Advocacy

BPW Edmonton is a networking club for business women, but part of what makes BPW unique is our advocacy work. On an annual basis, our membership stewards the creation of resolutions – some of which have influenced the highest level of government.

BPW Edmonton Resolutions

Expanding Supports for Gender Based Violence (GBV) Victims in Rural, Remote and Northern Communities (RRN).

In 2021, the BPW Edmonton advocacy team (Carla Johnson and Margaret Paproski, CPA, CMA, LL.B., MBA) partnered with the University of Alberta to draft a resolution. The resolution focuses on gender-based violent support in rural and remote areas and we’re excited to share that it has been approved to go to the federal government for consideration.

Our current Advocacy Chair, Lisa Feehan, continues this important work with the UofA students again this year.

View the full resolution details here: click here 

What is a Resolution

Essentially, the “language of government”. Resolutions are a formal way for us to define, describe, and provide possible solutions to key issues we believe the Canadian government should be aware of and address. This is a tool for us to begin the process of implementing change at the highest levels of government. The resolutions are created by clubs across the country and submitted for review and feedback at the BPW Canada Annual General Meeting. Each year, some of the resolutions proposed by local clubs are selected at the AGM to be formally presented to the Canadian government. In 2021, the resolution BPW Edmonton created through our partnership with the University of Alberta was selected at the BPW Canada AGM to be presented to parliament for consideration. 

BPW’s History with Resolutions

BPW’s history goes back to the 1940’s and has had a consultative status with the United Nations since 1947. The work we do in Edmonton is also being done all over the world by other local clubs. This worldwide collective effort all works to support the mandates of United Nations Women, specifically the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 5: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” Therefore all the resolutions we create, while locally, provincially or nationally focused, are ultimately to advocate for that larger goal. The small actions we take are contributing to this larger global vision.

BPW Canada Resolution Database