Empower'em is a grassroots youth group, organized and run by young women in the City of Ottawa.
Mission:
To provide accessible resources and programming that gives a voice and space to marginalized women of colour in Ottawa to develop personally, professionally and the community.
- Creating Safe Spaces
In order to develop personally, a person requires to have a safe space where they are not judged for their beliefs, values and practices. Through safe spaces, we create an atmosphere that is judgement free and allows a person to be their most authentic selves.
- Developing Leadership
In order to develop professionally, marginalized folks require programming that takes into account the systems of oppression they are trapped into. Through tailored programming, it aims to help them develop leadership skills that will allow them to be successful because of their uniqueness.
- Celebrating Intersectionality
In order to build a strong community, humans needs to understand and appreciate each other’s differences. Through cultural exchanges, we hope to build a communal understanding of each other’s practices, breakdown stereotypes while also celebrating the simple fact that people belong to multiple intersects and no one person is ever the same.
In 1989, intersectionality theory was introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw of the UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School in the essay “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine.” In 1991, Crenshaw further expanded the framework in “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color.” Learn more about this and her TED Talk here
The programming is open to young self-identifying women of colour, non-binary and transgender folks between the ages of 15-30.
It mainly operates in various locations throughout the city of Ottawa (Unceded Algonquin Territory).
