Welcome to our Gender Equality Bulletin! We’re excited to share this pilot issue on International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating women’s and girls’ accomplishments, recognizing the progress made toward achieving gender equality, and raising awareness of the efforts needed to address remaining challenges. Read on to keep up with news and resources related to gender equality from the CanWaCH membership, the gender equality working group, and the Equal Futures Network.
Advancing Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Strategies for effective implementation
All children, adolescents and young people, including trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people, have the right to access comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) without discrimination, empowering them to make informed decisions regarding their bodies and sexuality. Learn about the essential role of CSE in improving health outcomes in this blog.
Gender and climate: 6 points of intersection
As the climate crisis unfolds, its far-reaching consequences are hard to miss: extreme weather events, rising sea levels, disruption of ecosystems, water scarcity and many more. But these consequences don’t affect us all equally. Here are six key ways that climate change and gender equality are intertwined.
Men’s accountability to gender equality: Key lessons and emerging challenges
Across the international development community, men’s and boys’ engagement is seen as critical to advancing gender equality. Using examples from Plan International and World Vision Canada’s multi-country sexual and reproductive health and rights programs, Gender Equality Working Group members spotlight key lessons on engagement and accountability, outline the challenges that remain, and provide a roadmap for future programming.
Integrating unpaid care work in gender transformative health programs: Good practices and lessons
Globally, the majority of unpaid care work is shouldered by women and girls and has direct implications for their health and well-being, including their sexual and reproductive health and rights and maternal newborn health. Highlighting select evidence-based good practices lessons from Plan International and ADRA Canada multi-country programs, read valuable insights on positioning unpaid care work as integral to gender transformative health programming.
Equal Futures Network spotlight: Black-Led Organizations
February marked Black History Month, a month focused on challenging past and present effects of anti-Black racism and violence, uplifting the diverse and unique voices of the Black community, while creating various learning, sharing and community engagement opportunities. Black-led organizations in the Equal Futures Network offer a variety of services and resources to support their communities including educational events and workshops, supporting pride centres and mentoring young women and girls.
Check out some of these organizations here.
A Canadian guide to the Commission on Status of Women 2024 (CSW68)
The sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) will take place from 11 to 22 March in New York! Check out a list of the official and unofficial side events, sessions and activities being hosted by CanWaCH members and partners here.
Unpack the interconnection of health, gender and climate resilience at the CanWaCH Healthy World Conference
The Healthy World Conference will take an interactive and dialogue-forward approach to unpack the interconnected nature of health, gender and climate resilience. Held from May 14 to 15 on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehà:ka Nation, also known as Montréal, Quebec, we will bring together key actors and thought leaders to critically examine how climate, health and gender transformative actions can be more effectively integrated into our work.
Book your spot today! Early bird pricing ends March 15, 2024.
Upcoming events
March 8, International Women’s Day
March 8, International Women’s Day: Immigrant Women in STEM
March 9, Queering the Compass
March 10, Good to be Good: International Women’s Day Event 2024
March 12, Women Rising from Poverty: Strategies, Transformative Educational Projects, Empowering Initiatives
March 11-22, 68th Commission on the Status of Women
March 16, Building Trust: Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Health and Regenerative Medicine
March 20, Gender-Based Violence in the Media – for Journalists and Advocates: Launch event
March 26, Gender-Based Violence in the Media: Online Launch event
March 27, T.O. Policy & Public Affairs Connect – A Focus on Feminist Foreign Policy
Check out more events and activities by visiting the CanWaCH and Equal Futures Network event calendars!
The Equal Futures Network acknowledges that Indigenous people are the traditional guardians of Turtle Island, on the land also known as Canada