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History
Commissioners Floyd and Tracey Tidd, then territorial leaders, appointed the first-ever Territorial Gender Equity Advocate in 2020 in an effort to increase the number of women in leadership in Canada and Bermuda and address gender inequity in the territory. Further mandate was given to research, develop, and propose mechanisms that would help create supportive and positive practices as they relate to gender equity.
In the fall of 2020, 75 formal and informal officer interviews were conducted (Appendix A). Following these interviews, a Gender Equity Task Force was formed (Appendix B) and subdivided into four subcommittees to further study the themes emerging from the data. Further interviews were conducted within the organization (Appendix C), and pertinent documents, reports and policies were reviewed (Appendix D). Building on equity, diversity and inclusion best practices, recommendations were formulated by each task force subcommittee and are compiled to this final report.
The mandate of the Task Force was to study, prepare and present a report to leadership regarding gender inequity in the territory. That phase of the work was completed when a presentation was made to the spiritual and denominational affairs (SDA) board in May 2022. The Task Force was then decommissioned. The official SDA board response to our May presentation was received in October 2022. The project then switched to implementation mode with first step being that a Working Group be assembled (Accomplishing Recommendation E7 from the report)
The Working Group was assembled in the fall of 2022 with the first meeting in December 2022.
A new Terms of Reference was presented to the SDA board in February 2024, transitioning the Working Group into the Gender Equity Committee. This work is ongoing, with a brand-new communications plan recently approved by the SDA board. This launched the gender equity working group into creative and educational endeavours, seeking deep transformation within the culture and systems of The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda. This work is about mutual flourishing and effective partnership in ministry.
Subcommittees
- Culture and Communications
- Operational Systems and Programs
- Strategy, Vision and Leadership Approach
- Structure and Organizational Design
