Backgrounder -  Government of Canada announces legacy funding in British Columbia to advance gender equality beyond the Women Deliver 2019 Conference

Women Deliver 2019 Conference

As a global champion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, girls, and gender-diverse people, Canada is hosting the Women Deliver 2019 Conference in Vancouver, June 3 to 6, 2019. The world’s largest gathering on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women, it will bring together more than 8,000 world leaders, influencers, advocates, academics, activists and journalists from more than 160 countries, with an additional 100,000 people joining virtually.

Women Deliver 2019 is not just a conference; it’s a global movement to promote gender equality worldwide. It is a movement to advance the health, rights and well-being of women and girls. It is a movement that gives voice to a broad spectrum of people, including Indigenous peoples, youth, LGBTQ2 individuals, and people living in conflict and crisis settings. It is a movement for transformational change that inspires everyone, everywhere, to take action.

Mobilization initiatives

The Government of Canada is calling on all Canadians to mobilize to advance gender equality in their communities, in Canada, and around the world.

Today’s announcement profiled a new initiative that is part of this mobilization effort: 

Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS)

Project title: Feminists Deliver Legacy
Funding amount: up to $750,000

Part of a global movement dedicated to the elimination of violence against women and girls, BWSS is a strong feminist voice that provides support and advocacy for women who have experienced abuse.

The Government of Canada provided BWSS $150,000 to host Feminists Deliver, a complementary conference to the Women Deliver 2019 Conference taking place in Vancouver from June 3 to 6, 2019. The focus of Feminists Deliver is diversity and inclusion for people in British Columbia who experience marginalization because of gender. It is an important opportunity to amplify issues for marginalized communities with an intersectional lens.

In order to build upon the themes and outcomes of the Feminists Deliver conference, the Government of Canada is investing in the Feminists Deliver Working Group, through BWSS, to lead a three-year legacy project. It will prepare a report based on the conference’s findings and develop a detailed advocacy strategy with an intersectional feminist approach. The strategy will then be implemented through outreach and stakeholder engagement.

The Feminists Deliver Working Group will continue to build on the conference’s momentum by advocating for an intersectional approach to achieving gender equality across jurisdictions with member associations. These efforts include long-term goals to create and share best practices to improve community and grassroots responses to gender inequality and focus the conversations on marginalized groups.

The project will also provide the Feminists Deliver Working Group with the capacity to strengthen its community partnerships and secure more diversified funding and strategic collaborations.

BWSS began in 1979 when a few women organized what has become 40 years of resistance and advocacy for women’s rights and against gender-based violence. BWSS remains committed to its vision through direct services, education and training, advocacy and a consistent and strategic push for institutional and systemic reform.