VANCOUVER City Council pledged $285,000 on Tuesday to support the gender equality, health, rights and well-being of women and girls.

Funding will support the City’s participation and programming at the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver from June 3 to 6. This is the world’s largest conference on gender equality with the goal of accelerating progress for women and girls everywhere.

“The Women Deliver conference will help put our collective efforts to create more gender equality on a global stage,” said Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, “and hopefully inspire all of us, men included, to further empower women and girls to be leaders in our communities.”

City funding will be used to:

• Engage with the community and provide support for those who would otherwise not be able to attend;
• Support Tourism Vancouver in delivering Culture Night, a free outdoor evening of music, food, art, and Indigenous culture;
• Harness the momentum of the event to advance City initiatives that support women before, during, and after the conference; and
• Dedicate a City-owned site for housing low income women and children, including Indigenous women.

“Supporting this event directly aligns with the City’s intersectional approach of ensuring that all residents, including all women, can equally access and participate in the life of their communities,” said Sandra Singh, General Manager, Arts, Culture and Community Services. “This also supports our Women’s Equity Strategy goals of removing the barriers that continue to limit the full participation and contributions of women, including self-identified women.”

$250,000 from the City’s Innovation Fund will support the City’s initiatives and complementary programming to the Women Deliver Conference and $35,000 related to supporting Women and Girls in Sport will be funded from the 2019 Sport Hosting Budget.

“We are so pleased to be in Vancouver for our triennial conference, a bold and diverse gathering where decision-makers from civil society, the private sector, international agencies, advocates, journalists and activists convene to drive solutions and action for girls and women,” said Evelyne Guindon, Managing Director of External Relations for Women Deliver.

The conference is anticipated to draw 6,000 to 7,000 attendees and 2,500 organizations from more than 160 countries with UN agencies, government representatives and business leaders also expected to attend.

As part of the Women’s Equity Strategy, the City is committed to making Vancouver a fair, safe and inclusive city for all women.