YWCA Toronto is an Association by, for and about women, girls and gender diverse people. Since opening our doors in 1873, YWCA Toronto has been a stable and uniting force, working to improve the lives of women and girls.

Today, our programs promote equity, economic security and lives free from violence. We help women, girls and gender diverse people flee violence and heal, secure safe housing, find good jobs, enhance skills, and develop confidence. We offer a range of housing and shelter options, employment and training programs, community support programs, girls’ and gender diverse youth programs and family programs. We engage in systemic advocacy designed to influence policy and legislative change and push forward shifts in gender equity, poverty reduction and social justice.

The YW movement is one of the oldest and possibly largest membership organizations in the world. YWCA Toronto is independently operated but connected to a national and international network of sister YWCAs with a global presence serving over 25 million women in more than 100 countries. Ahead of our time, with an early vision to become “the greatest and strongest group of young women ever formed…of women, by women and for women.”