Oxfam Canada is Committed to Women's Equality

International Women's Day offers a unique opportunity to critically examine our progress toward the goal of women's equality.

'If you are a woman on this planet, you are more likely to be poor, more likely to be a victim of violence and more likely to be exploited. You are less likely to have your voice heard or to have access to education or basic services, said Robert Fox, executive director for Oxfam Canada. 'This reality and the power dynamics that create and sustain it is the central challenge we face in making poverty history.

Women in countries around the globe with whom Oxfam works are disturbed that a country as rich as Canada has the high rates of poverty among women that it currently does, and that commitments to providing social services are under threat.  They wonder how they will overcome barriers to equality in their own countries when they see Canada stepping back from its obligations to ensure women's rights are fully implemented.

The removal of the commitment to equality by the Status of Women department, the gutting of its budget, and the closure of so many regional offices sends a disturbing message to women around the globe who seek to end discrimination and inequality. The recent prohibition on federal funding to support advocacy and campaigning on women's rights, and the cancellation of the Court Challenges Program, which has provided women's only access to the use of constitutional rights, sends a message to women in other countries that Canada's expressed commitment to the empowerment of women may not be credible.

'Oxfam Canada is committed to working with and supporting other women's equality- seeking organizations as they tackle these issues head on, continued Fox. 'We must acknowledge that this fight is not about charity or good will, it is about human rights.

Founded in 1963, Oxfam Canada is a non-profit, international development agency that supports grassroots programs and global activism to support women's equality. Oxfam Canada is working to build a world without poverty and is a member Oxfam International, an alliance of 13 Oxfams around the world.