In the Loop – CAAWS eNetwork September

CAAWS –  was extremely sad to hear about the passing of Patricia Lawson, one of the founding members of our organization. Patricia was a faculty member at the University of Saskatchewan, a coach, and nationally recognized athlete in multiple sports. Our deepest condolences go out to her family.

 

Our WISE Fund applications are open until November 8! Read the criteria on our website to learn more about who is eligible to apply for our grant program and how. This year we’re awarding 30 organizations $2500 each, so don’t miss out.

How can you #ChampionChange with CAAWS?

• CAAWS, viaSport and ProMOTION Plus are excited to invite you to a Gender Equity Laedership forum at the 2019 Sport Leadership Conference in Richmond, B.C.! Join us on Wednesday, November 6 from 6:30-8:30 pm for a gender equity networking and knowledge sharing opportunity for sport sector staff and leaders. RSVP here as space is limited!
  • If you’re attending the 2019 Sport Leadership Conference in Richmond, you can also check out our pre-conference workshop on Life Balance from 8:30-11:30 on Thursday, November 7!
• Many sport organizations are turning their attention towards gender equity, but what are key practices to help create lasting change? Register for our webinar on October 24 to learn how to build a foundation for change through data collection and planning!
• Join Jake Stika, executive director of Next Gen Men, on November 13 for our webinar ‘How to Be a Gender Equity Ally.’ We’ll explore what role men play in creating positive and inclusive work and board environments for everyone, but particularly for women. Register here!
• Join CAAWS and Brock University’s Centre for Sport Capacity in St. Catharines, Ontario for the 2019 Women and Sport in Leadership Forum! This full-day event on November 21 is titled ‘Turning Passion Into Practice,’ and will bring together sport management scholars and industry practitioners to discuss the real issues faced when sport organizations create and operationalize gender equity plans. Tickets are available here.
• October 11 was International Day of the Girl! This year’s theme was ‘GirlForce: Unscripted and Unstoppable.’ Learn more about Day of the Girl here, and check out this infographic to learn more about the benefits of sport for girls and women!

Features
What’s catching our eye this month?

According to our 2016 Fuelling Women Champions report, 41% of girls aged 3-17 don’t participate in sport and sport participation drops by 22% when girls hit their teen years. Exceptional coaches who build intentionally inclusive sport experiences can help change those stats.

Nike recently released a new ‘Coaching Girls’ course as part of their How to Coach Kids program. Check out the free twenty-minute online module here. 

If you’re looking for a similar module, the Keeping Girls in Sport E-Module, developed by Canadian Tire Jumpstart

Charities with support from CAAWS and the Coaching Association of Canada, is available in both English and French.
 
“Empowering girls in sport starts with great coaches. Girls deserve coaches who can directly connect with them, understand their experience and encourage them to persevere.”

Check out the module

Caitlin Morris, General Manager of Social & Community Impact at NIKE, Inc.

 

Spotlight
Celebrating organizations that #ChampionChange

A 2017 gender analysis of the Parapan Am region found that 34% of secretary generals and CEOs of the national Paralympic committees, 17% of coaches and technical officials, and 26-32% of participants in the Parapan Am Games were women.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee and the National Paralympic Association of Peru were funded by the Agitos Foundation to run a leadership program for women in conjunction with the most recent Games in Lima, Peru.

While the number of women represented in coaching was lowest, it was decided that the program should focus on leadership in order to influence the culture of organizations and create a more inclusive environment in which women could fully participate.

From a pool of over 40 applicants, 10 senior leader and 10 next-generation participants from different countries who demonstrated a passion, commitment, and readiness to advance gender equity were chosen to participate. The next gen leaders were chosen intentionally to create a pipeline for future leadership and to offer opportunities to para athletes who were interested in transitioning to leadership roles.

Over the course of the program, the leaders participated in two workshops, online trainings, and a mentorship program where their mentor advised them on personal projects related to increasing the participation and leadership of women and girls in sport in their home countries.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee hopes that the program has planted seeds for change by inspiring the women who participated and sparking an interest in gender equity among national Paralympic committees.

Get the Edge Research that drives us forward Does online diversity training really improve attitudes and behaviours towards women? A group of researchers in the United States tested whether a one-off diversity training successfully generated change when it comes to equality in the workplace. Their research suggests that one-off online trainings are unlikely to be a fix-all solution. The training was more likely to change the behaviour of those who were already strongly supportive of women beforehand – those who were relatively less supportive demonstrated a change in attitude, but not in behaviour. This insight into how to create behaviour change is relevant to anyone advocating for women in sport and supports the need to consider deeper interventions that one-off trainings. If you’re interested in creating change but are unsure where to start, CAAWS is hosting a webinar on October 24 about how to embed gender equity into your organization. Join CAAWS program manager Shelley Callaghan, research lead Dr. Shannon Kerwin, and Erin Macaulay from the Oshawa Kicks Soccer Club to learn about how our Same Game model has helped sport leaders bring gender equity to life. how our Same Game model has helped sport leaders bring gender equity to life. Register here! Congratulations to… Olivia Howe, the first woman to coach in the Western Hockey League. Patsy Pyke, who was recognized by the Coaching Association of Canada as one of Canada’s most outstanding NCCP coach developers. She Is Active NB, a new network in New Brunswick dedicated to increasing the participation of women and girls in sport and recreation.

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Apply now!