Oxfam Canada works to foster the rights of women and men , as well as their needs. This means we must address the inequalities that stand in the way of achieving those rights. Power relationships in most communities and countries (not least in Canada) are far from equal: women are not only poorer than men, but face social, economic, political and cultural discrimination on the grounds of gender.

Gender discrimination affects every aspect of women's lives, including the way their needs and rights are addressed in the development process. Too often, women's specific priorities are either overlooked in development projects, or 'tacked on' as an afterthought. Much development work is done without taking gender inequality into account, so that women and children - for whom they are most often responsible - often lose out.

In focusing on women’s rights, Oxfam Canada continues to work on priority issues related to rural livelihoods, labour rights, HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence and the disproportionate impact on women and girls in humanitarian disasters. But rather than treating gender equality as a crosscutting theme, our focus on women’s rights provides a new, clearer and more coherent axis around which our programs revolve. 

We focus on women’s rights and livelihoods; women’s rights and HIV/AIDS; women’s rights and humanitarian crises; women’s rights and participation; women’s rights and gender-based violence. We support interventions that increase women’s power to access and control resources, build capacity and support women’s leadership, and change attitudes and legislation to promote women’s equality.

We work to strengthen counterparts’ gender analysis, leadership and policy capacity, democratic practice, and institutional resilience. Beyond grant making, our role includes technical advice and training, links to resources, networks and other allies, and support for direct engagement in policy and advocacy work.

In advancing a women’s rights agenda, Oxfam Canada works with a range of organizations in the South, in Canada and at the global level that have strong credentials in promoting women’s rights. 

Consideration is given to women of all ages, including girls and young women. While Oxfam Canada has not focused its program on children and youth, we recognize both as important actors in ending poverty and inequality. Many of the target groups for our overseas program are youth, including many of the young women working in maquilas in Central America, young women working to check the spread of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa, young women building community assets in Ethiopia, and young women engaged in building peace and capacity in Sri Lanka.