SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Equality Fund

I’m glad I didn’t have to immediately follow that, but it does sound like something I have heard in Jamaica once or twice.

Honourable senators, I rise today on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the great Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about the Equality Fund, a success story of Canadian leadership advancing gender equality in Canada and around the world.

Launched in 2019 with a $300-million contribution from Global Affairs Canada, the Equality Fund is an innovative financing model for social change.

The Equality Fund resources women’s rights organizations and feminist movements worldwide by partnering with organizations, coalitions and networks focused on building power with women, girls and gender-expansive people, especially in the Global South. They ground their work in mutual trust, respect and collaboration.

Through strategic investments to grow the fund, the Equality Fund connects the worlds of investment, global development and policy. The result is money to fund grassroots human rights movements run by and for women, girls and trans people around the world.

After the initial contribution from Global Affairs Canada, the U.K. government joined, as did philanthropic institutions, including the Ford Foundation, building on the domestic support of leading organizations like the Canadian Women’s Foundation, where I served as CEO, the World University Service of Canada, Toronto Foundation and Community Foundations of Canada.

I was proud to be at the event when the funding was announced by the Honourable Maryam Monsef, the former Minister of Women and Gender Equality, in 2020. It was an exciting moment to see the launch of the fund that held such immense promise for social change and economic justice.

And now we know that promise has been realized. The early signals are undeniably promising. In five years, the Equality Fund has granted $100 million to over 1,000 human rights and women’s rights organizations in 100 countries.

Its sustainable funding model intentionally engages capital markets so that a lot more money can move to where it’s most needed and to the most vulnerable, particularly in the Global South.

Honourable colleagues, it’s a double win for us. Money is invested in high-impact businesses around the world that are women-built and women-led. And the returns on investment go towards funding front-line communities, strengthening their communities on their own terms. This money is earmarked as multi-year funding that supports long-term social change.

This approach is working. The Equality Fund’s 100%-gender-aligned investment portfolio has generated $80 million in earnings since it started in 2020. That’s simply incredible.

Colleagues, I ask you to join me in recognizing the tremendous work of the Equality Fund, led by Jess Tomlin and her amazing team. It is a trailblazing innovation, and every Canadian should know its name and feel proud.

Thank you, meegwetch.