Hailey Rodgers, Com’21, forged a career that combines her passions for women’s empowerment, wellness, and non-profits. Working with and among non-profit leaders, she encountered inspiring causes and talent, yet she also felt disconnected and overextended.
Through her own personal experiences and those of other women in the non-profit sector, Rodgers identified a growing prevalence of positions marked by low pay, lack of recognition, and burnout. But she also recognized immediate kinship and an opportunity for connection.
So, in February 2024, Rodgers launched a group on LinkedIn called the to foster a community for networking, learning, and well-being.
Today, WNN is entirely volunteer run, with Rodgers at the helm as executive director. The group boasts about 4,000 members Canada-wide and an energetic board of directors, several of whom are Queen’s alumnae, including Meghan Baryliuk, Artsci’22, and Jenna Hickey, Artsci’19, as well as volunteer Alex Fernandes, Artsci’21.
Meera Mahadeo, Artsci’22, also sits on WNN’s board and describes the genesis of the group as a response to an evolving crisis. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for non-profit services across Canada remains high, with women disproportionately bearing the brunt of the burden.
“We tend to see these services in the rearview mirror,” says Mahadeo, “but we don’t think a lot about who is providing those services.”
It’s estimated that one in five Canadians relies on non-profit services. The sector itself provides approximately one in ten jobs in Canada, with women making up about 80 per cent of the country’s non-profit workforce. Yet, women report feeling unappreciated and are underrepresented in the sector’s leadership.
WNN recently launched a pulse-check survey for women in non-profits, and Rodgers says the early responses have verified the challenges the group is attempting to combat.
“There’s a strong feeling that the work these women are doing is perceived as nice, rather than legitimate,” Rodgers says. “That can be incredibly demoralizing when you truly care about what you do.”
Rodgers and Mahadeo both say they’re proud that WNN is committed to sharing successes and championing the critical work women are doing at non-profits from coast to coast to coast.
“We want to shout these women out and give them space to tell their stories,” says Rodgers.
WNN also offers professional development workshops and roundtable talks on subjects ranging from mental health to dealing with burnout and strategies for networking. The offerings are universally valuable, but especially so for exceptionally small or virtual teams that may feel siloed.
“We’re really striving to create programs that are accessible and informative,” says Mahadeo. “The core of everything we do is to make sure people know they have a community behind them.”
With a newly launched three-year strategic plan, WNN is focused on growth, both in terms of reach and community as it seeks to increase its advocacy and raise awareness of the need to appropriately value the way women serve their communities.
“The non-profit sector runs on heart, but to me, heart alone isn’t enough,” says Rodgers. “What we’re seeing and hearing is that women love their missions, but they’re exhausted. We’re here to say you’re allowed to do social good and still be recognized fairly.”
Learn more about WNN by visiting its and .
