WHO WE ARE

WELCOME to the OLDER WOMEN’S NETWORK

Please see our Events page for upcoming activities

OWN’s Mission

  • OWN is a voice for mid-life and older women in Canada, one that challenges discrimination on the basis of age, gender, religion, or disability.
  • OWN works to achieve a society in which women are able to live in security and with dignity, and to participate in the decisions affecting their lives.
  • OWN members offer mutual support and share creative interests and activities.
  • OWN is an educational organization that embraces a feminist perspective in order to empower women to overcome injustices and inequities of gender in the home, the workplace and in society at large.

OWN’s Objectives

  • OWN is a volunteer organization that addresses the social and political issues that are important to all women.
  • OWN works independently and in partnership with like-minded organizations for social justice in Canada and abroad.
  • OWN initiates and supports public discussion of issues that relate to security and justice for mid-life and older women. OWN acts as an advocate for redress through alternative policies and legislation.
  • OWN supports women’s greater representation on decision-making bodies at all levels of government.
  • OWN enriches its members’ lives by coordinating social and educational activities.

OWN’s Achievements

  • Since 1988, OWN has sponsored public forums and advised government policy-makers on:
    • Ageism and the feminization of poverty
    • Gender equality and human rights
    • Affordable, supportive housing for women
    • Pension reform, financial planning and retirement security
    • Ending mandatory retirement
    • Legal aid entitlement
    • Environmental responsibility
    • Electoral reform
    • Elder abuse
  • Developed the OWN Housing Co-op, a 142-unit apartment building in Toronto for people of low to medium income.
  • Formed a partnership in Peterborough to provide affordable housing for six mid-life women.
  • Designed and supervised action research and community development projects. Reports are available.

Last revised Sept. 2015.