Immigrant Women Services Ottawa

Published purpose

This 30-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19, through systemic change. Immigrant Women Services Ottawa will work with racialized and immigrant women through workshops to develop best practices and action plans to drive systemic change (both knowledge/systems/content based and advocacy/engagement based). They will also undertake community engagement training; build mentorship connections; and establish placements with community organizations where traditionally under-represented voices have the opportunities to participate in decision making tables across sectors. At the end of the project, the organization will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by: supporting positive distribution of authority, voices, and decision-making power; and increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change to support women’s equality. The immigrant and racialized women who will be participating in the project’s activities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and are overrepresented in their experience of violence, systemic racism, precarious employment, unpaid care work, poverty, marginalization, inadequate housing etc. This project aims to support their inclusion in leadership roles and so leverage their lived experiences and knowledge. Through the project, the participating community leaders will evaluate the impact of the programming.