OCIC’s Gender Equality Hub is a Community of Practice that seeks to actively examine how a gender transformative and intersectional approach to development can shape our work towards universal sustainable development, and how we can work together to identify gaps and challenges and mobilize around current opportunities. We envision this Hub to be an influential and inspiring community of learning and practice across Ontario that will enable multi-sectoral dialogue and knowledge exchange to advance inclusion and gender equality for all. OCIC supports the Hub in establishing terms of reference and goals, and in convening virtual (online) and in-person gathering. 

In 2017 Canada’s first Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) was adopted. This policy firmly places gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the centre of sustainable development and positioned Canada at the forefront of this global effort. While such recent policy developments are certainly promising there are many challenges ahead for achieving gender equality at the local, sub-national, national and international levels. These challenges require us to bring our critical and creative thinking to the table; diverse ways of knowing and being; transformative approaches; cross and multi-sectoral dialogue, knowledge exchange and mobilization, and collaborative advocacy and policy-making efforts. 

Voices from the Grassroots

Launched at the Voices from the Grassroots’ Breakfast Dialogue in honour of International Development Week, this flipbook features firsthand accounts about the impacts of COVID-19 on girls and women, through a compilation of powerful stories gathered from Afghanistan, Guatemala, Kenya, Mali, the Philippines, South Sudan and Uganda.

The stories featured in this publication spotlight the challenges, resilience, and triumphs of these individuals, and call upon us to increase our advocacy efforts, and for more gender responsive approaches by all sectors in response to COVID-19.

The Voices from the Grassroots working group of the OCIC Gender Equality Hub is pleased to launch the ‘Amplifying the Voices from the Grassroots: A reflection piece on the Voices from the Grassroots project’ report. 

This initiative has successfully amplified firsthand accounts from Afghanistan, Guatemala, Kenya, Mali, Philippines, Uganda, and South Sudan to highlight the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on women and girls. The initiative also showcases the resilience of these women and girls in the midst of the pandemic and calls for more gender-responsive approaches as we build back better from the crisis.

GE Hub Blog Posts & Reflections

Anti-Oppression

On May 26, 2021, OCIC hosted a webinar titled “From International to Intersectional Cooperation: Anti-Oppression Workshop” as part of its Gender Equality Hub…

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