OCIC’s Gender Equality Hub is a Community of Practice that seeks to actively examine how a gender transformative and intersectional approach to development can shape our work towards universal sustainable development, and how we can work together to identify gaps and challenges and mobilize around current opportunities. We envision this Hub to be an influential and inspiring community of learning and practice across Ontario that will enable multi-sectoral dialogue and knowledge exchange to advance inclusion and gender equality for all. OCIC supports the Hub in establishing terms of reference and goals, and in convening virtual (online) and in-person gathering. 

In 2017 Canada’s first Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) was adopted. This policy firmly places gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the centre of sustainable development and positioned Canada at the forefront of this global effort. While such recent policy developments are certainly promising there are many challenges ahead for achieving gender equality at the local, sub-national, national and international levels. These challenges require us to bring our critical and creative thinking to the table; diverse ways of knowing and being; transformative approaches; cross and multi-sectoral dialogue, knowledge exchange and mobilization, and collaborative advocacy and policy-making efforts.