An intelligent investment in a better world
On March 8th, this year’s International Women’s Day Canada addresses both great challenges and promising opportunities for engaging women and girls for a better world at home and globally.
Women and girls in Canada certainly have a lot to celebrate. Today, we enjoy opportunities our mothers and grandmothers could only dream about. In almost every aspect of our lives—family, career, education—we are free to make our own choices. We have taken on leadership in business, politics and community life. Our impact has been profound. In the last decade, a new consensus has emerged: the world’s problems will never be solved unless women help to shape the solutions. This is true internationally, and it’s true right here in Canada.and there is new respect for the “feminine” strengths of collaboration, listening and emotional intelligence.
Our influence is also being felt in the philanthropic world. Women have always been more engaged in volunteering and more likely to make a charitable donation.now,we are beginning to use our new financial power to support other women.
We don’t want band-aid solutions; wewant to address the root causes of problems.
Finding the strength within
We know what it’s like to be hobbled by a chronic lack of confidence—no matter how qualified we actually are; to have our energy drained by an unhealthy focus on our appearance; to deal with sexism in the workplace; and to try and rebuild our lives after experiencing sexual assault or physical abuse.
We also know that helping others, helps us to heal.
And our help is desperately needed. Despite our progress as a group, thousands of women and girls in Canada have been left behind, trapped by violence, poverty and rigid stereotypes that limit their potential.
Violence against women costs Canadians $4.2 billion a year in health care, social services, criminal justice, lost wages and loss of productivity. One in seven women in Canada is poor. And despite all our advances, over half of all girls in Canada say they wish they were someone else—a stunning indication of their lack of self-esteem.
The good news?
Women have always had a passion to make a difference. Now, we have the capacity to make it happen.
Since 1991, the Canadian Women’s Foundation has helped thousands of women and girls in Canada to move out of violence,out of poverty and into confidence.our work is an intelligent investment in a better world, creating a ripple effect that leads to safer families, stronger communities, and a more prosperous society for all.
We invite you to join us, and to invest in the power of women and the dreams of girls.