The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is a national not-for-profit that works to advance the substantive equality of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada through litigation, law reform, and public legal education.
We are funding research to identify the challenges and structural barriers to trans feminine people’s employment and leadership in the feminist sector and to make recommendations as to how these issues may be addressed.
Proposals are due by 11:59 pm ET on July 2, 2024. Further information follows.
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OVERVIEW
| Number of awards | 1 |
| Value | $11,250* |
| Duration | July 2024 to May 2025 |
| Application deadline | July 2, 2024 (11:59pm ET) |
| Results announced | By July 8, 2024 |
*Note: The contract value listed here is compensation for the researcher’s labour. LEAF has an additional budget for interview honoraria.
CONTEXT
Over the past 18 months and with the support of the Fund for Gender Equality, an organizing group of feminist, gender equity seeking, and historically women serving organizations – namely LEAF, West Coast LEAF, and the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, in partnership with Wisdom2Action – has been coordinating efforts to unpack the legacy and current impacts of transphobia and trans misogyny within the feminist and gender equity seeking sectors. The Trans Inclusion in Feminism Project, coordinated by this organizing group, has worked to challenge transphobia and trans misogyny within our organizations; to work with other feminist and gender equity seeking organizations to better serve, include, and advocate for trans and non-binary people; and to support each other in the current environment of escalating and organized trans hate.
Work undertaken through the first two phases of this project has suggested that trans feminine individuals appear to be disproportionately absent from organizational staff, leadership, and other roles in feminist and gender equity seeking organizations. Given the fact that trans feminine (as opposed to trans masculine) people have been at the centre of the historical and ongoing transphobia in feminist spheres, the seeming absence of trans feminine voices at the table is an issue that merits focused attention. This comes at a time when they are facing an increased risk of discriminatory policies, legislation, and violence.
LEAF’s Trans Inclusion in Feminist Workplaces Project aims to develop an evidence-based response as to how feminist and gender equity seeking organizations can increase inclusion of trans feminine individuals in their workplaces. We are funding a researcher to conduct this research. Further details are below.
DESCRIPTION
The work can be broken down into two main components: (1) qualitative interviews, and (2) a final report analyzing those interviews and issuing recommendations.
1. Qualitative Interviews
The successful applicant will:
- Collect primary data by interviewing 15-20 trans feminine people – and with a focus on racialized trans feminine people – regarding the challenges they face, or have faced, either as staff members in Canadian gender equity seeking organizations, or in gaining access to employment in the sector; and
- Code the interviews and identify common themes (if any) regarding barriers to entry and/or career advancement.
2. Final report
A final report will summarize and analyze the interviews and will recommend potential paths forward for gender equity seeking organizations to redress the issue.
The successful candidate will be supported by Cee Strauss, LEAF Senior Staff Lawyer.
VALUE AND DURATION
The successful applicant will be awarded $11,250 to complete their research and write the report. LEAF has an additional budget for honoraria and translation costs.
The successful applicant will be expected to adhere to an agreed upon schedule of deliverables, including:
- submitting a detailed research plan by August 16, 2024;
- completing interviews by November 29, 2024;
- submitting a draft of the report by March 3, 2024; and
- submitting a final report by March 24, 2024.
By applying for this funding opportunity, the successful applicant consents to LEAF publicly sharing the resulting research products.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants must submit the following as a single PDF attachment:
- A 1-page letter of intent summarizing the applicant’s relevant expertise/experience in relation to the research topic;
- Applicant’s CV;
- A brief writing sample (5-10 pages).
Applications will be accepted by email only. In the subject line of your email application, reference “Call for Proposals – Trans Inclusion in Feminist Workplaces”. Applications are to be submitted to Cee Strauss (they/them) [email protected], and must be submitted by 11:59 pm ET on July 2, 2024.
The successful applicant will be notified by July 8, 2024. Only the successful applicant will be contacted.
LEAF welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities for all available opportunities. Where possible, accommodations will be made available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
LEAF encourages applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. We strongly encourage applicants who are Black, Indigenous, racialized, newcomers, gender-diverse, and/or part of other equity-deserving groups to apply. In particular for this research opportunity, we strongly encourage applications from trans feminine candidates. If you are comfortable, please indicate in your letter of intent if you identify as a member of an equity-deserving group.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information about this opportunity, or if you have any accommodation requests related to the application process, please contact Cee Strauss at [email protected].
Download a PDF of the Call for Proposals.
This project is funded by the Fund for Gender Equality Grants Fund at Toronto Foundation.
