Canadian Center for Women's Empowerment (CCFWE)

Published purpose

Through this 32-month systemic change pan-Canadian project, the Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE) will address systemic barriers that hinder opportunities for economic security and prosperity in the tourism and hospitality sectors for women and 2SLGBTQI+ survivors of gender-based violence. The project will work to change policies by engaging policymakers for closing the gender and racial gap, aligning current policies with international human rights documents (CEDAW and Beijing Declaration), addressing discriminatory impacts of the current employment insurance on women, particularly single mothers, and strengthening labour regulations to make workplaces for survivors more inclusive. An environmental scan and SWOT analysis will be conducted in the tourism ∕ hospitality sector to understand the current barriers to women’s employment opportunities, conduct consultations, and develop inclusive policies that address gender wage gaps, discriminatory attitudes, workplace safety for survivors, and leadership opportunities for women. Additionally, the project will address barriers to access micro-loan and lending practices for women survivors’ business owners by collaborating with financial institutions and loan programs to implement inclusive policies. The project will foster and reinforce partnerships across various sectors by implementing GBA+ sensitive policies, involving voices from diverse intersectional backgrounds in decision-making processes, and facilitating meaningful community engagement to enhance economic security and prosperity efforts. Finally, an external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project.