Learn, grow, evolve — repeat.
We’re a collective of changemakers fueled by the desire to make the world a better place. Our culture is rooted in systems thinking and inclusion, and forms the foundation of our mission to invest in people and projects that are actively addressing the systemic, root causes of poverty and inequity.
Our people — employees, volunteers and other stakeholders — are often on the frontlines empowering action and change that sometimes comes with challenges. But, we’re committed to transparency, continuous growth and leading by example. We are constantly striving to design an effective roadmap towards progress, and empower those in our community to become powerful leaders who drive change.
Catalyzing Change
Determined to always take action to drive change, EWB is constantly exploring how to best address issues of systemic inequality across the world, and in our homeland. We incorporate our learnings, analyze our success and failures, and cultivate opportunities to evolve and thrive at each step along the way.
We bring together a diverse group of engineers and non-engineers to collaborate on forward-thinking solutions addressing poverty and inequity around the world. Through our leadership curriculum and Fellowships, EWB offers immersive experiences in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa to launch future shapers equipped to understand and re-engineer complex social systems.
We are constantly striving to design an effective roadmap towards progress, and empower those in our community to become powerful leaders who drive change.
Our Culture & Values in Action
Like the communities we serve, we strive to be resilient and live out our values both inside and outside our organization. So, we’re continuously adapting the tools we use, the way we support our people, and our way of being — all so we can keep making an impact against the pressing social issues of today.
Through collaboration and vulnerability, we’re on a journey building trust, understanding and strength across our organization including our passionate volunteers who lead many of our initiatives. We envision a more equitable society where persons, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, class, ethnicity, disability, age or other status can enjoy their fundamental freedoms.
EWB’s Commitment to Inclusion and Anti-Racism
Having signed on to Cooperation Canada’s Anti-Racism Framework, we’re committed to greater inclusion and dismantling systemic racism. It exists everywhere, including organizations that are aiming to make the world a better place. We are committed to addressing our sector’s racial bias, and are working to redress global interventions that have denied peoples and institutions from historically disadvantaged countries their agency and right to self-determination in the name of economic and social progress.
Our Journey to Safeguarding Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equality
EWB believes gender discrimination is a root cause of global poverty and economic inequality. We believe that the achievement of gender equality is integral to our mission of attaining systemic change and creating a more just society.
Here are some highlights from our journey so far:
- Between 2014 and 2020 we gradually built a Board with a majority of women. We reached gender parity on the Board in 2017.
- In 2015 we selected an office space that is fully accessible.
- Between 2014 and 2020 we built a staff team with over 80% women by focusing on selecting the best candidate for the roles we offer, and by ensuring that our outreach, job descriptions and selection process foster diversity and are gender inclusive.
- In 2018 we introduced a Gender caucus and a Race caucus at key EWB events and put in place a code of conduct at these events to protect participating EWB members.
- In 2020 we instituted that our entire team, including the Board of Directors, would be trained each year on anti-oppression and anti-racism and committed to track racial diversity data across EWB and discuss it with our Board of Directors.
- Over 5 years of programming, from 2015-2020, 54% of our Kumvana Fellows identified as female and 60% of our Long Term Fellows. EWB put measures in place to ensure the program was accessible for women with family responsibilities. For example, offering childcare during placements or placements that would accommodate for spouses and children.
We are committed to continuing on this journey because we believe that the achievement of gender equality is integral to our mission of attaining systemic change and creating a more just society.
Applying a Gender Lens to Investments
Numerous barriers are present for women and girls as they seek financial inclusion, technological inclusion, access to education, access to fair work and additionally, leadership opportunities in the workplace. Recognizing that this is a systemic issue, EWB as an Impact Investor, seeks to consider these disparities in developing and implementing its approach to the investment of early-stage ventures in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
See how we’re actively working to incorporate a gender lens to our venture investments.
Taking Action on Reconciliation
We have a Reconcili-ACTION team that is made up of chapter members from across Canada. The goal is to foster spaces on campus that encourage self-reflection, intentional learning and relationship building around Indigenous history in Canada. Our members have had the opportunity to learn about land acknowledgments, terminology, residential schools, The 60’s Scoop, and allyship, and we know there is much more we can do.
Our Harassment Policy
EWB has zero tolerance for harassment and our leadership is unequivocally committed to continuously strengthening the policies and mechanisms that prevent and address abuse and harassment. Raise any and all concerns here:
