VISIBLE MINORITY NEWCOMER PILOT TO ADDRESS BARRIERS TO SUCCESS FOR WOMEN

Brampton, ON, December 11th, 2018 – Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the launch of Visible Minority Newcomer Women Pilot. The goal of the 3-year pilot is to improve employment and career prospects for visible minority women by addressing barriers they may face. These barriers include gender and race-based discrimination, low income employment, lack of affordable childcare and weak social supports.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) launched an expression of interest process In addition, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) will also be providing funding for up to $7 million for new, innovative programs and services. These programs and services will help support visible minority women in accessing the labour market. Smaller organizations which serve visible minority women or are led by visible minority women will also receive additional support from funding provided by IRCC. A program design and measurement framework will also be developed by the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation while working with IRCC to learn what methods work best to support visible minority newcomer women.

“Visible minority newcomer women integrating into Canadian society can face many barriers to employment; these factors not only limit their potential, but also expose these women to more complex challenges inside and outside of the workplace. Minister Hussen’s commitment to help women from visible minorities by developing this pilot will offer direct support and services to newcomer women, and provide organizations with the roadmap to get involved in bringing real change to the lives of newcomer women. I encourage interested organizations to review funding guidelines and submit their letter of interest by the deadline.”  

Ms. Kamal Khera is the Member of Parliament for Brampton West and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development.  She is a registered nurse, community volunteer and a political activist. Ms. Khera serves on the Foreign Affairs and International Development Committee as a non-voting member.