The ACTEW Blog

"Provisioning is defined as the work of securing resources and providing the necessities of life for those whom one has relationships of responsibility." - Sandra Tam, WEDGE

Sandra Tam was the guest presenter for ACTEW's June members meeting. Sandra is a researcher at the University of Toronto and has worked in Ontario’s community-based employment and training sector.

As part of the Women on the Edge of the Global Economy (WEDGE) Research Team, Sandra studies young women's provisioning. Her presentation included examples and strategies from women in Toronto as well as in various communities in Canada.

Sandra's review of her research findings inspired an energetic discussion among ACTEW members on how women's unpaid and largely unrecognized obligations affect their access to employment and training services and to participate fully in the labour market.

In particular, child care was noted as a key aspect of provisioning for many clients, or potential clients. Members discussed how often services are inaccessible to women with children when agencies cannot offer care. Some funders seem not to realise the importance of child care as a program support; members were encouraged to utilize ACTEW's new child care fact sheet for statistics and facts upon which to ground funding requests.

Some of the negative effects of provisioning for those who are already employed are illuminated by a research previously covered in this blog. A study at McMaster University found that workers with home commitment get fewer opportunities for career advancement.

The discussion also linked provisioning to work on sustainable livelihoods. The sustainable livelihoods, which is a holistic model similar to provisioning, looks at a client's resources, talents and networks, rather than at her barriers, and leverages assets to support other areas in her life. Both models take into considation the whole person, rather than simply the employment segment.

For more on provisioning, review some of Sandra's publications:
> Slide Presentation from the ACTEW meeting: "Provisioning: Thinking Holistically About Women's Work"
> Research Summary: "Understanding Young Women's Provisioning"
> Information Sheet: "The WEDGE Provisioning Research"

For examples of the sustainable livelihoods model, check out these reports by Eko Nomos on the Canadian Women's Foundation web site:
> Women in Transition Out of Poverty: An asset-based approach to building sustainable livelihoods
> Women in Transition Out of Poverty: A guide to effective practice in promoting sustainable livelihoods through enterprise development

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Resources_and_Research