CURRENT FUNDING AREAS OF THE WOMEN’S PROGRAM OF THE
SECRETARY OF STATE

- AN OVERVIEW -

CURRENT FUNDING AREAS OF THE WOMEN’S PROGRAM OF THE
SECRETARY OF STATE

A.

INTRODUCTION

Through the Women's Program of the Department of the Secretary
of State, the Government provides financial assistance to
groups and organizations working to improve the economic,
social and legal situation of women, whether in the home, the
workplace, the community or the world at large. Activities
such as conferences, workshops, public forums, skills develop­
ment and advocacy raise awareness about women's issues and
lead to the development of appropriate solutions.
The Women's Program provides two types of funding - opera­
tional and project.
B.

OPERATIONAL FUNDING

Operational funding is given to women's organizations natio­
nally and regionally in order to achieve the following:

a)

Develop the capability and expertise of women's organiza­
tions to advise governments, the private sector and the
public on major public policy issues. The current debates
on child care and pay equity are excellent examples of the
need for women’s organizations to have a detailed under­
standing of complex technical issues. Operational funding
enables organizations to develop these necessary skills
and expertise.

b)

Maintain the organizational infrastructure of key national
and regional groups. Stable operational funding enables
organizations to undertake long-term planning, maintain
continuity and ensure that the skills and knowledge within
the organizations are developed and built upon. As well,
established organizations are better able to use the
volunteer and community support essential both to the
effectiveness of the organization and to encouraging the
participation of women in organizations.

c)

Maintain national and provincial networks of women's or­
ganizations providing information and assistance on
women's concerns in their communities. The existence of
such networks is essential to sharing information and ex­
pertise between regions of the country. Provincial and
territorial governments are increasingly involved with

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- 2 .women’s issues. Federal-Provincial coordination is
encouraged through forums such as the First Minister’s
Conferences and regular meetings of federal, provincial
and territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of
Women. It is important, therefore, to support regional
and national linkages to encourage coordinated efforts by
women’s organizations.

These networks are also essential to ensuring that
national organizations continue to be representative and
can speak effectively to the federal government on behalf
of local groups.
Consideration of operational funding is given only to organi­
zations with proven achievements in promoting the full and
equal participation of women in all aspects of Canadian
society. An assessment is made of the past accomplishments of
an organization and whether it is able to plan and success­
fully implement activities. As well, any organization
applying for operational funding must have a solid and repre­
sentative membership with democratic decision-making struc­
tures, serve a need within the community, work in concert with
other women’s groups and have established a sound financial
management system.

C.

PROJECT FUNDING

The majority of the Women’s Program’s grants are given to ac­
tivities which improve the situation of women at the community
level. Project funding supports community initiatives to
encourage all institutions (universities, churches, profes­
sional associations, and unions) to integrate women's concerns
into their decision-making structures, policies and programs.
The amounts of these grants are generally small and therefore
a wide range and variety of organizations and projects can be
supported. This kind of funding provides the flexibility to
respond to emerging issues identified by women's organiza­
tions.

In recent years the Secretary of State has given priority
preference to projects which address the major areas of:
economic equality, social justice and participation and
access. Additional information on these themes, as well as
examples of projects which have been funded in previous years
are set out below.

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- 3 -

1)

Economic Equality

Ensuring that women are economically secure and benefit
equally from their contribution to Canadian society
remains a fundamental goal for women’s organizations.
Although 64% of women aged 20-64 are in the labour force,
they continue to be clustered in low income occupations
earning, on average, two-thirds of what men earn. The
majority of people living below the poverty line are now
women. Despite improvements, women occupy a small frac­
tion of the senior positions in both the private and
public sectors. Women still experience difficulty in ob­
taining financing for business endeavours, even though
they have a higher success rate in small business than
men.

Improving the support systems available to women who work
outside the home is critical, not only to the economic
well-being of individual women, but to families and the
country as a whole. Many Canadian families currently
avoid poverty through the secondary or primary earning
capacity of women, a trend which is expected to continue
as the economy undergoes structural change and some
traditionally male jobs become obsolete. Increasing
women’s earning capacity and access to economic opportu­
nities are essential elements in building a strong
national economy.

Assisting women’s organizations to improve economic oppor­
tunities for women will continue to be an important
activity for the Women’s Program. Without economic
equality, it will be difficult for women to contribute
fully to the growth and development of the country.
Within this sector, priority will be given to funding the
following activities:
a)

Employment equity: equitable participation in the
labour force by women is essential to improving their
economic situation. However, many women - particu­
larly young women and those re-entering the labour
force after raising their family - find limited
opportunities. As well, many women have difficulty
moving out of the traditional occupations for women.

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- 4 -

Activities funded to promote equitable employment
practices could include, for example, production of a
booklet on the impact of information technologies on
employment opportunities for women. Or research on
could be done on provisions which enable women to
retain seniority and benefits while on maternity leave
could be funded.
b)

Education and training: access for women to appropri­
ate educational and training opportunities is for many
women the first step in gaining economic security.
Activities supported in this area may include an
assessment of the training and educational needs for
immigrant women or a conference to identify training
options for young women trying to enter the labour
force.

c)

Child care: the lack of affordable and accessible,
quality child care is a major obstacle to the fuller
participation of women in economic activities. Fund­
ing by the Women's Program will enable organizations
to research and advise all levels of government and
the private sector on appropriate child care services
in their communities. For example, public meetings
could be held to identify the childcare needs of rural
women or resource material developed on working with
the private sector on workplace daycare facilities.

d)

Pensions: inadequate information on pension options
and benefits contribute to the financial difficulties
of many elderly women in Canada. This situation is
particularly accute for homemakers and part-time
workers. Further information is needed to enable
women to make sound financial decisions about the
future and to develop more equitable pension plans.
For example, a brief on pensions for part-time workers
could be presented to all levels of government, or a
resource booklet on pension issues for widows could be
published and distributed.

e)

Women in Business: despite the high success rate for
women starting small businesses there is still a need
to ensure that credit-granting practices and policies
of financial institutions are applied fairly and
equitably and do not unjustly limit the entrepre­

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- 5 -

neurial activities of women. For example, support
could be given to a women’s organization to distribute
information on innovative loans policies to assist
women beginning a business, or to undertake research
on the tax status of women working in businesses owned
with their husbands.
2)

Social Justice

Social justice and economic equality form the cornerstones
of women’s contribution to the development of Canadian
society. A comprehensive legislative base guaranteeing
equality for women is also fundamental to achieving social
justice. With the entrenchment of the principle of equa­
lity in the Constitution, increased importance is placed
on testing interpretations of the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms and using the provisions as a non-litigious tool
to effect positive change in institutional and individual
attitudes and behaviour. Although it will take years for
the impact of the Charter to become clear, the precedents
that are being set through the Charter’s early application
will send a strong message to Canadian women and men about
how the state views equality and how effective the legal
system is in ensuring its achievement.
At a concrete level, social justice for women also neces­
sitates the development of a safe society, free from dis­
criminatory attitudes and violence. It is estimated,for
example, that one in ten women are physically abused,
while many more women are subjected to non-physical forms
of harassment and discrimination. As well social justice
requires that social and health services and other forms
of social infrastructure meet the needs of women. Many
women currently do not feel that they receive adequate
treatment in dealing with their problems. The Women’s
Program will support activities in the following areas:

a)

Charter of Rights and Freedoms: activities are sup­
ported which foster a better understanding of the im­
plications of the Charter and identify legal test
cases to improve the status of women. Local workshops
could be sponsored on the implications of the Charter
or a review undertaken of provincial compliance with
the statutes so that women's organizations may better
assess the impact and formulate recommendations to
governments.

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b)

Legal Equality: awareness of women’s legal rights and
knowledge of the significance of proposed legislation,
enables women to contribute effectively to the legis­
lative process. Support could be provided, for
example, to a group of immigrant women to assess the
impact on services of changes to immigration laws, or
a provincial conference held to examine the effect of
revised family laws on women.

c)

Family Violence (battering and incest); wife batter­
ing affects women in all socio-economic groups and
severely limits their ability to contribute as full
members of the community. Long term strategies to in­
crease public awareness about the issue, particularly
in ethnic and rural communities and to improve activi­
ties by health and legal organizations to better meet
the needs of battered women are essential. For
example, a handbook could be prepared on compensation
for injuries for battered women or a video on violence
against women could be distributed in a number of
languages to women’s organizations and community
institutions involved in the issue.

d)

Pornography : demeaning images of women in pornography
continue to reinforce stereotypical attitudes. The
identification of the linkage between pornography and
violence against women has added an important dimen­
sion to this issue. Activities supported by Women’s
Program could encourage community awareness of the
impact of pornography and facilitate an informed
response to options. For example, briefs could be
prepared on control of pornographic material or
current research on violence and pornography summa­
rized in a workshop format for discussion with commu­
nity organizations.

e)

Sexual Assault: health and legal institutions such as
hospitals and police forces need to develop appropri­
ate and effective policies and programmes to assist
women who have been assaulted.
For example, training
to sensitize local police forces could be undertaken
by women’s organizations or workshops held with immi­
grant and ethnic groups to identify solutions in their
communities.

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f)

3)

Portrayal of Women in the Media: improving stereoty­
pical images of women in the media will assist in
further recognizing women’s many achievements. A
significant aspect could be working with advertising
and media associations to increase sensitivity to the
problem. For example, a ’roundtable' discussion with
representatives from business and women’s organiza­
tions could be held to examine images of women in
advertising. Similarly, the relevant recommendations
from the Task Force on Broadcasting Policy could be
distributed to interested organizations to facilitate
an informed response.

Access and Participation

Although women have made significant gains over the last
decade, much remains to be done to ensure equal access to
social and economic resources and participation in the
decisions on how those resources are distributed. Immi­
grant women, for example, frequently do not have adequate
access to services such as language training. Similarly,
disabled women face many attitudinal and institutional
barriers which prevent them from participating freely in
employment, cultural activities and public debates. The
Women’s Program will fund projects to address the
following:

a)

Equitable Access to Services: the need for improved
services for women has been identified in areas such
as health and social services. For example, low
income women's organizations could document the needs
of their membership for improved housing and explore
alternative means, such as cooperatives, for meeting
these needs. ’Similarly, a conference on improving
health care for disabled women could be held to inform
health care providers of cost-effective improvements
or a consultation held with northern women on their
social service and recreational needs.

b)

Participation in Decision-making: the integration of
women's concerns into the policies of key institutions
(eg. unions, sport governing agencies, education and
business) will increase awareness of the issues and
guarantee that their concerns are addressed. Activi­
ties supported by the Women's Program could include a

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- 8 series of skill development workshops on decision­
making processes in government or a conference held on
strategies to increase the number of women running for
political offices.
c)

Discriminatory Attitudes: activities that identify
and improve attitudes, policies and programmes reflec­
ting a bias against or a stereotypical view of women’s
skills, achievements and position in society will
further the equality of women. For example, an ex­
hibit on the contribution of farm women to maintaining
family farms, or case studies of women in nontraditional occupations could be distributed to the
media, employers and students.