Plan International Canada celebrates the inherent power and leadership potential of girls, whose voices are needed more than ever to address global challenges, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to shape a more equal world. From boardrooms to newsrooms and courtrooms, girls and young women deserve equal opportunities to swing the door open and take their rightful seat at the table.
As part of Plan International Canada’s longstanding youth leadership program Girls Belong Here, more than 40 trailblazing young women have teamed up with participating corporate partners and not-for-profit organizations to challenge what leadership looks like and to take action to ensure the future of leadership is diverse and equal.
In the lead up to the International Day of the Girl, marked annually on October 11, leaders will engage and connect with young minds with fresh perspectives on gender equality and recommendations on how to create enabling environments. On the other hand, young women will gain and learn vital leadership skills – they will lead meetings, participate in key conversations, present solutions, and discuss their own work and activism for gender equality.
Organizations participating in the Girls Belong Here program this year include:
- AstraZeneca
- Bank of Montreal (BMO)
- IBM
- The Body Shop
- RBC
- Jenny Bird
- Unilever
- CanWaCH
- Career Professionals of Canada
- CIFAR
- Canadian Women’s Foundation
- Habitat for Humanity
- Jays Care Foundation
- Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations
- YWCA
For more information about Plan International Canada’s Girls Belong Here program and how to get involved, please visit: plancanada.ca/girlsbelonghere.
