Purdys Chocolatier’s Best Kept Secret: Women Power its Company

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Purdys Chocolatier announces with great pleasure the power behind its innovative chocolate confections is predominantly female!

Women represent less than 50 per cent¹ of the Canadian labour force as a whole. However, Canada's much loved Purdys Chocolatier is proud to have undertaken tremendous strides to employ and empower women—with 80 per cent of its 1,100-person workforce being female. Purdys would like to take International Women’s Day to celebrate its amazing female workforce who inspires the company to do better and be better every single day.

Sixty-three per cent of Purdys executives are women, which says a lot about Purdys’ commitment to workforce equality throughout the organization. Women are also at the forefront of every part of Purdys’ internal business: 65 per cent of Purdys’ Factory Kitchen employees are women and account for 87 per cent of the shop teams.

“I’m extremely proud of everything our company has accomplished, but what I’m most proud of is our team. We would not be the chocolatier that we are without having the most exceptional individuals standing with us,” says Kriston Dean, Vice President Merchandising & Marketing, Purdys Chocolatier. “We respect and support all of our team members but we have to take a moment to recognize the remarkable women behind our company—the women who put their all into everything they do to create the most delicious chocolates and experiences for our customers. Purdys Chocolatier could not do it without them! Not only is our CEO a woman, 63% of our Executive Team are women, 80% of our entire Purdys team is powered by women including our retail locations, warehouse, Factory Kitchen, IT, quality assurance. And our chocolatier is a woman too!” says Dean.

Last year Purdys CEO Karen Flavelle received a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award, honouring the Top CEOs of 2019. Flavelle successfully led the company through tumultuous times where the retail environment was disrupted with store closures. Purdys defied the odds and continued to open additional retail locations throughout Canada.

Purdys also received a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award recognizing the company as one of the Best Places to Work in 2020. These awards are especially meaningful to the company as they’re the direct result of reviews left by current and former staff members. Perhaps a female-dominated company is the secret ingredient to being one of the best places to work.

“‘Empowered women empower women’. I think that we, women who are in the top decision-making positions, have more of a responsibility to fight for equality because we can make our voices heard that much more. A lot of our employees stay on for many years at Purdys. In fact, 21 out of the 25 employees who have been here with us the longest are women. That tells me that we’ve created a place where women feel empowered, comfortable and that is really important to us at Purdys,” says Kriston Dean, Vice President Merchandising & Marketing, Purdys Chocolatier.

Purdys is a family-owned Canadian business originally founded in 1907 by Richard Carmon Purdy in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company believes the reason for its more than 110 years of success is due to the amazing women who stand with them. On International Women’s Day, Purdys would like to give the spotlight to its female team members who work in jobs that are traditionally occupied by men.

About Purdys Chocolatier (purdys.com):

Purdys Chocolatier was founded in 1907 in Vancouver by Richard Carmon Purdy. With over 80 shops across the country, Purdys is Canada's go-to destination for innovative chocolate flavours and gifts. Purdys chocolates are made daily at their Vancouver Factory Kitchen, using only the freshest ingredients sourced from around the world. Every confection at Purdys uses sustainable cocoa, ensuring their cocoa farmer partners and co-ops are supported by programs that improve their profits and the livelihoods of their families and communities. Bestsellers include Himalayan Pink Salt Caramels, Hedgehogs, Sweet Georgia Browns and English Toffee.

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¹Statistics Canada, “Table 14-10-0327-01: Labour Force Characteristics by Sex and Detailed Age Group, Annual,” (2020).