local and Indigenous businesses in Kingston, supporting approximately 5 local businesses per year while creating exam care packages for students.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Queen's Student Wellness Centre: Queen's University institutional partner supporting student mental health. Co-creator of QWIL's Care Packages initiative and a key institutional ally for EDI-related programming on campus.
• Bloom (Queen's University): Queen's University mental health club that partners with QWIL on the Care Packages initiative. A same-campus peer organization working on adjacent student wellness and equity-adjacent themes.

Direct peers

• Desautels Women in Business (McGill University): Women's leadership student group at the Desautels Faculty of Management (McGill). Comparable in serving undergraduate business students with networking, mentorship, and professional development programming.
• Rotman Commerce Women in Business: Women's leadership initiative at the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto), serving a similarly competitive Commerce student body with career development, mentorship, and community programming.
• Ivey Business School Women's Leadership Network: Women's leadership student organization at a peer Canadian business school (Ivey at Western University). Operates with similar mentorship, networking, and event-driven programming targeting undergraduate business students.
• Schulich Women in Leadership (Schulich School of Business): Student-led women's leadership club at Schulich School of Business (York University). Directly comparable in target audience, programming mix, and mission to empower women in business leadership.
• Queen's Commerce Society (Smith School of Business): The overarching undergraduate Commerce student society at the same school where QWIL operates. Shares the same membership pool, faculty relationships, and campus channels, and is the most immediate intra-school peer.

Broad incumbents

• Catalyst: Global nonprofit focused on advancing women in the workplace through research, advisory, and inclusion programming. A much larger incumbent operating in the same thematic space of women in leadership and equity.
• Ellevate Network: Global professional women's network connecting members for mentorship, career advancement, and community. Operates at scale across geographies with a similar mentorship/networking value proposition to QWIL.
• Forte Foundation: Established nonprofit focused on launching women into business leadership through education, community, and career support. Operates at a much larger scale than QWIL but addresses the same mission of advancing women in business.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/QueensWIL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/queen's-women-in-leadership
• Instagraminstagram.com/queenswil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Queen's Women in Leadership – QWIL