The Women's Mentorship Project is part of UNPAC’s ongoing work to increase women's economic equality by providing women with the knowledge, skills and strategies they need in order to promote changes in their own lives and in their communities.

In the past decade our work has moved from developing the Women & Economy website and producing the Banging the Door Down video - projects to educate and engage women on the economic influences at work in their lives - to delivering daylong workshops on government budgets and influencing government policy, to working with women over many months mentoring them to be leaders in their communities.

Our workshops engage participants through the use of role plays, discussions, and case studies. We provide participants with opportunities to learn from each other, find the patterns in women's common experiences, and draw strength from the work women are doing. The success of the gender budget workshops created a network with a wide range of rural and urban Manitoba women. We repeatedly heard women expressing the need for opportunities to build on and acquire the skills to be community leaders in promoting women’s economic equality.

This led to the development of our Changemakers program which offers tangible skill-building in organizational development, public speaking, and facilitation. The mentees from the program have gone on to work in their communities, offering workshops to other women, forming community organizations, and/or participating in the formation of campaigns or coalitions. This program continues to engage women from both rural and urban Manitoba.

The lessons and networks from Changemakers inspired Pathmakers. Many of the women and organisations we consulted with acted as community mentors for Changemakers participants. We heard from these women that they would like opportunities to build on their existing leadership skills, grow their networks, and take on practical projects with the support of peer mentoring and a structure within which to work. Pathmakers is designed to meet those needs. We have chosen to focus on rural women who often feel isolated as leaders. The program will be taken to three rural sites in Eastern, Southwestern, and the Pembina Valley. The program begins in January of 2012 in Altona.