Group of female soccer team players united in a line

Impact Report

Sport is a powerful tool for social change. We believe that by empowering women, girls and gender-diverse people within and through sport, we can transform our sport system and our society for the better.

Our 2022-2023 Impact

As the leading voice and authority on gender equity and inclusion in sport, Canadian Women & Sport drives change at a systems level so everyone can access the benefits of sport.  

In our work, we collaborate with sport leaders and sport organizations to create sustainable systems change that keeps more girls and women in sport at all levels – from playgrounds to podiums to professional – as participants and as leaders.

Map of Canada with blue pins

In 2022-23 we worked with:

357

sport, physical activity and recreational organizations across Canada, collectively supporting hundreds of thousands of diverse women and girls. 

2,513

sport leaders from community, provincial, and national sport organizations from 10 provinces and 3 territories.

Through our gender equity programs and initiatives…

We empower sport leaders and organizations with information and tools that help shift mindsets, build knowledge and drive meaningful change.

94% of sport leaders and 90% of sport organizations reported increased gender equity knowledge, motivation, and skill following engagement.

94% of sport leaders and 83% of sport organizations reported an increased personal and organizational commitment to gender equity six months after engagement.

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"As a local community soccer club, we entered the Same Game Challenge with a goal to learn more about gender equity. In the end, it became so much more. The project helped us effectively communicate our vision to our board, and gain approval to create a long-term gender equity plan. Same Game has empowered us to prioritize gender equity training and initiatives."
- Same Game Challenge Participant and Sport Leader
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"After completing the Gender Equity LENS e-learning module, one idea that I have for positive change is to ensure I have regular conversations with people with different perspectives to ensure our programming is at its best."
- Sport Organization Board Member, Nova Scotia
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"As a result of participating in the Leading the Way: 2SLGBTQIA+ Inclusion in Sport workshop, I will stop being afraid of making mistakes and be open to having new conversations [about inclusion]."
– Sport Administrator, Saskatchewan
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“As a result of participating in the Retaining Girls in Sport & Physical Activity Workshop, I will focus more on what my athletes need to have a fun and successful time”
– Coach, Ontario
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“The In Her Corner: Girl-Centered Training for Coaches and Sport Leaders sessions were informative and useful. The self-directed learning was very informative and gave me lots of things to consider going into the upcoming winter season.”
– Sport Leader
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We help create environments that are ready for change.

We delivered 125+ hours of coaching directly to sport leaders. 

We facilitated Community of Practice sessions for 140 sport leaders.

We distributed $1.8 million to sport organizations through grants and programs. Over 95% went to organizations led by or serving girls from equity-deserving communities.

Two female boxers hugging

West Coast Wonder Women+

West Coast Wonder Women+ is an all female+ international amateur boxing card in Sooke, BC. With funding from Canadian Women & Sport’s Spotlight Grant, WCWW+ continues to create a space for women+ and 2SLGBTQIA+ people to participate in boxing. 

HikeMTL

With funding from the Spotlight Grant, HikeMTL delivered Blk WinterFest; a month-long winter sports program during Black History Month that included cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, ice climbing, snowboarding, ski hok, and indoor rock climbing.

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"I never got the opportunity to downhill ski. My parents never took us for many reasons, one of them probably being financial. Downhill skiing is a very expensive sport, and for first generation immigrants working around the clock to provide us with a good life, the expense was not a necessity. Attending the HikeMTL event was life changing for many reasons. One of them because skiing for the first time with a group of black folks was perfect and made me feel like I had my place at the resort. It has given me confidence to go back skiing a few weeks later!"
- Désirée, she/her, downhill skiing participant, Blk WinterFest
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“I will stop thinking or saying change can’t happen or will never happen because with a great group of community leaders change is possible, and is happening through programs like Same Game Challenge.”
- Same Game Challenge Participant and Sport Leader
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“We began this journey to make tangible changes to our operations and quickly realized that our vision statement was not inclusive. Thanks to Same Game, we created a new vision statement that embeds gender equity and inclusivity into the direction of our organization.”
– Same Game Challenge Participant and Sport Leader
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We drive important conversations forward and influence the sport landscape in Canada.

We released Rally Report 2022 to foster better understanding of girls’ experience in sport post-COVID 19 and help build better, safer sport for all.

We helped secure an additional $25.3M investment by the federal government for gender equity in sport and renewed government commitments to gender equity action.

We launched the Commercial Women’s Sport Initiative to help accelerate opportunities for women to play and lead in professional sport in Canada. 

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To bring this work to life:

We launched a network of 25 diverse facilitators and consultants to deliver programs across Canada and bring their unique lived and professional experiences to this work. 

We engaged 60 people on committees to help guide our work, including an Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression Advisory Committee, an Impact Research Committee and a Commercial Women’s Sport Advisory Group. 

We partner with visionary leaders in business, government, academia and sport who are committed to taking bold actions that drive gender equity in sport forward.

In 2022-2023 we were supported in this work by:

View a full list of our partners here
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"We lean heavily on our partnership with Canadian Women & Sport to help inform our strategies across Canadian Tire Corporation, from our support of community programs right through to the professional arena. This work also helps our partner charity Canadian Tire Jumpstart advance their work in championing gender equity in grassroots sport across our country."
- Kim Saunders, Vice President ESG Strategy, Community Impact and Sport Partnerships, Canadian Tire Corporation
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"Our partnership with Canadian Women & Sport has been critical to advancing the gender equity landscape within Nova Scotia. Canadian Women & Sport is an innovative leader within the Canadian Sport System and we look forward to a continued partnership with them as we look to provide opportunities for more Nova Scotians to participate in sport and recreation environments that are inclusive, safe and welcoming."
- Michelle Aucoin, Government of Nova Scotia
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There’s still so much work to be done to build better sport for all.

Join us in our work.

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