Grants and Contributions

Through this 21-month systemic change project, Conscious Economics will scale their “HeARTwork: Advancing the Inclusive Economy: Empowering Women in the Workforce to Lead” project to advance women’s economic security and prosperity. The project will scale out to focus on women with a variety of intersecting identities, especially BIPOC women, who are operating in the Canadian gig-economy or identified as precariously employed. The project will address barriers that prevent women from achieving personal and economic wellbeing at work, by addressing issues like access to fair and equal pay, access to affordable and stable housing, resources to support families and children, access to good quality benefits, access to leadership positions, and safe and heathy workplaces. To do so, the project will convene community organizations and recruit corporate champions to co-create and implement internal systemic changes to overcome the barriers identified in a needs assessment, with intersectional women gig-workers being invited to work alongside them. Corporate champions will take a pledge to implement at least 1 and up to 10 of the developed solutions within their organizations and will be supported in doing so. Conscious Economics will also create a national awareness campaign about the needs of intersectional women gig-workers and the barriers they face, using a heart-centred approach that is mindful of the emotional, social, and systemic issues that prevent women from thriving at work.

Through this 33 months systemic change project, Keeping our Foot on the Gas: Pushing for Systemic Change in Canada's Supply Chain, Trucking HR Canada (THRC) will advance women's economic security and prosperity and representation in leadership and decision-making roles. This project will address systemic barriers within the male-dominated trucking industry using a two-pronged approach with established expertise. First, it will develop a comprehensive Women's Leadership Accord that employers can sign to signal commitment to advance women's status in the industry. Second, it will identify and train volunteers to be Equity Champions in their workplaces and the industry.

To do so, THRC will develop and implement a screening process to ensure signatories demonstrate commitment to dismantling barriers and enabling women's success. Resources will be developed and disseminated to help employers achieve this standard. Equity Champions will receive training to set positive examples and act as mentors, they will be provided with tools and participate in workshops to learn how to advocate for and support women in the industry. An external evaluator will measure/assess the project's impact.

Through this 33-month project, Sustainable Livelihoods Canada (SLC) will help advance the economic security and prosperity of women and gender-diverse people working in not-for-profit (NFP) organizations within the gender-based violence sector by working to get a better understanding of the systemic barriers affecting them and those they support and by developing solutions to address them. SLC will engage with three organizations in the Ontario to undertake organizational assessments through the implementation of its asset-based framework in order to identify key challenges and improve their internal systems, policies, and processes. SLC will collaboratively analyze systemic barriers related to funding, referrals, and advocacy goals to develop a roadmap for organizational sustainability. An external developmental evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project and the project and evaluation’s results will be share with the sector, via learning events and digital dissemination tools.

Through this 29-month systemic change project, Woman Abuse Council of Toronto will help advance women’s economic security and prosperity through systemic change. The project will address systemic barriers faced by diverse women in the STEM sector in Ontario by mitigating harassment and discrimination, challenging gender stereotypes, elevating women leadership roles, and advocating for required policy changes. Specifically, the organization will engage community agencies and STEM partners, including women working in STEM, to lead a needs assessment. They will then, develop an action plan including policy recommendations, and tools and resources for STEM corporate organizations and women in that sector. Following, the tools and resources developed will be disseminated through webinars, campaigns, and media in collaboration with STEM organizations. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project.

Through this 21-month systemic change project, PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise will scale “Collaboration for Transformation” to advance women’s economic security and prosperity. It will scale to four (4) WAGE regions- Atlantic, Ontario, Prairies and Pacific. It will address barriers that women entrepreneurs, especially Indigenous, newcomer, and other diverse entrepreneurs with intersecting identities, disproportionately face in comparison to men when growing their business, including in growth sectors such as green ∕ clean tech, digital services, agri-food and manufacturing; To do so, the project will increase women entrepreneurs’ access to financing and markets, including to procurement and other opportunities for scaling-up their businesses; increase overall understanding of barriers that limit women’s full economic participation as entrepreneurs; and increase the network of partners, allies, and stakeholders acting as champions for women entrepreneurs.

Through this 33-month systemic change project, the Mining Industry Human Resources Council will help advance women’s economic security and prosperity in 4 WAGE regions through systemic change. Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers within the mining sector by improving women’s participation in, contribution to, and benefit from the mining sector. The project will do this by building a more inclusive mining workplace culture to respect and value Indigenous and diverse women; changing policies and practices at mining companies to be more inclusive and responsive to women’s needs; and enhancing sector-wide awareness and capacity to better collaborate on gender inclusion and sexual harassment∕ gender-based violence challenges. The project will support the implementation by mining companies of the new Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) protocols approved by the Mining Association of Canada Board of Directors in 2023 on: 1) Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Workplaces, 2) Safe, Healthy and Respectful Workplaces, and 3) Indigenous and Community Relations. The project will work with mining companies, Equity Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) sector leaders, women’s mining organizations, Indigenous women’s groups and other sector stakeholders. The Mining Association of Canada will serve as a key partner on this project. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project

Through this 33-month systemic change project, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) will help advance women’s economic security and prosperity through systemic change. Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers within the workplace by presenting model human resources policies encouraging flexible work hours to STEM employers in Ontario. The project will 1) undertake a literature review of workplace policies, survey OSPE members and meet with employers to understand their perspectives; 2) develop a Model for Flexible Work Policies and promote it with public and private sector employers; and 3) conduct and track advocacy on implementation of the Model with a range of stakeholders. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project.

Through this 33-month systemic change project, the Mining Industry Human Resources Council will help advance women’s economic security and prosperity in 4 WAGE regions through systemic change. Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers within the mining sector by improving women’s participation in, contribution to, and benefit from the mining sector. The project will do this by building a more inclusive mining workplace culture to respect and value Indigenous and diverse women; changing policies and practices at mining companies to be more inclusive and responsive to women’s needs; and enhancing sector-wide awareness and capacity to better collaborate on gender inclusion and sexual harassment∕ gender-based violence challenges. The project will support the implementation by mining companies of the new Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) protocols approved by the Mining Association of Canada Board of Directors in 2023 on: 1) Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Workplaces, 2) Safe, Healthy and Respectful Workplaces, and 3) Indigenous and Community Relations. The project will work with mining companies, Equity Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) sector leaders, women’s mining organizations, Indigenous women’s groups and other sector stakeholders. The Mining Association of Canada will serve as a key partner on this project. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project

Through this 21-month project, the Corporation de développement économique communautaire (CDEC) de Québec will scale the Entrepreneuriat au féminin project to advance women’s access to leadership and decision-making roles through systemic change. The project will target entrepreneur support organizations working across the province of Quebec. It will address systemic barriers that hinder women’s entrepreneurial success. The project will help develop tools and activities to promote changes in entrepreneur support practices; train employees and management at entrepreneur support organizations and raise awareness of the reality of women entrepreneurs from an intersectional perspective; and support organizations in transforming their policies and programs to make entrepreneurship an environment that enables equality and diversity.

Through this 33-month project systemic change project, Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) will help advance women’s economic security, prosperity and representation in leadership and decision-making roles with Indigenous women.

Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers within workplace environments by developing an inclusive learning resource tailored to update current HR practices that will provide culturally appropriate information, from the voices of the demographic that experiences barriers. This resource will educate employers, amplify Indigenous women’s voices, and eliminate barriers and stereotypes, with practical solutions and tools to promote inclusive spaces, including for single mothers.

LHF will actively engage the community, including Indigenous women from diverse backgrounds, in Ontario, Quebec, British-Columbia, Alberta and North West Territories to ensure their voices and experiences shape the project and have a meaningful impact that will lead to economic security for all Indigenous women and youth.

By promoting understanding, awareness and action, this project strives to create a more equitable and respectful work environment; thereby addressing the identified needs and advancing the principles of diversity and inclusion in addition to addressing the systemic disparities facing Indigenous women.