Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) of Canada Inc.

Purpose

The 29-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19 through systemic change. The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) will work with organizational leaders, women, role models, and community organizations to identify barriers and opportunities and co-design sustainable best practices, policies and processes to recruit, retain and advance women in leadership positions in the technology industry. Using a Gender-Based Analysis plus (GBA+) approach, the project will bring to the forefront real-life experiences, combined with organizational knowledge, research and consultation, to develop a toolkit that will be shared with interested organizations with the aim to support women’s advancement and economic empowerment in the digital economy. Over the course of the project, ICTC will establish a small steering committee comprised of women in technology leaders, industry and small business champions, organizations that support women in technology and underrepresented groups, and recognized diversity and inclusion firms or consultants. Several focus groups will be held with women leaders and employers to understand unique perspectives on barriers, systemic challenges, opportunities, best practices, and other relevant perspectives. A final report and co-creation toolkit will be developed, building on the data collected from the co-creation event and focus groups. A trend report describing the progress made and/or challenges faced by employers and women leaders in implementing some processes or recommendations from the toolkit. A launch event will present the updated toolkit and the findings and experiences shared throughout the study. At the end of the project, the organization will have helped to address systemic barriers by encouraging more equitable and effective sharing of resources, increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change, and supporting a positive distribution of authority, voice, and decision-making power to support women's equality. ICTC will work with its extensive network of partners and relationships with industry, academia, governments, NGOs, referral organizations as well as several thousand active employers to engage and explore ways to jointly implement solutions and leverage efforts across Canada to maximize the project’s impact. The partners involved in the projects are organizations that have vision, knowledge and connections to the women in technology community.