Every organization has stories to share. Sometimes, these stories get lost in the shuffle of day-to-day operations. When you’re an organization that focuses Canada-wide, it can be easy to forget why we do it.
This page is an opportunity for us to share the stories of just a few of the people who we’ve been able to help over the years. It’s an opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of the work that we do, and to show the impact we’ve had on individual lives.
An Insider Look into WEC’s Sewing with Purpose Community
Last month, WEC’s Communications Coordinator Sarah Abdelshamy sat (virtually and on opposite sides of the country) with two powerhouses of community and empowerment – Anne-Lydie Bolay the Operations Director at The Cutting Edge and Yasmin Ali the current President of the Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute (CMWI).
Weconomie Podcast
The Women’s Economic Council presents the Weconomie Podcast, an audio show to learn and explore entrepreneurship, financial sustainability, and economic security for every Canadian woman.
Times are Changing…Again
On any given day, circumstances will arise that are different than days previous or following. As seen in risk management plans, businesses and organizations need to understand how to adapt to these circumstances in order to make them work in their favour. Though risk management plans are important for making quick decisions and pivots during times of crises, what kind of tactics are useful for changes that don’t need to happen on the fly?
“This Is the Part I Was Missing”: Immigrant Women, Entrepreneurship, and the Impact of the Her Own Boss! Program
Popular narratives about immigrant women in Canada don’t always portray them as being self-assured, ambitious, and entrepreneurial. The participants of the Her Own Boss! project subvert these expectations and show how immigrant women are all of these things and more.
The Challenges of Settling in Canada Post-COVID
It’s been three months since Canada went on lockdown, and like most people – we are excited to be reopening the economy. However, for some people, this is an anxious moment to embrace a new chapter in life fully.
Dismantling Racism
As millions of people unite to protest racism around the world, our team in the Women’s Economic Council would like to send our condolences to readers who are coping with grief, anger and anxiety in light of recent events — particularly those who have experienced racism firsthand. Above all, we are saddened that widespread, public recognition of systemic racism only comes after such a traumatic event as the murder of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis City police officer, an event filmed and widely circulated on social media.
COVID-19 Updates
Since March, Canada has been experiencing some very strange times in pandemic. As public health measures slowly begin to lift, WEC has made a statement about how we will be moving forward.
Encouraging More Growth Thinking in the Nonprofit World
Vantage Point, a charity whose purpose is to support not-for-profit organizations, has answered some questions on how they have managed to keep their engines rolling through these troubling times.
National Indigenous Peoples Day Resources
June 21st was National Indigenous Peoples Day. To celebrate the culture of Indigenous peoples across the country, we teamed up with our close friend – a student of Aboriginal Law – to build this resource cheat sheet to amplify Indigenous voices.
Risk and Crisis Management 101
Staying on top of risks and crises as an organization will help your business to not only survive them, but thrive.
Dear Amazing Mothers – You Are A Boss!
We recently celebrated Mother’s Day in Canada, and the fabulous WEC volunteer, Chinedu Jennifer Nzom, has something to say about it.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the strong and wonderful moms we know.
Building a Business as a Woman
Creating a business as a woman poses challenges and obstacles that may seem insurmountable… unless you are able to ask yourself the right questions, and get access to the right tools and resources to help you through your entrepreneurial journey.
Work From Home Series
We are living in an unprecedented time of needing to stay home for an indeterminate amount of time. Some may be experiencing difficulties with learning how to adapt to their new remote work environments. This series will serve as a guideline for helping you to find out what work from home habits work best for you, and how to navigate these new working conditions by offering tips for your workday, best ergonomic practices for working remotely, stories from telecommuting pros, how to best conduct your business from home, and how to effectively work and parent in the same space.
Learn How to Start Your Journey to Being a Successful Immigrant Businesswoman in Canada in 6 Months
Congratulations! You just migrated to the new promised land – Canada. A land of opportunities, growth and personal development. On arrival, your newly-found land promises to provide you with the resources to settle in quickly and easily.
Women’s Economic Council Responds to COVID-19
In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, WEC addresses the situation and how they will proceed with activities until further notice.
10 Year Challenge Series
The Women’s Economic Council (WEC) would like to celebrate this new decade by taking a look back at the past ten years and looking forward to the year to come.
Though ten years have passed, WEC still strives towards its vision of economic security for every woman by upholding its mission statement and mandate.
Looking to the year ahead, as well as to the new decade, we asked the current collective—which serves as WEC’s operational arm—Janet Kranz, Valerie Carruthers, and Serah Gazali, a few questions about upcoming projects, and their perspective on the past ten years.
Ana is Her Own Boss
Ana talks about her experience in the Newfoundland cohort of the Her Own Boss! action-research project. As a participant and volunteer for the project, she discusses her insights into the project and its effects on her business, on other women, and on potential participants
Carly is Her Own Boss
Carlemy talks about her experience in the Ottawa cohort of the Her Own Boss! action-research project. As a participant in the project, she discusses her insights into the project and how it has helped her and other women like her.
Realizing the Social Enterprise Dream
by Janet Kranz
I had the great good fortune to be at the Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise (SE) in Gatineau July 8 -10, 2019. It was a blast. I attended on behalf of Women’s Economic Council and was blown away by the loyalty, commitment and passion in the room. We got up close and personal with community economic development (CED), met SE movers and shakers, shared WEC’s heart for women-centred CED, and discovered why SE is now an international movement.
Katherine Keeping
Katherine is a Thunder Bay resident who sells healing gem oils. She’s had a varied past: she was once a communications officer for the military before moving on to theatre production.
When theatre became economically unsustainable, Katherine began looking for other opportunities. WEC and PARO were there to help her along her way to becoming a business owner.
Serah Gazali
Serah is a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, who is currently doing her Master’s degree at the University of British Columbia on the topic of belonging. It’s a topic that is very important to her.
She has spent much of her life helping others belong, working with refugee-assistance organizations across North America to help people from war-torn countries start new lives.
She became a founding member of and participant in the Arab Women’s Cluster, a part of our Cluster Project . The cluster was a huge success, creating connections and encouraging the development of new business ideas for all participants.