In 2017, 64% of the students in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) were from immigrant families, with both of their parents born outside of Canada1. In aligning with more recent immigration trends, this number has been steadily increasing. The migration to Canada is seen as more challenging for newcomer women and a few of those factors are the responsibilities they hold for their children, barriers to mental health support services and limited awareness about policies2. Therefore, it is imperative that educational policies and practices reflect the unique perspectives and diverse needs of newcomer parents and their children.
Furthermore, recognizing the vital role women have played in parenting3 and the invaluable contributions that mothers make in shaping the educational environment for their children and their communities, it is a necessity to remove barriers that hinder immigrant women from influencing educational policy decisions. The Canadian government created the Gender-based Analysis (GBA) tool in 2012 to support greater diversity and inclusion efforts using a more intuitive methodology4.
The project will engage newcomer mothers in three core activities: advocacy training, a non-partisan public campaign, and knowledge dissemination. Through these initiatives, participants will gain the knowledge and tools to participate in democratic proceedings and become leaders and changemakers, mobilizing the community in making systemic change.
CultureLink is proud to announce the approval of the MOtIVAtE Project through Woman and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE). This project aims to use the GBA Plus policy assessment tool to analyze current policies and practices at TDSB, and mobilizing newcomer mothers alongside the TDSB trustees to advocate for systemic change across Toronto.
Stay turned for more information on upcoming events and how you can get involved in this project.
Taman Atwal
Manager, Special Projects
CultureLink
(647) 248-9326
tatwal@culturelink.ca
1Financial Facts – Toronto District School Board (2022-2023) https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/docs/22_23_Financial%20Facts.pdf
2Social Support and Mental Well-Being of Newcomer Women and Children Living in Canada: A Scoping Review (2024) https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4184/4/2/13
3More than half of women provide care to children and care-dependent adults in Canada (2022) https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221108/dq221108b-eng.htm
4All Together – The Role of Gender-based Analysis Plus in the Policy Process: reducing barriers to an inclusive intersectional policy analysis (2022) https://sencanada.ca/en/info-page/parl-44-1/soci-all-together-the-role-of-gender-based-analysis-plus-in-the-policy-process/