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 October 2010.
