EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY
Yearly, thousands of Ontario women-including lone parents, newcomers, aged or abused,
go through life in poverty. This report uses research, personal experience, and existing
data to identify the financial disparities these women
face. It will also describe a straightforward business
success strategy synthesized from years of data. And
discuss the benefits of sustained partnership with this
program.
This paper was created to explore the economic
imperative to support Ontarios Regional Municipality
of Peels poorer women. Programs such as the Ontario
Self Employment Benefits Program (OSEB) provide
Ontarians resources for building businesses, however,
applicants who have not been "in the labor force," are
omitted. Another similar program allows all Ontario
Works recipients to enroll but lacks the potential
offered by OSEB. Women in poverty require services
focused on our unique and varied needs.

Starting a business needs

resources.
Entrepreneurship can be viewed as a step up from selfemployment. In legal terms it means business ownership
moves from sole proprietorship to partnership or corporation.
For those joining the Women Empowered through
Entrepreneurship program (WEE), that means choosing all the
responsibilities of business ownership plus choosing to use
available resources to improve their lifestyles while paying it
forward. All actions taken toward business ownership require
resources such as information, funds, coaching, and support.
The difficulties in accessing resources have been significantly
deterrent to those living in low-income situations or in a new
country. Financially free women improve family structures and
this program aims to facilitate that.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary
1.
Table of Contents
2.
Introduction
3
Overview
45

Objectives
67

Specifications
89

Conclusion
10

Introduction

This paper is written for those who advocate finding resources to reduce poverty among
women living in the Greater Toronto Area. It is especially for those searching for resources to
the Peel Municipality women and their children rise well above the low-income cut-off point.
Peel has a lot to offer young families. The tri-municipality region is located west and northwest of Toronto and grows at a rate of 2 percent per year. With each year, however, comes
an additional 27,000 plus people needing resources. The population is approximately 1.4
million residents. And over fifty percent are immigrants. This cultural melting pot effect
brings vibrancy and diversity to the region. But economic disparities tend to arise within
ethnic enclaves.
What Peel lacks in affordable housing it seems to make up for in growth, development and
culture. But, the economic gap widens for those marginalized by poverty. Many unable to
communicate their needs. It is interesting to note that Peel has the highest proportion of
Punjabi only speakers in Ontario, including women and children.
The Region of Peel's 2005 Strategic Review of Poverty in Peel revealed that persons
living below the poverty line include:
Single parents
Families with young children
Persons with disabilities
Racialized Communities
Recent immigrants
Lone seniors (especially women)
3

According to a 2015 Prebudget submission by the Region of Peel, "unemployment rate

remains high at 8.2% and its youth unemployment rate even more so at 17.6%."
Entrepreneurship can help with the level of unemployment and assist with the
municipality's plan to " work together to develop solutions that will lead to greater
prosperity and an improved quality of life for all residents." 1.

1. https://www.peelregion.ca/council/advocacy/2015provincialprebudgetsubmission.pdf

Overview
The effect of poverty on society can be measured of the
strain on social and health services, or the lack of skilled
workers. A 2008 Cost of Poverty Analysis showed that
poverty cost Ontario $10.4 billion and the country $21.8
billion. And according to the Peel Poverty Reduction
Strategy 201419, there is a commitment to,"investing
$50 million over five years to create a new Local Poverty
Reduction Fund targeted at supporting local solutions to
poverty. The fund will support innovative poverty
reduction efforts across the province." Since the focus
is on providing sustained funding for programs with healthy
outcomes and as a part of the poverty alleviation strategy
the government is prepared to: "providing mentorship,
training and assistance in accessing capital to develop and
launch their businesses. Our government is investing $45
million to help Ontario's next generation of entrepreneurs."
3
.Now is the ideal time for this program to be implemented
and used as a part of the strategy, evidence and best
practices.

Federal funding for

existing social housing
units in Ontario will
decline from almost half a
billion dollars annually to
zero dollars by 2033

Who Am I?
I'm a divorced, sole support parent of 4, living below the poverty line and in need of this
program. As a former homemaker and supplemental income earner, I was shocked to
learn the amount of market rent, the length of the waiting list for subsidized housing and
how little social service funding there was for those of seeking to escape the shackles of
poverty. I am in the more than half of the GTA population, aged of 15 to 65 plus, with a
completed a postsecondary education. But due to family constraints, I find myself
struggling to make ends meet, resorting even to seeking help from our local food bank,
The Knights Table. My natural curiosity and drive to improve my situation, gave me the
impetus to "create a door" where none was being opened. And, after years of selfemployment experience, the last of which was a home daycare, I have learned that
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women can achieve financial independence through creativity. My experience as a

Caribbean trained teacher, homeschool educator, writer and my passionate dedication to
helping women thrive, give me the advantage to initiate this program geared toward
motivating women to enhance their lives and their families through entrepreneurship.

2. http://www.oafb.ca/assets/pdfs/CostofPoverty.pdf.
3.https://www.ontario.ca/page/realizingourpotentialontariospovertyreductionstrategy20142019all#section7

Show me the Money

The wait time for subsidized housing in Peel is now five to seven years. With approximately
13 percent of residents living in low-income situations, and average rent being close to
$1200, it is hard not to address the need for more income, through creative measures. I am
proposing that those who are invested in poverty elimination in Peel and the GTA, get
involved in providing entrepreneurial training and morale boosting support for these women.
In the last four years, I learned a formula used to create and multiply momentum which
leads to income online. The method in the simplest form is to: gain followers using freebies)
offer upsell) offer bonus) feed them into your funnel and keep them engaged. It's a simple
formula used to create millions of dollars in income online and off too, but to set up and offer
quality and value to your followers, one needs an injection of capital.
An idea, with little money and few options for work that fits a unique schedule, leave many
women impoverished and children vulnerable. There are programs like Family First, geared
toward helping lone parents find suitable work. However, entrepreneurship support will sew
the seeds of success into future generations and contribute to improving the economy in the
future.

The average wait time

for subsidized housing
in Peel is 5 7 years

According to the Peel Poverty Reduction Strategy 201419, entrepreneurship as an

initiative is working well with youths. "Supporting entrepreneurship among
vulnerable youth. One program delivered through the Youth Entrepreneurship
Fund is the Strategic
Community Entrepreneurship Projects program, which encourages youth facing
multiple barriers to employment to gain the skills necessary to implement a selfemployment venture or small scale business. There has been a strong Aboriginal
uptake of the program, at 39 per cent. In one case, a 16week entrepreneurship
training and business support program delivered by the Kenamatewin Native
Learning Centre is helping 24 lowincome, atrisk Aboriginal youth in
Kenora and surrounding areas." 4
4.https://www.ontario.ca/page/realizingourpotentialontariospovertyreductionstrategy20142019all#section7

Objectives
Build Confidence
Increase Income
Encourage wellness

Less
Psychological Distress
Increase Educational
Attainment
Lower Illness rate

The Strategy
Think of this as a partnership for
poverty reduction among women, in
Peel. Like the United Way and The Peel
Poverty Reduction Strategy
Committee, we will be adding our
efforts, in a focused, resourced manner
that allows private sector businesses to
become leaders in supporting
initiatives that build stronger
communities and address persistent issues.

"If an opportunity doesn't knock,

build a door." Milton Berle

Studies have shown that Canadian immigrants have a slightly higher selfemployment rate 5
And The Region of Peel should be no exception.This shift is possible due to the overall
youthfulness of the Region and some single support homes needing funds. The economy has
contributed to this need to redefine employment as a whole and also as it affects immigrants
living in Canada ten years or less. It is this core group* that initiates self-employment and in
some cases entrepreneurship in times of economic turndown and job insecurity.
There are many other reasons people choose to work for themselves, including a need for
financial independence, carrying on a family business, and identifying opportunities. But there
are also more sinister reasons that push residents away from being self-employed, that need
addressing. The lack of training and experience disenfranchises the under-resourced," around
a third of employers state that they would not hire newcomers for sales and marketing
occupations, supervisory and manager positions, and as senior leaders and executives." 6
With Women Empowered through Entrepreneurship in place, motivated women are allowed
the opportunity to transform their lives, with measurable changes such as increased income,
education, professional business etiquette, communication and financial skills. Read on to
learn about the way we could use this simple, yet profound system to address income and
lifestyle issues.

5.http://metcalffoundation.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/12/immigrantselfemploymentandentrepreneurship.pdf 6. http://www.peelhaltonworkforce.com/sites/default/files/PHWDG%20LLMP
%20Report%202015%20Final_0.pdf

Specifications
Plans
This document represents the beginning of a necessary discussion to address the need
for support and basic strategy to tackle the current challenges facing our female
residents. Women
Empowered through Entrepreneurship's vision is to secure sustained funding to help 24
women per year abdicate the confines of indigence. Of course, this is a massive
undertaking, which will require guidance and mentorship to be established and
beginning removing the barriers faced by women motivated to transform their
situations. Like the Ontario Employment and training systems, WEE seeks to become a
vital part of the infrastructure poised to reduce poverty in Ontario.

Funding used to:

Raise awareness, support and build team(Program beta testers)
Create a plan similar to ones offered by social services(OSEB and
OSWED) with value added bonuses of online training, field experience, and
self-employment status
Gain support from private businesses and
government agencies working to reduce poverty in Ontario.

Action
Our
and
Ontar

Mindset
Skill
Action

mission is to provide a program that uses entrepreneurship

life skills training to help women in Peel and eventually
io, become more self-sufficient. The three most important

areas we will be developing in this program are an Entrepreneurial mindset, skills, and
actions. By providing instruction online in comprehensive, learner focused, downloadable
modules, participants will learn at their pace, have continuous access to practice and master
the most difficult concepts and learn in a manner suitable to their personality, right at home.
No more need for childcare, transportation or missing vital information. First, however, we
must take the necessary steps to initiate, test and streamline the WEE program, while
raising community interest.

Measurements
Mindset-practicing
emotional security,
confidence, and
discipline
Objectives

Skill-putting ideas to the

test. Doing research and
using resources to create
businesses or "doors."

Confidence
Experience

Action-massive,
focused movement
toward
successful business
practices

Training

Outcomes

Metrics

Long term

10

Discipline

Potential

Possibilities

Own a business
Fit & Healthy

Organized Plan
Dressed Well

Met with VIP*

Save/make money

Body Language
Wellness practices

Apply material
Niches

Current Income
Business plan

Diversify
Financial Security

Acquire product
Package offer

Focus on Giving
Get $$ /support

Conclusion
The hardship faced by many newcomers and at risk persons in Peel are many. And
barriers to gainful employment can cause extreme insecurity and pauperism. If
this paper has brought to your attention the need for specialized programs for
women in poverty, starting in Peel Region, then the author has done her job.
If you are now considering ways to successfully implement this entrepreneurial
approach WEE and aware of its future effect on unemployment, selfemployment and bettering the community, then she has done her job well.
Sexist disparities such as differences in earnings, power in decision making, lack
of property ownership and physical safety, force women into underaddressed
insolvency. Gender-based solutions are needed to make the difference. Women
Empowered through Entrepreneurship will allow women, who are willing to
change their situations, access to a program with the pace and focus of a career
college, hands-on training of trade school, and the coaching and practicality of
apprenticeship.
Finally, the author intended that this document shows she is indeed capable,
willing and prepared to launch her authorentrepreneurial business, with WEE as
a significant value proposition block in the business model. As a woman facing
the economic hardships mentioned in this paper, this author is motivated to
partner with the main parties to leverage the business model, contribute
resources and add to the betterment of her community.

Nada Poyser is the author of Balancing Acts: The Guardian, a contemporary fiction about
healing from betrayal and one woman's comeback from the brink of destitution. Due Fall

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2016. She's a thorough researcher and wordcrafter, who spends the

majority of her time teaching complex concepts in the simplest
form. You can find out more about her at Nadapoyser.com

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