Who is WIN?
The Women's Independence Network is an Ottawa-based, volunteer-run, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting women's rights issues in and around the National Capital Region - and hopefully across Canada one day.
We are made up of a diverse group of women and hope to take on a diversity of issues; check out our Issue Agenda for more information.
We are made up of a diverse group of women and hope to take on a diversity of issues; check out our Issue Agenda for more information.
WIN Issue Agenda
The WIN Directors have identified four issues as advocacy priorities in Ottawa and the surrounding region. Most of the work we do fits in with these four themes, but we are open to taking on other causes as well, including those that aren't directly linked to the women's movement; talk to us if there is a cause or fundraiser in which you think we'd be interested in taking part.
Domestic Violence
Domestic abuse is a very real issue that far too many women, whether internationally or right here in Ottawa, battle every day. In Ottawa and elsewhere, there are too few options for women who are in need of help. Raising awareness will not only empower women with the tools and education that they need to find safety, it will also encourage greater public support for the cause.
Media Justice
The voice of women in the media is silenced by the unattainable definition of womanhood and by the media’s assertion that women are somehow less important or less valuable than men. The media is an instrument of power that needs to be used to support alternative representations of women of all shapes, sizes, races, occupations, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic classes.
The Glass Ceiling
Women in the workplace is not the future, it’s now. Respect and equal opportunity should be an option for all women. The ability to move freely to any position should be attainable by any woman and based solely on her qualifications, not on her gender, and women deserve equal pay for equal work. Athletics, arts and politics are additional career paths that are often divided sharply along gender lines; any time women are under-paid or under-represented in a given field, gender discrimination is likely the cause.
Women's Health and Reproductive Rights
Every woman’s body is her own. The choices women make in our lives should be ours to make; governments, doctors, religious groups and/or other people should have no say in our bodies or personal matters. Furthermore, women need access to a wide variety of options in medicine and health care, particularly in times of distress.
Domestic Violence
Domestic abuse is a very real issue that far too many women, whether internationally or right here in Ottawa, battle every day. In Ottawa and elsewhere, there are too few options for women who are in need of help. Raising awareness will not only empower women with the tools and education that they need to find safety, it will also encourage greater public support for the cause.
Media Justice
The voice of women in the media is silenced by the unattainable definition of womanhood and by the media’s assertion that women are somehow less important or less valuable than men. The media is an instrument of power that needs to be used to support alternative representations of women of all shapes, sizes, races, occupations, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic classes.
The Glass Ceiling
Women in the workplace is not the future, it’s now. Respect and equal opportunity should be an option for all women. The ability to move freely to any position should be attainable by any woman and based solely on her qualifications, not on her gender, and women deserve equal pay for equal work. Athletics, arts and politics are additional career paths that are often divided sharply along gender lines; any time women are under-paid or under-represented in a given field, gender discrimination is likely the cause.
Women's Health and Reproductive Rights
Every woman’s body is her own. The choices women make in our lives should be ours to make; governments, doctors, religious groups and/or other people should have no say in our bodies or personal matters. Furthermore, women need access to a wide variety of options in medicine and health care, particularly in times of distress.
Mission and Vision
Mission
The Women’s Independence Network’s mission is to give a voice to women and their allies in the national capital region, to express and address social issues, and to right injustices in our community.
Vision
Our vision is of an Ottawa community where all people are respected, treated equally, and empowered regardless of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability, socioeconomic status and lifestyle.
The Women’s Independence Network’s mission is to give a voice to women and their allies in the national capital region, to express and address social issues, and to right injustices in our community.
Vision
Our vision is of an Ottawa community where all people are respected, treated equally, and empowered regardless of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability, socioeconomic status and lifestyle.
