Our Philosophy
WOCDC is informed by an intersectional framework. This means we believe that BIWoC, in all of our diversity, experience multiple, interlocking systems of oppression, and as a result, we hold the knowledge to both recognize and dismantle these systems.
Our Approach
WOCDC aims to create spaces that honour and recognize the power of our knowledge and the fullness of who we are. For more information on how intersectionality informs our work, check out the resources below.
Our policies provide guidelines for members, visitors and participants of WOCDC programs and events to support the creation of supportive spaces for BIWoC in Durham Region, Canada.
Within our programming, it is imperative that we utilize language that not only supports the various identities within the room, but language that is accessible to all and does not in any way, shape or form belittle, bar or attack any member within our spaces. With this being said, within WOCDC we utilize inclusive vocabulary and we encourage all folks within our spaces to do the same.
- Black Feminist Thought in the Matrix of Domination. From: Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins.
- Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination. Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics by Kimberlé Crenshaw.
- Indigenous Statistics: A Quantitative Research Methodology by Maggie Walter and Chris Andersen.
- Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color by Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Our Core Values
Our organization represents the community we are serving. Our team consists of young womxn of colour who want to improve the social environment in Durham Region.
We seek to build equitable and inclusive spaces for Black, Indigenous and other self-identified womxn of colour (BIWoC) who may feel marginalized, unsupported and unheard. We hope to create spaces where their interests and experiences are given the awareness, recognition and attention they deserve.
At WOCDC, we want to collaborate and partner with a variety of community stakeholders in order to foster a strong and interconnected network.
We acknowledge and celebrate our differences at WOCDC. We strongly believe that through community development and engagement we can drive impact and create positive change in the lives of BIWoC.
Honesty and transparency are extremely important to us at WOCDC. We take full accountability for our actions and how they may be perceived and we understand that our actions may come with both intended and unintended outcomes.
As an organization we will continue to better ourselves by engaging with and learning from our community in order to make the necessary changes we need to better reflect their interests, voices, and experiences.