Programs & Research

Our Programs & Research

Equal Voice’s programs and research center around encouraging women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals to seek leadership and decision-making roles in Canadian politics. Equal Voice offers various programs that equip women to succeed, advocate for representation, and build stronger communities amongst women in Canada. Equal Voice also investigates barriers to women and gender diverse individuals in Canadian politics and uses that information to better equip women and gender diverse people to succeed, advocate for representation, and build stronger communities amongst themselves in Canada. We are constantly developing new programs to better support the women looking to enter politics and make their mark.

 

Current Programs:

• Campaign Schools
  
  
• Democracy Action Fund
  
  
• 50 - 30 Challenge
  
  

Current Research:

• Combatting Sexual Harassement in Provincial and Territorial Legislatures
  
  
• Modernizing Legislatures
  
  
• 10 Recommendations for Legislatures
  
  
• Women in Politics

 

Past Programs:

• Rosemary Speirs Leadership Grant
  
  

  • The Rosemary Speirs Leadership Grant was first launched in 2019 for the 2019 Daughters of the Vote delegates. The aim of the Grant is to encourage delegates to accelerate advocacy efforts in their local communities. This grant is named in honour of Dr. Rosemary Speirs, the founder of Equal Voice. As a leader in the Canadian women’s movement and as a volunteer she was worked to ensure the participation of girls and women in Canadian politics. This grant is a continuation of her trailblazing efforts and feminist advocacy; it is a fitting tribute to name it in her honour.

    The Rosemary Speirs Leadership Grant directly funds 338 young women and gender non-conforming leaders to accelerate advocacy efforts in local communities across Canada.
    
    

• Daughters of the Vote
  
  

  • Daughters of the Vote is an ambitious initiative by Equal Voice that began in 2017 to mark the 100th anniversary of some women getting the right to vote in Canada, and the still incomplete journey of women’s full participation in politics today.

    338 delegates, representing every federal riding in Canada, were selected through an open call for applications to participate in a dynamic political leadership summit in Ottawa. We were fortunate to replicate the event in 2019 and in March 2021.

    The program objective is to expose participants to Canada’s political institutions and those women and men serving in them – so that they are equipped and inspired to participate in the formal political sphere and take action in their local communities in the years and decades to come.

    The program is only possible thanks to support from the Department for Women and Gender Equality, and our corporate and philanthropic partners.

    2023: Daughters of the Vote is on hold for this year. Please stay connected for future news regarding the next edition!
    
    

    
    
• Partnership/Workshop Series
  
  

  • Equal Voice strongly encourages women to get involved in their communities as well as in political campaigns. In order to provide an accessible and manageable way to get started, we have hosted information during the last federal election. This allows the opportunity for our supporters to hear from each of the major Political Parties on how they can get involved. The goal of the sessions will be to provide a safe space for women and gender diverse folks to connect directly with party representatives to ask questions, learn more about the parties’ policies, and how to get involved and volunteer.

    Additionally, Equal Voice emphasizes maintaining partnerships with other community organizations in order to expose diverse voices and awareness on a variety of topics – thus creating the ‘Workshop Series’. The objective behind this initiative was to bring light to a range of social issues and subjects that affect Canadian society as a whole in all its diversity.