Participatory Gendered Budgeting Workshop

 

Since 2008, the City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) has worked with residents to understand and influence the city budget through community workshops, training, and advocacy. Our annual Participatory Gendered Budgeting workshop continues this important work.

This workshop is a space where community members can learn how the city budget works and how we can have a say in where public money goes. Participatory budgeting is about people coming together to make decisions, share ideas, and push for equitable use of public funds.
This year, we will be guided by the Care Lens – a way of thinking about budgets that centers care for people, communities, and the planet. We will also draw on all the learning we’ve done together over the years using CAWI’s Equity and Inclusion Lens, which helps us ask: Who benefits? Who is left out? How can decisions be more fair and inclusive?
When shaped by care, equity, and inclusion, participatory budgeting:
Shifts power to people who are often excluded from decision-making;

  • Builds stronger connections between residents, local government, and community groups;
  • Creates new opportunities for civic participation beyond voting;
  • Supports the growth of new community leaders;
  • Leads to fairer, more inclusive, and more effective spending.

This year’s workshop will give Ottawa residents practical tools for reading the city budget, spotting gaps and inequities, and speaking up for what our communities need most. Together, we will focus on how budgets can better serve women, gender-diverse people, Black, Indigenous, racialized, low-income, newcomer, and disabled communities.
💖Whether this is your first time learning about city budgets or you are already active in community work, you are welcome to join us. This is a space for shared learning, skill-building, and collective action.
📅 Friday, October 24, 2025 | 🕘 9:00 am – 12:00 pm (IN-PERSON)
📍 Rideau Hub (815 St. Laurent Blvd., CAWI Office – Room 215)
📅 Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 🕘 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm (ONLINE)

Register here