Pamela Jeffery, Founder, The Prosperity Project & Women’s Executive Network

My name is Avil Beckford, and I'm the host of The One Problem podcast interview. There are tons of problems in the world, but we're not going to focus on all of them. We're going to focus on one problem because we don't want to get overwhelmed. For most of the interviews I've done so far, I have some sort of connection with the guest, and this one is no different. I met Pamela years and years ago. She founded the Women's Executive Network, and I was a member of it. I attended a lot of their events.

So, the special guest is Pamela Jeffery. As I've said, she founded the Women's Executive Network, and more recently, the Prosperity Project. She's done lots of things. Just do a search on her name, and you'll see it. So over to you, Pamela.

Pamela Jeffery

Thank you very much Avil. The one problem that I'd like to focus on today is the disproportionate impact that Covid-19 has been having on Canadian women and girls. And how not-for-profits that support women and girls are really struggling to meet the demand. According to Imagine Canada's third Sector Monitor, released in August, 60% of nonprofits are predicting an increased demand for their services, yet less than one-third believe they have sufficient capacity to meet this demand. It's really important that the non-profit sector be able to thrive and support women and girls during this time, as we, fingers crossed, emerge from this pandemic.

Women and girls have been disproportionately affected. As you know, Avil, from the very beginning, we've been affected because we're the ones who are the caregivers. We have the lion share responsibility for childcare, lion share responsibility for elder care. And more than ever, we're working full time. And it's really hard to find that balance, as a result of the increased responsibilities that women have had during this time. As a result of that, there are emerging health issues. And we've done research that points to really high levels of anxiety, stress and sadly, depression.

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And so, nonprofits that are serving women and girls, are finding, especially those that are in crisis counseling, shelters, those that are providing training, so women can retrain, reskill, whatever those nonprofits are struggling with. And so that's the problem. At the Prosperity Project, we've come up with our solution, which is to match an army of volunteers with those very nonprofits to help them build capacity. The initiative is called the Matching Initiative, and you can learn more about that at https://canadianprosperityproject.ca/. We have now matched volunteers with incredible expertise in a range of areas from human resources to IT and digital to strategy, even to equity, diversity and inclusion.

The One Problem Podcast with Pamela Jeffery: The Disproportionate Impact Covid-19 Had on Women and Girls

Pamela Jeffery

We've matched professionals with skills and experience in those areas now, with almost 100 nonprofits just in the last six months to help those nonprofits scale. And in some cases, pivot to new service delivery models to help women and girls through this time. And the volunteers are amazing. Men and women from across the country, who want to give back to their communities, who want to do something to help during this time. So, the volunteers come armed with these skills, and they make a commitment to the nonprofit.

And they agree on a goal. They then give between 40 hours and 160 hours over six months to that nonprofit. And what's amazing is what these volunteers have done already. They're helping these nonprofits better deliver to support women and girls through this crisis. I'd like to tell you a story about a nonprofit in Nova Scotia called Camp Courage. Camp Courage is an organization that introduces women to careers as first responders. This is an area where women have long been underrepresented as police officers, as firefighters, as paramedics.

And so, at this camp, women can go for a week, and be introduced to role models and learn about what the jobs look like, what training they need, and what the careers will look like that they can enjoy. As a result of the Prosperity Project, partnering with Camp Courage through our Matching Initiative, Camp Courage is going national. And that's because three volunteers went in and helped them with strategy, with business planning and the numbers. So, delighted that Camp Courage will be introducing young women from across Canada to careers as first responders.

Pamela Jeffery

So the problem that nonprofits are facing, which is scaling, is a problem that we're addressing through the Matching Initiative. And it does focus on those nonprofits that serve women and girls. I'm really happy to see that in that small way, we're able to help mitigate that disproportionate impact that Covid-19 is having on Canadian women and girls by helping nonprofits better meet their needs. Thank you so much for the opportunity Avil to talk to you today about that problem.

Avil Beckford

Thank you so much Pamela. This is important because a lot of times the nonprofits don't have enough resources, whether it be financially or man hours. It's important that they have qualified volunteers that can help them navigate the change. So, thank you so much.

Pamela Jeffery

Thank you, Avil, very much.

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