Conscious Economics

Published purpose

Through this 33-month systemic change project, Conscious Economics will scale their “HeARTwork: Advancing the Inclusive Economy: Empowering Women in the Workforce to Lead” project to advance women’s economic security and prosperity. The project will scale out to focus on women with a variety of intersecting identities, especially BIPOC women, who are operating in the Canadian gig-economy or identified as precariously employed. The project will address barriers that prevent women from achieving personal and economic wellbeing at work, by addressing issues like access to fair and equal pay, access to affordable and stable housing, resources to support families and children, access to good quality benefits, access to leadership positions, and safe and heathy workplaces. To do so, the project will convene community organizations and recruit corporate champions to co-create and implement internal systemic changes to overcome the barriers identified in a needs assessment, with intersectional women gig-workers being invited to work alongside them. Corporate champions will take a pledge to implement at least 1 and up to 10 of the developed solutions within their organizations and will be supported in doing so. Conscious Economics will also create a national awareness campaign about the needs of intersectional women gig-workers and the barriers they face, using a heart-centred approach that is mindful of the emotional, social, and systemic issues that prevent women from thriving at work. With the supplemental funds and extension provided in early 2026, Conscious Economics will deepen evidence to strengthen the implementation of the Safe Gigs Initiative by conducting a national survey, regional roundtables, and producing a comprehensive research report on personal and economic safety risks affecting women gig workers. The organization will also develop and operationalize institutional implementation frameworks by convening cross-sector partners, creating protocols and training modules, and piloting adoption with ecosystem actors and corporate champions. In parallel, Conscious Economics will advance systemic solutions addressing burnout-driven economic attrition by consolidating research findings, developing a Sustainable Leadership and Lifecycle-Informed Systems Framework and certification model, and piloting institutional training and knowledge mobilization to support national adoption. Through these activities, the organization will further advance gender equality.