Spotlight on Women Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Project (SWED)
The Spotlight on Women’s Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (SWED) project is a systemic change initiative to better understand the experiences of women with disabilities in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. The project addresses the data and information gap in the entrepreneurship sector and supports the economic security and prosperity of women with disabilities.
Project Aims
Data on Disability in Entrepreneurship
Identify how the ecosystem currently captures and uses disability-related data.
Knowledge
Mobilization
Bring attention to the gap in knowledge and reporting on the experiences of women entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Supporting Women with Disabilities
Collaborate with ecosystem actors to better support women with disabilities in entrepreneurship.
Our Approach
The project uses a systemic process to understand the information gap and co-develop a shared ecosystem response. A Working Group, ecosystem scan, and focus groups and interviews of women with disabilities will guide the development of an ecosystem strategy and a data collection tool for a collaborative pilot program.
Working Group
Convening a working group of women with disabilities and ecosystem actors
Gathering Insights
Gathering insights through focus groups and interviews with women with disabilities
Ecosystem Strategy
Develop and mobilize a strategy for collaborative data collection and to better support women with disabilities in entrepreneurship.
Pilot Data Collection Tool
Pilot a data collection tool for shared reporting in multiple regions of Canada.
Who Is Involved
Women Entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs with disabilities
Service Providers & Funders
Service providers, funders, lenders and asset holders
Policy & Research Experts
Policy makers, academics and community experts
Engaged Organizations
Organizations engaged through pilot testing, webinars and document review
Partners
The project is led by Eviance, with New Power Labs (NPL) as a key project partner.
Stay Connected
Stay engaged with the Spotlight on Women Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Project (SWED) through our newsletter.
This project has been funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada.
LATEST
PROJECTS
Innovating for Inclusive and Equitable Post-Secondary Education: A Pathway to Realizing the SDGs
Funded by the Government of Canada's Sustainable Development Goals Program, this project focuses on the intersection of universal design in post-secondary education and decent work, as informed by the experiences of diverse students with disabilities. To date, we have completed an analysis of the Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) to explore the indicators of success for graduates with disabilities who gain meaningful employment. We also completed a literature review on the transition between postsecondary education and decent work, and another one about understanding the benefits of inclusive design. We are currently working on developing a survey for students with disabilities and organizing social lab dialogues, where a variety of stakeholders will meet to discuss key elements essential to realizing inclusive design in post-secondary education and decent work.
Building a Stronger Foundation for Leadership of Youth with Disabilities Project
Building a Stronger Foundation for Leadership of Youth with Disabilities project is funded by the Government of Canada's Social Development Project Partnership Program-Disability (SDPP-D) fund and includes partnerships with the University of Toronto and. This four-year project aims to develop the leadership capacity of youth in cross-disability movements. The current cohort, The Youth Leadership Climate Action Fellowship (YLCAF), is focused on the connections between climate action and cross-disability movements. Our original Youth Leadership Fellow (YLF) is also working on community-based research focused on 2SLGBTQ+ people with disabilities. Youth have been developing skills, internal capacities, and the relationships needed to further their own leadership potential.
Realizing Human Rights and Social Justice in Mental Health
Realizing Human Rights and Social Justice in Mental Health is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and is led by Professor Marina Morrow of York University. Eviance is collaborator on this project as a user-led organization, providing support to the research and knowledge exchange. This is a four-year, multinational project in partnership with user-led organizations in Canada, Kenya and Australia. This project will investigate service-user experiences of coercive practices in the mental health care system and the role of social justice oriented organizations in enhancing equity. The project aims to advance human rights and align mental health services with the UN convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Communication Tools Project
Communication Tools: A User-friendly Guide of Tools in Winnipeg that Can Help People Communicate with First Responders in Emergencies. This project was funded through the Winnipeg Foundation and the Thomas Sill Foundation and done in collaboration with Inclusion Winnipeg. This multi-year project featured a robust engagement process with surveys of over 100 First Responders, a literature review and environmental scan, focus groups, and interviews. During the third phase of the project, we are working on a communication tool guide for persons with disabilities and developing training workshops for stakeholders.