Ontario Women's Directorate

• Ontario Women's Directorate

• OWD

The Ontario Women's Directorate (OWD) was established in 1983 following the appointment of the Honourable Robert Welch, Deputy Premier of Ontario, as Minister Responsible for Women's Issues. Glenna Carr was appointed as the first Executive Director of the OWD.

With the establishment of the Directorate, both the Women Crown Employees Office and the Women's Bureau were transferred from the Ministry of Labour to the OWD. In 1984, however, the directorate was reorganized into four branches, which were placed under the administration of the Executive Director. With this change, both the Women's Bureau and the Women Crown Employees Office ceased to exist as separate entities.

The four branches established at this time were the Program Development Branch, the Consultative Services Branch, the Policy and Research Branch, and the Finance and Administration Branch. In 1987, the Executive Director of the OWD was given Assistant Deputy Minister status. Also in 1987, a Public Education Programs and Services Branch was established. In 1989, the Program Development Branch was abolished, and the Finance and Administration Branch was renamed the Corporate Services Branch.

In January 2017, the OWD became a new stand-alone ministry called the Ministry of the Status of Women.

The Ontario Women's Directorate (OWD) helped the government achieve its commitment to economic, legal and social equality for all women in Ontario, through policy development and review, program co-ordination, consultation and public education. Issues of priority to the Directorate included: violence against women; poverty and economic issues; and workplace discrimination.

RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)

2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM

Bell and Pascoe. The Ontario Government: Structure and Functions (1988)

Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12- 24

Government of Ontario Telephone Directories, 1998-2006

KWIC Indexes

Archivist(s):
E. Coulter, R. Anger, E. Sadinsky