Grants and Contributions

Through this 21-month project, Sophia Recovery Centre Inc. will build its capacity to advance gender equality. It will address the organization's ability to build long term capacity and sustainability to support women seeking recovery. The project will include a review and update of board governance, organizational financial health, succession planning, human resource management, internal policy review, and strategic planning.

Through this 21-month systemic change project, Oxfam Canada, in partnership with the Pacific Immigrant Resources Society and Child Care Now, will scale up the Inclusive Child Care for All project to advance underrepresented women’s participation in leadership and decision-making roles in Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) advocacy. The project will build the capacity of not-for-profit organizations serving underrepresented communities to advocate for a universal early learning and child care system. Oxfam Canada will engage existing advocacy networks and connect with new organizations across the Pacific, Prairies, Ontario, and Atlantic regions.

Oxfam Canada and its partners will also convene organizations that serve underrepresented women to facilitate their active participation in policy discussions and advocacy initiatives. The organization will also develop and implement communication strategies to make the general public more aware of the positive impact of early learning and child care on the economic security of underrepresented groups of women, and identify and promote policy options to advance inclusion in ELCC.

The supplemental funding will allow the organization to create a coordinated communication campaign, highlighting the impact of childcare policies on gender equity and family well-being; as well as addressing the need for further improvements to ensure equitable access for low and middle-income families, remote/rural communities, and children/parents with disabilities.

The additional supplemental funding will allow the organization to further support its objectives to reduce systemic barriers to participation and support community-based advocacy and capacity development among underrepresented women across Canada through its Child Care for All Summit.

Through this 33-month project, the Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society (IRIS) will help advance women’s economic security and prosperity by addressing systemic barriers to employment for Indigenous, Black, racialized, non-status-refugee women and gender diverse d/Deaf and disabled people, with a focus on intellectual and mental health disabilities, in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montréal, Toronto, St. John's, and Iqaluit. To do so, IRIS will carry out a literature review and an environmental scan, and hold Listening and Learning Circles to understand the gender-based intersectional barriers and conditions that prevent affected communities from acquiring and maintaining employment, and to identify solutions. Videos and tools will be developed for knowledge-sharing workshops with federally regulated organizations (FROs) and affected populations to foster the implementation of strategies enabling safe and discrimination-free working environments and the use of The Accessibility Exchange (TAE). TAE is a virtual platform offering the opportunity for people with disabilities and d/Deaf people to be hired and paid as consultants by FROs to contribute their expertise in development of accessibility plans and adjustments to hiring practices, as mandated by the Accessible Canada Act. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project with a decolonial, Indigenous and anti-racist lens, and the evaluation results will feed the development of a sustainability plan.

Through this 21-month systemic change project, Atira Women’s Resource Society will scale the Pan-Canadian Voice for Women's Housing’s project, expanding its efforts to address housing challenges faced by women and gender-diverse individuals at both regional and national levels. To achieve this objective, Atira Women’s Resource Society will update its calls to action to government bodies with a gender diverse, equity-focused perspective. It will empower and support more advocates through expanding knowledge, convening important conversations, and developing tools and resources. It will also use story telling for social change with an increased focus on engaging policy makers with women who possess lived expertise.

Through this 33-month systemic change project, VersaFi will help advance BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) women and gender-diverse professionals’ representation in leadership and decision-making roles through systemic change. Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers to senior leadership within Canada's finance industry by conducting a nationwide survey and focus group discussions with BIPOC women and gender-diverse professionals in the industry to understand their unique challenges. VersaFi will incorporate Gender-Based-Analysis Plus (GBA+) principles and practices to ensure an intersectional perspective, considering both gender and racial factors.

The project will aim to understand the effectiveness of existing diversity initiatives and develop evidence-based recommendations for systemic change. Progress will be tracked through data analysis and an external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project, with success measured by the depth of insights gained, the effectiveness of recommendations to be implemented, and increased awareness. By fostering equity, diversity and inclusion, this project strives to enhance the representation of BIPOC women and gender-diverse professionals in senior leadership roles, contributing to a more equitable and inclusive finance industry in Canada.

Through this 21 month systemic change project, Theatre Direct will scale its Balancing Act project to advance women’s economic security and prosperity and representation in leadership and decision-making roles. This project will be scaled to include three new arts sectors: film/television, music and visual arts. It will address barriers to employment and advancement for women with caregiving responsibilities in these new sectors.

The project will facilitate the development of new and updated workplace policies in the new sectors and a pan-Canadian network to disseminate resources. It will also develop policies including specific intersectional considerations to reflect the specialized support needs of caregivers who also identify as belonging to underserved communities.

To do so, Theatre Direct will partner with three sector leads representing the new sectors nationally. Advisory committees will be established for each sector that will recruit organizations to carry out initiatives such as pilot projects and new or updated organizational policies through two cohorts. A feedback mechanism will ensure lessons learned from one cohort is applied to the next. Public facing events will be held to disseminate the work done, resources and findings. An evaluation of the project's impacts will be completed, and recommendations will be developed.

The additional $20,250 in translation funding will allow to meet growing demand for bilingual resources and ensure national accessibility and engagement. This aligns with the Fund’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and serving diverse populations across Canada.

The $25,000 for a Conference Producer will enhance the scope and impact of the project’s final dissemination events. These events are a key deliverable for cross-sector learning and scaling of promising practices. Theatre Direct has demonstrated the organizational capacity to manage this expansion effectively.

Through this 21-month systemic change project, Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology Inc. (CCWESTT) will scale its successful Gender Inclusion in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology (SETT) project to help advance women’s economic security. Systemic change knowledge and resources will be scaled to populations both inside and outside the SETT community. Scaling these efforts will create a central resource for the Canadian status of gender equality in SETT. It will address gaps in systemic change knowledge, including the status of gender equality in SETT workplaces across Canada, opening the way for a national conversation for equitable change. To do so, the project will host systemic change events, create a Gender Equality Report Card on SETT working environments, and launch a Gender Equality in SETT Advocacy Campaign.

Through this 33-month systemic change project, Restigouche CBDC will help advance the economic security and prosperity of women and gender-diverse people through meaningful systemic change. Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers within rural and small-town workplaces in the Restigouche region of New Brunswick by providing employers with the concrete interactive tools and resources they need to integrate tangible policies and practices that promote gender equity and inclusion in the workplace. An external evaluator will assess and measure the impact of the systemic change project.

Through this 24-month project, Les EssentiElles will help advance Francophone women’s economic security and prosperity as well as their access to leadership and decision-making positions in Canada’s northern territories through systemic change. In particular, the project will address systemic barriers in northern Francophone communities by (1) conducting a study on the specific challenges Francophone women in each territory face surrounding economic prosperity and access to leadership positions, (2) supporting Francophone community organizations in adopting the study’s findings and recommendations, and (3) creating a roundtable of northern Francophone women where emerging issues can be addressed collaboratively. An external evaluator will measure and assess this systemic change project’s impact.

Through this 21-month systemic change project, Pro-Choice Society of Lethbridge & Southern Alberta will scale Covid-19 Reproductive Rights Response to advance women’s economic security and prosperity. It will scale by focusing on geographical expansion, information dissemination, physician support, and educational outreach.

To do so, the project will work to bolster the capacity of other Pro-Choice organizations, conduct network building activities, support physicians and healthcare providers through consultations and by facilitating training, and expand their educational outreach by building partnerships, public presentations, and community training sessions.

By the end of the project the organization will have addressed healthcare providers' and volunteer organizations' lack of capacity while increasing information dissemination and service access for those in need by evaluating and strategizing intersecting factors that prevent women's full bodily autonomy