Oxfam Canada

Purpose

This 27-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19, through systemic change. Oxfam Canada will achieve this by engaging underrepresented women, living in the Atlantic, Ontario, Prairies and Pacific regions, to inform and develop pandemic recovery responses that address intersectional barriers to early learning and childcare (ELCC) accessibility, affordability, quality and inclusiveness. Relationships will be built between equality-seeking organizations and other stakeholders to collaborate across sectors to advance underrepresented women's engagement in ELCC advocacy networks. Oxfam Canada will develop and disseminate advocacy tools within these networks and launch community-based public communication tools, resources and mobilization moments to effectively advance ELCC policy solutions that are inclusive of addressing the barriers of underrepresented women. At the end of the project, the organization will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices and increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change to support women’s equality. Oxfam Canada will achieve this in partnership with Child Care Now, and Childcare Resource and Research Unit, and will be guided by a diverse advisory panel with representatives from the four targeted regions. With this project, Oxfam Canada will help women’s economic recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19 by advancing policy changes to increase access of underrepresented groups to early learning and childcare. This bilingual pan-Canadian project will specifically address the systemic barriers faced by underrepresented women to access ELCC networks, collaborations, policies and practices. The supplemental funds will be used to host an in-person conference with the objective to increase underrepresented women’s access to ELCC advocacy spaces and advance their participation in policy discussions while strengthening intersectional analysis within ELCC policy spaces. The conference will bring together individuals with diverse backgrounds which will include Canada-wide childcare advocates, members of under-represented groups, racialized mothers and ELCC educators.