Building a Childcare System that Works for Immigrant and Refugee Women
The Building a Childcare System that Works for Immigrant and Refugee Women project is a 2.5-year PIRS initiative funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada. It supports a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19 through systemic change in the childcare sector.
PIRS aims to:
- develop and implement community-based approaches to address intersectional barriers to equality for diverse women
- engage women and/or girls with lived experience to influence pandemic recovery responses
- convene and strengthen the feminist movement to collaboratively advance gender equality
- build relationships between equality seeking organizations and other stakeholders to collaborate across sectors to advance gender equality
At the heart of the Building a Childcare System that Works for Immigrant and Refugee Women project is the Childcare Leadership Group, a community of practice that drives the work. Learn more and register for the Childcare Leadership Group (CLG).
Final Project Evaluation Report
The Building a Childcare System that Works for Immigrant and Refugee
Women was a 2.5 year initiative led and hosted by PIRS and funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada. The project concluded in March 2024. We are excited to share our final evaluation report prepared by Trilby Smith Consulting.
Early Childhood Educator (ECE) Career Pathways
Credentials and Skills Upgrading Opportunities for Racialized Women in BC
In 2024, PIRS and Migrant Workers Center (MWC) embarked on a collaborative research project, supported by Women and Gender Equality Canada. This collaborative project aimed to investigate the systemic barriers faced by racialized immigrant women seeking accreditation for Early Childhood Educator (ECE) positions in Canada. By exploring these challenges, the study sought to identify potential solutions that could pave the way for newcomers to access better-paid ECE jobs. We are pleased to present the findings of this research, along with a comprehensive directory of ECE training opportunities tailored for newcomer women.
Research authors: Sanzida Habib (PIRS) and Geraldine Pratt (UBC). Graphic recording by Adriana Contreras Correal.
Envisioning a Childcare System that Works for Immigrant and Refugee Women
On March 18, 2024, we brought together participants from the three cohorts of our Childcare Leadership Group and various system stakeholders, including Hon. Rachna Singh, BC Minister of Education and Childcare, to envision the childcare system that truly works for immigrant and refugee women. We also introduced our collaborative research project with Migrant Workers Center (MWC) exploring ECE education pathways for newcomer women. We invite you to watch the highlights from the event!
Through the Lens
A Photographic Exploration of Exclusion, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Childcare System
Through the Lens is a photovoice project that brings together immigrant and refugee women who have direct experience with the childcare system, including parents, caregivers, educators, and advocates. It is a photographic journey of their experiences of exclusion, inclusion and belonging in the childcare system.
How to Improve Opportunities to Work in Child Care
Our project team was interviewed by Emma Arkell from The Tyee about the barriers that immigrants and low-income individuals face when trying to enter and advance in the child care profession in British Columbia. The article outlines five potential policy changes that could help smooth their path: providing wider access to an existing wage enhancement, creating pathways from child minding roles to certified child care positions, enhancing financial support for unpaid practicum students, easing the tuition burden, and implementing a transparent wage grid based on certification levels and experience.
Watch our Building a Childcare System that Works for Immigrant and Refugee Women Video Series
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