Dr. Sarah Saska

Dr. Sarah Saska (She, Her, Elle) is an advisor, a startup investor, and the co-founder and CEO of Feminuity. As a social scientist and orthogonal thinker, Saska reimagines and redesigns the mindsets, technologies, and systems surrounding us to shape a future that promotes equity for all.

Saska is a seasoned academic and experienced practitioner who led pioneering doctoral research at the intersection of equity, technology, and innovation. Her research highlighted the need for companies in the technology and innovation sector to centre ethical and equitable design and became the inspiration for Feminuity.

Saska holds a Ph.D. from Western University, an M.A. from The Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa/Université d’Ottawa, a B.A. (Hon), and certification in Sexual and Gender Diversity from the Department of Gender Studies at Queen’s University. Saska was a facilitator for the SARE randomized controlled trial, which became the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) Sexual Assault Resistance Education Program and is now used across Canada as the Flip the Script™ program, which helps to reduce sexual violence on campuses.

Saska continues her work as a leading researcher and advisor to the growing body of research relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the North American tech sector. She co-authored “Inclusion, Intention, Investment: A Playbook for Women Working in Tech” in partnership with #movethedial, and she has advised on flagship studies, including “Who Are Canada’s Tech Workers?,” Tech for All: Breaking Barriers in Toronto’s Innovation Community,” and “Canada’s Gender Equity Roadmap: A Study of Women in Tech.” She is currently a Research Advisor on Tech for Women’s Justice, exploring the intersections between violence against women, access to justice, and technology.

Saska has three times been named amongst the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada (2015, 2017, and 2021) and on Culture Amp’s list of “Diversity and Inclusion Leaders You Should Know” (2018 and 2019). As well as Create and Cultivate’s list of 10 Diversity Leaders Transforming the Workplace and Beyond. She speaks internationally at global tech and human rights conferences and is a TEDx speaker, and she’s been featured on CBC’s The National and Fast Company and The New York Times. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board for the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at Western University and the School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities at Western University. She is a former member of the Advisory Council for Equality Fund (formerly The MATCH International Women’s Fund) and a former member of the Board of Directors for Wen-Do Women’s Self Defense.

Saska is a left-handed and left-leaning, Hungarian-Canadian, pansexual, Jewish woman. She appreciates a critical perspective and values the messy parts of human interaction. As a survivor of sexual violence and someone who has lost two parents, she remains hard on issues but soft on people. Saska’s friends are family as an only child, and she’s rarely found without Gordon (lovingly named after the late Gord Downie) by her side.