Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada announces new funding model to support women's equality globally

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 Jun, 2019 09:22 PM

    Canada's minister of gender equality has announced a new initiative aimed at creating a sustainable model to fund women's rights organizations in developing countries and at home.

    Maryam Monsef said the Equality Fund brings together 11 organizations from the philanthropic, non-profit and financial sectors, including the Canada-based Match International Women’s Fund, the African Women’s Development Fund and Oxfam Canada.

    "This is the first time that we are seeing a collaboration of this kind to advance gender equality in Canada and around the world," Monsef said after her announcement Sunday.

    The federal government has invested $300 million through the fund specifically for women in the developing world, said Monsef, who is in Vancouver this week to attend the Women Deliver conference, which is expected to draw thousands of advocates for gender equality.

    The purpose of the fund is "to ensure that funding flows to those organizations on the ground who are doing great work on shoestring budgets," she said.

    The money would be doled out through various community groups and is meant to support a range of projects such as those tackling gender-based violence, bolstering economic security and advancing women in leadership positions.

    "The whole point of the Equality Fund is to create a self-sustaining funding mechanism," Monsef said of the perpetual model. "These dollars are going to grow."

    In addition to the federal contribution, the fund has already raised $100 million, with an aim to reach $1 billion over the next 15 years, Global Affairs Canada said in a release.

    The government also pledged to match donations for domestic programs of up to $10 million each for three groups — Community Foundations of Canada, the Canadian Women's Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada.

    Grand Challenges would focus on supporting Indigenous women innovators and entrepreneurs while the women's foundation would support Indigenous women in remote and northern regions, Monsef said.

    She said the government will immediately start matching donations dollar for dollar.

    Jess Tomlin, co-founder of the Equality Fund, said the Match International Women's Fund, which she heads, is already partnered with 40 developing countries in regions including Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

    The Equality Fund is currently working to create new partnerships, she said. The Match Fund invests directly in women leaders driving change at the local level, said Tomlin, who noted the fund supports a range of initiatives such as campaigns to fight child marriage and to encourage women to run in local elections.

    "As the designers of the Equality Fund it was always instrumental for us that this not just be a global equation. We've done work to bring (on) domestic partners," she said, adding the Community Foundations of Canada works in 191 Canadian communities, which would help the Equality Fund reach women through their local organizations.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Man Who Climbed Tree To Protest Trans Mountain Pipeline Expects Imminent Arrest

    Terry Christenson says RCMP arrived at the base of the tree inside the Westridge Marine Terminal on Tuesday, advised him of his rights and explained they were prepared to climb the tree to arrest him.

    Man Who Climbed Tree To Protest Trans Mountain Pipeline Expects Imminent Arrest

    Vancouver Council Approves 2 Per Cent Tax Shift From Business To Homeowners

    Council voted Monday night to pass 2 per cent of the commercial tax load on to homeowners.    

    Vancouver Council Approves 2 Per Cent Tax Shift From Business To Homeowners

    Police Investigate Surrey Street Battle With Possible Gang Links - WATCH VIDEOS

    Mounties say a weekend fight involving many people and vehicles being driven dangerously may be linked to gang conflict in the Lower Mainland.  

    Police Investigate Surrey Street Battle With Possible Gang Links - WATCH VIDEOS

    Animal Rights Activists Occupy B.C. Pig Farm Over Abusive Conditions Allegedly Caught On Video, One Arrested

    Dozens of protesters rallied at a hog farm in British Columbia's Fraser Valley on Sunday in a response to a video that activists said showed sick and dead pigs packed into cramped crates at the facility.

    Animal Rights Activists Occupy B.C. Pig Farm Over Abusive Conditions Allegedly Caught On Video, One Arrested

    RCMP Investigate Targeted Shooting That Killed Man In Surrey, B.C.

    RCMP Investigate Targeted Shooting That Killed Man In Surrey, B.C.
    SURREY, B.C. — Mounties say a man is dead following a shooting that is believed to be targeted in Surrey, B.C.

    RCMP Investigate Targeted Shooting That Killed Man In Surrey, B.C.

    Protester Climbs Into Tree Near B.C. Marine Terminus Of Trans Mountain Pipeline

    Protester Climbs Into Tree Near B.C. Marine Terminus Of Trans Mountain Pipeline
    A mid-air protest has begun in British Columbia at the western end of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries oilsands crude from Alberta to a port in Metro Vancouver.  

    Protester Climbs Into Tree Near B.C. Marine Terminus Of Trans Mountain Pipeline