Leadership

💎

Mentorship

💎

Empowerment

💎

Leadership 💎 Mentorship 💎 Empowerment 💎

Our Mission

GEM envisions a society where youth of diverse backgrounds have equitable access to leadership and mentorship opportunities, realizing their full potential as empowered community members.

GEM is dedicated to cultivating community-level skill-building opportunities, knowledge sharing, and safe spaces for youth, including young women and gender diverse individuals in the Peel Region. We take an intersectional feminist, anti-oppressive, arts-based, and peer-to-peer approach in our work. We are committed to social justice, gender equality, and equity.

Who We Are

Since 2013, the Girls Empowerment Movement (GEM) has provided leadership, mentorship and empowerment opportunities to youth in the Peel Region. Through our work, we have hosted more than 30 initiatives, cultivated a network of over 60 GEMs, and we have engaged over 600 young people. GEM was founded by two high school graduates. Inspired by their mentors and personal experiences, co-founders Annaleshia Jamieson and Linda Bui, wanted to create a space for youth, especially young women, to create the change they want to see in their local community.

Our Values

RADICAL EMPATHY: We recognize that each of us come from unique lived experiences, facing various obstacles along the way. We are committed to recognizing this fact, to be loving towards another, and to practice community care in this work.

EQUITY: We will work to ensure our opportunities are accessible. We will treat everyone with respect and justly.

COLLABORATION: We value our collective ability to work together as a team and in allyship with fellow community members towards meaningful collaborations.

REFLECTION: We value ongoing reflection in “how” we do what we do and “why” we do what we do in order to grow and adapt from lessons learned as a team and organization.