FR
For International Women’s Day, we spoke with three remarkable women from the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada community who are each, in their own way, working to create brighter futures for children and youth connected to the child welfare system. Their experiences span leadership, advocacy, and lived expertise, and they share a common commitment: ensuring that every young person, especially girls and young women, has the support, opportunity, and encouragement they need to thrive.
Kathryn Moore, Senior Manager of Grantmaking and Impact at CAFC; Nicole Stewart Kamanga, Barrister and Solicitor and Board member at Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, as well as, Chair of our National Impact Advisory Committee (NIAC); and Shay, a child and youth worker and member of the Young People’s Advisory Committee (YPAC), Danielle, Member of Young People’s Advisory Committee (YPAC), reflect on the importance of investing in women and girls, strengthening communities, and removing barriers that hold young people back. Together, their perspectives highlight the power of community, leadership, and lived experience in driving meaningful change.
Q: This year’s IWD theme is Give to Gain. What does that mean to you?
Kathryn: Through working alongside women, it’s possible to support elevating women-designed solutions for their unique circumstances. We all gain as a society when women are supported. At the individual level, cycles of abuse and trauma are stopped and this has important ripple effects on all of society and future generations. Women in and from care face disproportionate risks, including higher rates of violence and mental health challenges, which can be further compounded for those facing systemic barriers, such as Indigenous and Black women.
Nicole: Sharing our time, skills, compassion, networks and financial resources is a gift to the recipient and to the giver. It fosters a spirit of empathy and generosity. The Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is grounded in the spirit of giving to families with experience in the child welfare system. We work very hard to provide impactful resources and supports, knowing that children, youth and families gain so much as their lives are changed for the better.
Shay: Give to Gain means that when we offer our lived experience and leadership in spaces that shape policy and funding, we help build systems that are more responsive and equitable. Through YPAC, I’ve seen how giving our voices can directly influence decisions that impact young people in and from care. When we give courageously, we gain systems that better reflect the realities of those they serve.
Danielle: Contributing my time, expertise, and lived experience through my involvement in YPAC to help move the needle toward more equitable outcomes. By sharing our perspectives, we can help shape more responsive programs and systems that better support young people. In giving our voices, ideas, and expertise, we gain progress, stronger communities, and opportunities for future generations.
Q: In your experience, how does supporting women and girls strengthen outcomes for everyone?
Kathryn: Supporting women improves outcomes across health, housing, education, and economic stability. But meaningful change requires long-term commitment and sustained funding for services designed specifically to meet women’s needs in safe and accessible ways. For youth transitioning from care, providing targeted supports in areas like health, housing, education, and employment readiness is not only transformative for individuals, it is also more cost-effective than addressing the long-term social and economic consequences when those supports are absent. Because young women leaving care often face higher risks than their male peers, gender-responsive services are essential to improving outcomes for both individuals and communities
Nicole: Girls and women are arguably the most vulnerable population, worldwide. Entrenched gender inequity in core areas of education, healthcare, employment, the law, and throughout society can pose insurmountable barriers to advancement, particularly for poor and/or racialized women. Supporting women and girls in these and other key sectors requires dedicated, long-term social and political will and a fundamental ceding of power by those who traditionally hold it.
Shay: Supporting women and girls, especially those facing systemic barriers, is both justice and smart policy. When we invest in their leadership and stability, we disrupt cycles of inequity and strengthen families, communities, and institutions. Centering their voices leads to stronger programs, better-informed decisions, and more sustainable impact.
Danielle: Supporting women and girls strengthens outcomes for everyone because when women thrive, families thrive, and when families thrive, communities thrive. Investing in women and girls creates opportunities not only for individuals, but for entire generations. When women are supported to grow, lead, and succeed, they help break cycles of inequity and create stronger, healthier communities. By empowering women and girls, we build a future where more people have the opportunity to succeed and where lasting, positive change becomes possible.
Q: On International Women’s Day, what message would you want young women, especially those in and from care, to hear?
Kathryn: It’s never too late to ask for help. For many women, that can be the hardest step, we’re often taught to care for others before ourselves. But you deserve support, safety, and the resources designed with and for you. Your life is worth that support. You deserve to take up space, to heal, and to build a future filled with possibility. The Foundation and our partners are here to support you, we see you, we hear you, and we want you to reach for the life you deserve.
Nicole: Sometimes coming into care can lead to great outcomes for young women. Sometimes, it does not. Dealing with family separation, mental health, frequent moves, new schools, etc. are real challenges. It’s important to be as courageous as you can, and to seek out people/organizations who can help you. We all need support!
Shay: You are not defined by the systems you’ve navigated; you are powerful enough to transform them. Your lived experience is expertise, and your voice belongs in rooms where decisions are made. The world needs your leadership exactly as you are.
Danielle: I want young women to know that their voices, dreams, and potential matter. Sometimes we may have to work harder to climb the ladder, but every step we take helps pave the way for those who come after us. By striving to reach our full potential and showing up in spaces where our voices matter, we make it easier for the next generation to see what is possible. When young women see others who have walked similar paths succeed, it reminds them that they can dream bigger and go even further.
