National Women's Network Identifies Priorities To Advance Gender Equality

TORONTO, March 26, 2020 /CNW/ - Advancing gender equality in Canada will require taking action on four clear priorities, according to the Gender Equality Network Canada (GENC).

More than 150 GENC leaders from across the country have identified the following four priorities as essential to gender equality work: Decolonization and Reconciliation; Violence Against Women and Gender-Based Violence; Accessibility, Equity, Equality, and Inclusion; and Economic Security and Prosperity.

The GENC leaders also emphasized the importance of a national childcare strategy, pay equity, and sustainable, stable long-term core funding for women's organizations and gender equality organizations across Canada.

Winding up this month after three years of work, GENC has been a national collaboration intended to reinvigorate the women's movement and advance gender equality. It was funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada and convened by the Canadian Women's Foundation.

The GENC leaders were all nominated by local organizations conducting gender equality projects and have worked together online and in-person at national meetings in Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, Saskatoon, and Montreal since 2017.

"GENC has been an unprecedented opportunity to advance intersectional gender equity in Canada. It has brought together some of the most experienced women in Canada on these issues; many have been helping women and girls and working on equity issues for decades," said Paulette Senior, President and CEO of the Canadian Women's Foundation. "We congratulate the GENC leaders for sharing their expertise and working collaboratively to identify these four critical priorities, along with 338 policy recommendations. We sincerely thank them for this major accomplishment."

The GENC findings have been delivered to the federal Department for Women and Gender Equality, along with a request for broad public consultations to ensure full representation and input from women across Canada.

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SOURCE Canadian Women''s Foundation