Founded in 1987, A Commitment to Training and Employment for Women (ACTEW) is a provincial umbrella group, of supporters, trainers, agencies, and organizations delivering employment and training services to women. ACTEW's mission is to promote and support community-based training opportunities for women. ACTEW is a registered charity (registration #10668 3493 RR0001).

• Networking, information sharing, and professional development with our members and within the community-based training sector
• Capacity-Building Projects and Sector Development
• Public Education
• Research and Publications

The women that our agencies work with, many of whom are older women, recent immigrants, women with disabilities, sole-support mothers, and/or women of colour, face systemic discrimination and remain disadvantaged by years of economic recession and severe employment displacement. We believe that education and training can be the bridge between poverty and economic independence. Our members' unique sensitivity to the access issues women face ensure the provision of holistic and comprehensive employment and training services that enable and empower women to gain and retain quality employment.

Public Education

Public education is an important means of supporting women's training. ACTEW's research and public education work is designed to enhance our understanding of the training and education terrain by providing information related to the employment and training needs of women, as well as employment training, employment counselling and educational programs for women.

At ACTEW workshops and meetings, community organizations can exchange information and discuss women's employment and training issues. Past workshops have included a gender-based analysis of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, strategies for complying to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), exploring a sustainable livelihoods framework in program delivery and design, and a panel on employment services for persons with disabilities.

As part of our work to advance public education related to women's employment and training issues, ACTEW also sits on several collaborative organizations, community advisory boards and working groups, including:

• Member of the Service Canada Voluntary Sector Advisory Committee (VSAC)
• Member of the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA) Advisory Group
• Member of the Women's Future Fund
• Member of the Canadian Coalition for Community-Based Employability Training (CCCBET)
• Women Reference Group for the Toronto Training Board

Since 1987, we have also been pleased to be part of many committees and community networks, including:

• Steering Committee for the Centre for Study of Education and Work, OISE/University of Toronto
• Employment and Training Advisory Group for The Possibilities Project (www.possibilitiesproject.com) and Community Information Toronto's 211Toronto.ca project
• National Women's Reference Group on Labour Market Issues
• National Women's Reference Group on Labour Market Development Policy
• E-Strategy Advisory Group, Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres (OAYEC)
• Settlement.org Steering Committee, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI)
• The Ontario Women's Action on Training Coalition (OWATC)
• The Ontario Women's Reference Group
• Tracking Impacts Coalition
• Prior Learning Assessment (PLAR), Advisory Group of the Council of Regents
• Metro Toronto Clerical Workers Labour Adjustment Committee
  Guest Editorial Board Member for Canadian Woman Studies/les cahiers de la femme Journal, "Women and Education" issue
• Guest Editorial Board Member for Confronting the Cuts: A Sourcebook for Women in Ontario, Inanna Publications and Education Inc.
• Advisory Group for the Community Workers Program, George Brown College
  Toronto Taskforce on Workplace Harassment