The Women's Program: the promotion of security and economic prosperity of women in Canada

The federal governmental organization Status of Women Canada promotes two competition announcements to finance projects that remove obstacles to the economic security of Canadian women.
November and December are months characterized by rights and women: two months during which issues of gender equality and women's rights are at the center of international debate. After the first G7 on Equal Opportunities, which was held on November 15 in Taormina, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was celebrated on 25 November and the International Day of Human Rights on 10 December.
In Canada, the opposition to violence against women will also be shown, as usual, on the occasion of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which recalls on 6 December, in memory of the Montreal massacre of 6 December 1989, in 14 women were killed by an antifeminist.
Canada has shown great sensitivity to the issue of gender equality and Trudeau has repeatedly declared itself feminist, proposing for the country an international leadership in the field of rights, including through adherence to gender equality policies and women's progress, Canada's participation in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), and the adoption of a genuine feminist foreign policy.
As far as policies across the country are concerned, Canada has developed a complex strategy to overcome perpetual violence against women: It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence is a comprehensive action program based on a horizontal approach, involving several institutional realities coordinated by Status of Women Canada. In addition to policies against gender violence, the federal governmental organization Status of Women Canada (SWC) is committed to ensuring women's full participation in the country's economic, social and democratic life, developing women's social role even in areas rural; to provide for specific initiatives for young women and indigenous people, to promote women's economic security and encourage them to assume leadership roles.
Among the tools provided by the SWC is the Women’s Program, through which the governmental organization invites industry organizations to submit targeted proposals on specific topics.
The Women's Program finances projects, both at local and national level, in three priority areas:
- Fighting violence against women and young women;
- Promoting the security and economic prosperity of women and young women;
- Support women to cover decision-making and leadership roles.
Access to program funds is handled through the publication of call for proposals, through which the most important issues related to women's issues are tackled with ad hoc funding.
Just as regards the promotion of women's economic security and prosperity and its leadership role in society, there are two currently open competition announcements:
1) Building Partnerships to Address Systemic Barriers
Through this call, Status of Women Canada finances organizations that intend to implement projects to tackle institutional and social barriers such as wage disparity or difficulty accessing childcare services, which in fact restrict women's economic security in Canada.
Amount of funding: up to $ 350,000 (regional projects); up to $ 500,000 (national projects)
Non-profit organizations also in partnership with each other
2) Increasing Private Sector Leadership and Investments in Women
The call is targeted to projects aiming to improve gender equality in the area of economic security, transforming the environment (such as institutions and systems) and addressing systemic barriers to economic security of women in Canada. The projects must be developed in partnership with private individuals to implement strategic solutions that will advance women's economic security. (For example: Managing business funds to initiatives such as vocational training).
Amount of funding: up to $ 350,000 (regional projects); up to $ 500,000 (national projects)
Non-profit organizations in partnership with the private sector.
Nadia Deisori