Women and Gender Equality Canada Invests in Project to Address Sexual Harassment in STEM-focused Experiential Learning
The Courage to Act Foundation is excited to announce a new investment from Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) through the Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund. Announced on November 1 by the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, this funding supports select organizations addressing systemic barriers to women’s equality in Canada. With this investment, the Courage to Act Foundation will expand its flagship project, At the Root: A Systems Change Approach to Addressing Sexual Harassment in STEM-focused Experiential Learning.
As a national non-profit, the Courage to Act Foundation mobilizes systems change to end sexual and gender-based violence. Working alongside survivors, communities, researchers, policymakers, and institutions, the Foundation co-designs structures that champion consent, care, and liberation. The Foundation was established to further Possibility Seeds' work on the Courage to Act project—the first national initiative to address and prevent gender-based violence on Canadian campuses.
“The Courage to Act project led the first national study addressing sexual harassment in experiential learning contexts like internships and co-ops,” explained Anoodth Naushan, Executive Director of the Courage to Act Foundation. “This funding enables us to continue developing trauma-informed, evidence-based solutions that create safer, more equitable environments for women and gender-diverse students in STEM. Sexual harassment should never be a part of anyone’s learning or working experience.”
Over the next 16 months, At the Root will expand efforts to address sexual harassment faced by women and gender-diverse students in STEM-focused internships, co-ops, and other experiential learning settings. Despite high rates of sexual harassment in this sector, significant gaps remain. This project will address these gaps through resource creation, education, training, network building, and advocacy.
This funding marks a crucial step toward the Courage to Act Foundation’s vision of safer, more inclusive institutions across Canada. Addressing gender equity is foundational to a thriving, sustainable Canadian economy.
To learn more about the Courage to Act Foundation and the At the Root project, please visit couragetoact.ca/at-the-root.
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The Courage to Act Foundation is a national non-profit mobilizing collaborative systems change to end sexual and gender-based violence. Working collaboratively with survivors, communities, researchers, policymakers, and institutions, we co-design systems that foster consent, care, and liberation.