March Momentum

What a month of momentum for women, girls, and gender-diverse people in sport! With Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day, and the International Transgender Day of Visibility all celebrated in March, this month provides many opportunities to pause and shine a light on the progress being made every day to advance gender equity in sport. 

Here are some highlights from the last month:

• Canadian Tire Corporation is taking bold action for gender equity in sport with its new Women’s Sport Initiative (WSI). It includes directing a minimum of 50% of its sponsorship dollars towards women’s professional sport by 2026. This is the kind of transformational leadership we need to make tangible change in sport.
• The Toronto Star shared 23 influential Canadian women in sport to watch in 2023.
• Shireen Ahmed, Senior Contributor at CBC, breaks down what work needs to be done outside of International Women’s Day for more equitable sport journalism/business spaces.
• The West Coast Wonder Women, a Spotlight Grant recipient, announced the return of its all-female boxing card for 2023.

Latest News from Canadian Women & Sport

Spotlight Grant Feature: Hijabi Ballers

Hijabi Ballers, a recent recipient of the Spotlight Grant, have been busy pushing gender equity forward in their community. The organization recently held a Community Research Day to conduct focus groups aimed at better understanding the needs of the Muslim female sports community. 

Twenty-four participants, including Muslim female athletes and people from Muslim female-led sports organizations, took part in the research and got into honest, raw discussions about the challenges they face and what resources they would like to have access to. The data collected from the research will be used to create an app that aims to build a unified sense of community for all Muslim girls and women in sport (with a focus in the GTA). The hope is that this app will be used as a tool to cultivate a culture of confidence, bravery and inclusivity so that sports participation and retention rates increase within the Muslim-women community.

To learn more about the work Hijabi Ballers is doing, click here.

To strengthen your intersectional lens on women in sports, check out our tool or access our Sporting Experiences of BIPOC Women & Girls in Canada publication.

An International Women’s Day Feature

Canadian Women & Sport CEO, Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, joined the Lowetide and Jamieson podcast on March 8th to discuss all things International Women’s Day. From gender bias in sport, to creating opportunities for women and girls to succeed at all levels of sport, to the momentum of a new generation advocating for a more equitable sport system, this episode is filled with great gender equity nuggets. Listen here

What the Data Tells Us
Value of Professional Women’s Sport

Recent data sourced by The Gist highlights the value and power of women’s professional sport.

With proof like this from across the border and around the world, there’s no doubt momentum is building for a vibrant professional women’s sport industry in Canada. 

Stay tuned for a first-of-its-kind report on the emerging professional women’s sport industry in Canada later this spring. Learn more and sign up to receive the research when it’s released: https://womenandsport.ca/pro-sports/.

News From the Community

Women and Gender Equality Canada opens call for proposals for 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund
The objective of the 2SLGBTQ+ Community Capacity Fund is to build the capacity of 2SLGBTQI+ community organizations and networks to advance equality across Canada. The following organizations can apply for funding: Canadian not-for-profit organizations that are legally constituted; and Canadian not-for-profit organizations who wish to become legally constituted. All applicants must work primarily or entirely with 2SLGBTQI+ communities. The deadline to submit an application for funding is May 9, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Pacific time. For more information, visit the WAGE Website.

Growing the Game: A Women in Basketball Month Event with Canada Basketball
Presented by Penny Appeal for the third year, Canada Basketball brings you an exciting Women in Basketball virtual event on March 30, 2023, at 6:30 PM EST. The event focuses on highlighting the contributions of many influential women from players to executives from all over the basketball community. Register here.

Women & Girls Leadership and Sport Conference – York University
Registration is live for York University’s 4th Annual Women & Girls Leadership and Sport Conference (WGLSC) taking place on April 28, 2023. This year’s theme, “Aim High, Play Safe” focuses on the intersection of high-performance environments, spaces, and roles with safe sport policy and practice. Headlining this year’s conference is the one-two punch of Canadian Olympians: Ellie Black, opening with her session ‘Defying Gravity the Landscape of High-Performance Sport’ and Allison Forsyth, with her session ‘The Future of Safe Sport in Canada’. Register here.

Register for the 2023 Access and Inclusion to Sport Conference
Anti-Racism in Sport Campaign invites you to register for the 2023 Access and Inclusion Sport Conference. The conference will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2023 in Winnipeg. The conference will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions with experts in EDI, researchers, practitioners, and youth leaders. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the latest research, policy initiatives, and innovative approaches to address the challenges of access and inclusion in sports. Register here. 

Volunteers needed for North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) arriving in Halifax this summer
The biggest multi-sport event ever in Atlantic Canada is actively taking applications for volunteers! The games are scheduled to take place from July 15-23, 2023 for the first time since 2017. If you’re seeking new experiences and friendships, are passionate about sport or learning about Indigenous cultures, this opportunity is for you. NAIG is on the lookout for another 1,000 volunteers. All volunteers will receive cultural awareness training and free access to Halifax Transit with your Games accreditation. Apply now.

Have a gender equity initiative you want to share? Click here