Migrant Workers Centre BC Society

Published purpose

This 30-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19, through systemic change. Migrant Workers Centre BC Society will achieve this by addressing discriminatory legislation, policies, and/or practices that prevent women and/or girls from fully participating in the social, political and economic spheres. Migrant Workers Centre will design and implement policies and practices to increase women’s leadership in democratic, civic, public or private sectors, while building relationships between equality seeking organizations and other stakeholders to collaborate across sectors to advance gender equality At the end of the project, the organization will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices, supporting positive distribution of authority, voices, and decision-making power, and increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change to support women’s equality. This project seeks to develop a pan-Canadian task force on women in migration with the goal of addressing the intersecting vulnerabilities that women migrants experience. Women’s relationship to immigration policies, pathways and status has been identified as creating barriers to, and challenges for equitable inclusion in Canadian society. The task force will bring together experts in the field, including women with lived experience, academics, migrant advocates and service providers, to collaborate across sectors and disciplines, share and pool resources, identify best practices, empower women with lived experience, engage in research using feminist methodologies, develop policy solutions, and inform policymakers. The task force will consist of a National Coordinating Committee (NCC) and four Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs) in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba. Leadership training will be offered to women with lived experience in the four regions by the Migrant Workers Centre to develop expertise among migrant women and ensure that migrant women’s voices are included in policy conversations.