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50-30 Challenge Project:

In 2023, Women's Economic Council is excited to execute the 50-30 Challenge Project that focuses on gender equity, diversity and inclusion. There will be a variety of activities, resources and events developed to support cooperatives and organizations in their efforts to achieve a more equitable and inclusive workplace, and to promote diversity within their ranks.

Empower your organization with the 50-30 Challenge now by elevating your workplace and diversity efforts - sign up here.

Join the 50 – 30 Challenge!

Cando has signed up for the 50-30 challenge! Canada's 50 – 30 Challenge asks firms to make two aspirational commitments to increase diversity on Boards and in senior management over time, and report on their progress. Participating companies, organizations, and not-for-profits agree to voluntarily take action towards achieving meaningful and substantive improvements in supporting diversity and inclusion within their organization, as outlined in the Challenge. The Government is looking to partner with these organizations in their efforts, and is examining supports for participating organizations to help them achieve these goals.

Cando has signed up for the 50-30 challenge!
If your organization would like to participate in the 50 – 30 Challenge, please sign up here.

Last year was tough for everyone, but we kept pushing to ensure economic security for all women in Canada. We’ve seen some incredible successes, including the launch of new programs and expanding the scope of our work to reach more communities across the country.  As we look ahead to the new year, we're excited to continue building on these successes, and to take on new challenges. We're looking forward to new opportunities, new partnerships, and new ways of working together to make a real difference in the lives of women across Canada.

 

Indigenous Women and Economic Security

Fifty-one percent of Indigenous independant businesses belong entirely or partly to women. These women play a very important role in an economy that is quickly becoming the key driver of jobs and opportunities in the Aboriginal community.

Self-employment among Indigenous women must be seen as key to maintaining stability. And while the numbers of self-employed women in Indigenous communities is growing at a rate almost seven times faster than the rest of Canada, Indigenous women are still facing barriers to their own economic security.

Which is why we at WEC produced the report titled WEC Regional Clustering Model for Aboriginal Women Study. What follows is a summary.  Please read the full report here.

Goals
The goal of this report was to explore whether the methodology we developed in The Cluster Project could be applied to communities of Indigenous women.

We wanted to analyze the systems of connection and sharing that already existed, both federally and provincially, and show how things could be improved. In other words, we wanted to show how we could address gaps in the current support system.

Findings
Our findings were that more needs to be done. Indigenous women in Canada require greater support in many aspects of self-employment:

• Market analysis
• Business model options
• Feasibility determination
• Sustainability and growth
• And etc.

In addition, they require help with addressing the fundamental needs and challenges that present themselves to women who start their own business ventures. These are things like overcoming fear, transitioning roles, and maintaining work/life balance.

Recommendations
Our recommendations were on a policy level. You can read a full list of our recommendations in a the full report.

Our recommendations were aligned with a singular purpose: to increase investment in projects, programming, services and resources for Indigenous women.

However, it is important to note that our recommendations could be adapted for any population across the country. In that way, this report can be seen as a guideline for other such reports in similar areas.


For more information, please contact:

Danielle Lightning
Email: danielle.lightning@edo.ca
Toll free: 1-800-463-9300  ext 229
Phone Number: 780-990-0303 ext 229