Happy IWD!!! Despite the progress that has been made since the first IWD was held on March 19, 1911, in Germany, Austria, Denmark and some other European countries, let us remember that the work continues, that we have an individual and collective responsibility to end all forms of atrocities against women everywhere.

Today, violence against women is increasing. It exists in many forms: from child marriage to female circumcision; from rape to spousal abuse; from workplace discrimination to on-the-street harassment. Such experiences are all violations of the most fundamental human rights. Many women and children around the world are homeless, experiencing varying degrees of poverty. Amnesty International has documented many of the thousands of women and children who, having fled conflict zones, now live in refugee camps with very limited opportunity to change their circumstances. In Canada, the crises that have marginalized women and children are addressed at least in part by such services as shelters for abused women, sexual assault centers and crises lines, community-based counseling assistance services, and coordinated inter-agency committees, such as METRAC.

It is exactly because of the difficulties so many women experience that I am delighted to speak with you tonight about women's economic and developmental needs, and the role that the CWF plays in facilitating access to women who have been deemed marginalized and who are on the fringes of society. Your presence here testifies to your continued commitment and support for the work of the foundation, because it is your contribution that makes it possible for organizations like MicroSkills - who have come to rely on the foundation as the "beacon of light" for the communities we serve - to create possibilities for poor women.

Imagine, if you will, a young single mother with three children who has been sponsored by the government of Canada as a refugee, and who is currently living in Etobicoke. Because she lacks the language and employment skills to find employment, she and her family are receiving limited income support. She is referred to MicroSkills by a Children's Aid worker. After a year first in language skills development, then computer training, and finally work placement, she is employed part-time and operates a small business providing heritage language training to children in her community. Although she is both working part-time and operating a business, she is still not able to support herself and children because her limited total income is not sufficient for the high cost of living in the Greater Toronto Area.

There is no question that we are all aware of the growing feminization and racialization of poverty in our society (lack of affordable housing, limited income support, racism/sexism and discrimination, and a continued dismantling of support systems to women, especially women from racialized communities). In fact, according to a report issued this week by the International Labour Organisation, "of the world's 550 million working poor, 330 million, or 60 per cent, are women." That report goes on to comment that adding this total of "330 million female working poor to the 77.8 million women who are unemployed means that at least 400 million decent jobs would be needed world-wide to provide unemployed and working poor women with a way out of poverty."

It is, however, encouraging that there are organizations like CWF that recognize the challenges faced by women who are economically disadvantaged, and use innovative approaches to provide assistance to organizations like MicroSkills that work to address some of these issues.

We at MicroSkills are acutely aware that for women to improve their socio-economic participation and contribution, long-term interventions are required. Although programs can be designed to target particular groups of women with common identifiable needs, often delivery must be tailored to the specific circumstances of individual clients. That is, programs must incorporate a continuum of services and be designed to reflect the unique needs of each individual woman.

The current practices of all levels of government lack the sensitivity required for timely, workable solutions. They provide band-aid assistance that includes restrictive entrance criteria, limited funding, and short timelines for impossible outcomes.

MicroSkills is proud to be one of the organizations funded by the CWF consortium over the coming five-year period. Our project aims to help women sustain and grow their businesses through the provision of business counseling, mentorship, marketing etc. This longer-term funding will give MicroSkills the opportunity to plan, evaluate and modify its program to ensure it is appropriately responding to the needs of women who have chosen self-employment as a viable option for economic self-sufficiency.
Furthermore, long-term funding gives us the opportunity to work extensively and constructively with women - it often takes a minimum of three years for low-income women to remove themselves from any form of income assistance. The young woman in Etobicoke who received a year's training at MicroSkills, worked part-time, and had started a business but still lacked sufficient income to survive in the GTA needs an additional two years of support to ensure the sustained well-being of herself and her family.

As we at Microskills work with women, helping them to attain economic self-sufficiency, we are conscious of the growing poverty women experience and the under-representation of women in leadership positions in our country. Consequently, we are now researching the feasibility of establishing a Centre of Excellence for Women in Leadership, Technology and Business. The goal of the Centre will be to:

• Develop women's leadership skills
• Increase the numbers of women leaders, and
  
• Increase the representation of immigrant and racial minority women among women leaders

We at Microskills thank the CWF for its insight, forward thinking, and continued support to women and girls. We also thank you, donors and potential donors, for believing in the work of the foundation.

Poverty, violence and discrimination against women must end. Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has said: "..to educate a girl is to educate a whole family…[Nothing else] is as likely to raise economic productivity, lower infant and maternal mortality, improve nutrition and promote health…" Your support of the foundation is a form of leadership that will influence the outcomes of women's lives, providing hope in the present and self-sufficiency in the future, for the betterment of our clients, of their children, and of society as whole.