Donewaiting
Launched on International Women’s Day 2018, DONEWAITING set out to transform long-standing policy recommendations into public urgency and legislative action.
In Canada today, women still faced barriers to economic justice:
Persistent wage gaps
Unsafe workplaces
Inaccessible child care
Precarious, undervalued labor
The Canadian Labour Congress had the research, the policy, and the roadmap. What they needed was public momentum—a way to connect their work with the communities it was meant to serve and rally national support for systemic change.
THE STRATEGY
1. Designing for Alignment, Not Just Awareness
We created a focused set of visuals that translated complex policy goals into emotional, accessible demands. Floral symbols of care and resilience became the campaign’s signature—each poster amplifying urgent issues like workplace safety, wage equity, affordable child care, and fair labor.
2. Bridging Institutions and People
We worked across departments to align policy experts, movement leaders, and everyday workers—using design as a shared language to build trust and mobilize action.
3. Placing the Message Where It Matters
Posters were deployed in community centers, gathering spaces, and online platforms—meeting people where they already were and turning passive viewers into active voices.
This work was made possible through close collaboration with the CLC’s Women and Human Rights, Political Action, and Communications teams.
THE OUTCOME
DONEWAITING helped shift national policy by making the issues women face in their lives everyday impossible to ignore.
The campaign contributed to a $30 billion federal commitment to build a national child care system, the adoption of ILO Convention 190—the first global treaty to end workplace violence—and the passage of the Proactive Pay Equity legislation. It has also helped drive federal momentum for a $15 minimum wage and stronger protections for precarious and care workers.
GRATITUDE
Thank you to the Canadian Labour Congress's Women and Human Rights, Political Action, and the communication departments for their support, feedback and strategy to roll out the DONEWAITING campaign. And while we celebrate, we know the fight for gender equality and economic justice continues.