According to “A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada: Making the economy work for everyone,” Canada won’t recover from the pandemic without greatly improved economic resilience for women.

Women in Canada have felt some of the most severe economic disruptions throughout COVID-19. Women of colour have been on the frontlines of the crisis, representing 82 percent of healthcare workers. They have also experienced the most job losses, and will continue to feel the economic repercussions more intensely. Beyond these job loss strains, women and nonbinary people have borne the brunt of the care responsibilities within their families. The overall economic impacts will be felt for years to come.

At Future of Good, women-centred economic resilience and feminist approaches to recovery are an important part of our social impact coverage. 

That’s why Future of Good is excited to announce a one-year editorial fellowship on women’s economic resilience. 

Supported by Scotiabank as part of its ScotiaRISE community investment initiative, and led by writer Sherlyn Assam, the editorial fellowship will engage women professionals, entrepreneurs, frontline workers, philanthropic leaders, impact investors, public servants, and non-profit leaders across Canada to cover a range of stories that centre on gendered impacts of the coronavirus. Her stories will also profile people and initiatives driving women’s economic resilience as communities rebuild. Sherlyn will explore the experiences of women and nonbinary people working in the care economy and social sectors, evaluate feminist philanthropy with analysis into pandemic recovery interventions, and much more.

“Nonbinary people and women are more likely to both access and provide the social sector’s programs and services. It’s essential that Future of Good’s coverage acknowledges and unpacks all the intersections wrapped up in those statistics,” said Kylie Adair, editor of Future of Good. “I’m so grateful to our incoming editorial fellow, Sherlyn Assam, for taking on this challenge, and to Scotiabank for supporting this important work.” 

“We are very proud to support Future of Good and this dynamic project. The Women’s Economic Resilience fellowship will bring to light many of the barriers to career advancement that have been felt most acutely by this particular demographic during the pandemic,” says Sandra Odendahl, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability at Scotiabank. “Through our ScotiaRISE initiative we are partnering with organizations like Future of Good to help people, households and communities across our footprint participate more fully in the economy.”     

Sherlyn Assam is joining our editorial team to take on this important assignment.

Sherlyn Assam (she/her) is a freelance writer and a Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership candidate at Carleton University. Her work explores philanthropy, faith and spirituality, social justice, intersectional feminism, youth, and human trafficking. She has published stories with PANL Perspectives, Future of Good, Broadview, Our Times, and Trad Magazine. During her journalism and political science undergrad at Carleton, Sherlyn worked with Informed Opinions, an organization operating a database to amplify women’s voices in the media. She helped recruit professionals, academics, and women and nonbinary experts with lived experience to join the database and encouraged journalists to seek diverse sources to minimize gendered data bias in the news.

Sherlyn has volunteered as a youth leader and with the Ottawa Coalition to End Human Trafficking. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing volleyball, bouldering, and watching Criminal Minds.

Sherlyn will engage women professionals, entrepreneurs, frontline workers, philanthropic leaders, impact investors, public servants, and non-profit leaders across Canada to cover a range of stories looking at gendered impacts of the coronavirus as well as profiling people and initiatives driving women’s economic resilience as communities rebuild. Sherlyn will explore the experiences of women and nonbinary people working in the care economy and social sectors and take a close look at how feminist philanthropy is working with a GBA+ analysis of pandemic recovery interventions. And much more.

In addition to the editorial fellowship, Future of Good will host an online Women’s Economic Resilience Summit in 2022.

Stay tuned.