From its beginning SAWIS has worked for the empowerment of the community’s women and girls. Our organization sees a deep connection and dynamic interaction between women taking a leading role in broad social movements and their own empowerment. This approach is embodied in SAWIS’s motto, “If the Women Advance, the Whole Community Moves Forward.” As SAWIS works to end the all-round marginalization of our community’s people our work for empowerment is focused on enabling women and girls to lead the community in achieving the needed change.

This approach informs the design of all SAWIS programs. In employment programs, for example, increased personal agency of women is an important program goal. We also deliver an array of empowerment programming specifically aimed at increasing the personal agency, confidence, knowledge and leadership skills of individual women/girls; increasing the capacity of community women/girls to exercise collective leadership and increasing opportunities for women/girls to participate in civic action.

These programs have been very successful. During the past year 30 women and girls participated in leadership training and development programs sponsored by the Canadian Women’s Foundation, the City of Toronto and Unifor.