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COVID-19: How Your Support Helps Women and Girls During the Pandemic
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Empowering Girls

Girls and non-binary youth deserve to feel powerful and valued today and get every opportunity to become tomorrow’s leaders. You can help them get there.

The years between 9 and 13 are a critical time for girls’ healthy development.

When society teaches girls to focus on limiting, stereotypical gender roles and the way they look, it affects their academic performance and career aspirations. Research finds that girls who show high levels of “internalized sexualization” – the belief that sexual attractiveness is an important part of their identity – get lower grades than their peers.

Despite increasing national awareness about mental health, statistics about the mental health of girls in Canada paint a grim picture. In grade 6, 36% of girls say they feel self-confident. By grade 10, this falls to only 14%.

Why is girls’ empowerment urgent?

As girls approach adolescence, they face:

  • Higher levels of sexual assault and other forms of violence
  • A sharp decline in mental health and confidence
  • Negative stereotyping and sexualization

The Canadian Women’s Foundation Girls’ Fund offers:

Icon of person teaching at screenSTEM education

Icon of person teaching at screenSports and physical activity

Icon of person teaching at screenMedia literacy

Icon of person teaching at screen Indigenous culture and connection

Icon of person teaching at screen Mentorship

The Girls’ Fund supports programs that give girls and non-binary youth tools to develop into confident, resilient people, right when they need this support the most. The Fund provides programs to build participants’ skills, gain mentorship opportunities, and deepen their self-esteem in safe spaces just for them.

  • How your support helps girls: Techgyrls program spotlight

    “I used to think science was too hard so I didn’t even try …
    but it can be SO FUN and amazing, now I love it.”
    – TechGyrls Participant, age 12

    With your support, we fund programs such as TechGyrls – a girl-led, hands-on program designed to foster an enduring interest in STEM. The program, based in Cambridge, Ont., opens girls’ eyes to the opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math. It connects girls with mentors who help increase their sense of self-worth, and inspire them to be self-motivated in an encouraging environment.

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    Building Excellence Beyond the Local Program

    Help create a Canada where every girl and non-binary youth has access to amazing empowerment programs in their own community.

    We bring together experts who do this programming all over Canada because they need to discuss emerging issues, share best practices, and collaborate to build their excellence based on the evidence about what works. And we support them to push for what they need to do their best work alongside girls, families, and communities they serve.