Theatre Direct Canada

Published purpose

Through this 33 month systemic change project, Theatre Direct will scale its Balancing Act project to advance women’s economic security and prosperity and representation in leadership and decision-making roles. This project will be scaled to include three new arts sectors: film/television, music and visual arts. It will address barriers to employment and advancement for women with caregiving responsibilities in these new sectors. The project will facilitate the development of new and updated workplace policies in the new sectors and a pan-Canadian network to disseminate resources. It will also develop policies including specific intersectional considerations to reflect the specialized support needs of caregivers who also identify as belonging to underserved communities. To do so, Theatre Direct will partner with three sector leads representing the new sectors nationally. Advisory committees will be established for each sector that will recruit organizations to carry out initiatives such as pilot projects and new or updated organizational policies through two cohorts. A feedback mechanism will ensure lessons learned from one cohort is applied to the next. Public facing events will be held to disseminate the work done, resources and findings. An evaluation of the project's impacts will be completed, and recommendations will be developed. The additional $20,250 in translation funding will allow to meet growing demand for bilingual resources and ensure national accessibility and engagement. This aligns with the Fund’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and serving diverse populations across Canada. The $25,000 for a Conference Producer will enhance the scope and impact of the project’s final dissemination events. These events are a key deliverable for cross-sector learning and scaling of promising practices. Theatre Direct has demonstrated the organizational capacity to manage this expansion effectively. With the Supplemental funds and extension provided in early 2026, Theatre Direct Canada will deliver Targeted Implementation and Change Support Labs to assist organizations from Cohorts 1 and 2 in overcoming barriers to implementing caregiver-supportive policies through peer learning sessions, one-on-one coaching, and expert support. The organization will also deliver sector-specific and regional knowledge mobilization workshops to share policies and promising practices with arts organizations across Canada, both online and in person. In addition, Theatre Direct Canada will develop practical tools to support sustainable implementation, including caregiver policy costing templates, fundraising and advocacy models, and sector-specific sustainability guides. To support long-term learning and uptake, the project will create a virtual learning series and implement an enhanced evaluation framework to assess implementation success, differential impacts, and opportunities for continued systemic change. Through these activities, the organization will further advance gender equality.