Our Projects

Research and related undertakings

Gender analysis of boards of Canadian Muslim charitable institutions

A few years ago, one of our founders approached her local mosque, which was soliciting donations for a massive expansion project.

She asked if women would be included on the board of the new, larger mosque. The answer was a resounding ‘no’. And so she decided to donate to another mosque that was more inclusive of women.

A few years later, she came across a similar situation in British Columbia, where the British Columbia Muslim Association (BCMA)—the oldest Muslim charity in Canada—had stipulated in its by-laws, for 50 years, that only men could become directors; only men could vote for the directors, and only a man could be president.

Research of the public records of the BCMA and the local mosque, on the Canada Revenue Agency  (CRA) website, confirmed the presence of an all-male board of directors for five consecutive years for each organization. Were there others that did not include women in shaping the governance and direction of an important community institution?

The project

And thus began the Gender Board analysis project in 2020 – an attempt to look at the gender make-up of Muslim charitable institutions registered with the CRA. The initial study was completed in 2022 by University of BC student researcher and Loran Scholar Lavan Balandran.  The current study, completed in 2024, includes the gender composition of the boards of over 500 organizations from 2014 to 2022.

The analyzed data tracks the ratio of women to men, on boards by province and city. This data is updated every year based on tax return information available on the CRA website.

The community

We know that countless individuals – women and men – have volunteered their valuable time to build Muslim community institutions across Canada.  In some cases, their governing bodies reflect the diversity of the congregation; in some cases, they do not.  A nascent community can only thrive by including the voices of all its members.  Like all communities, Muslims can do better. And they strive to do so.  Just look how far they have come.

We hope this study allows Muslim institutions to reflect whether or not women have a seat at the table.  We understand that while women may be active in committees, they are not part of the decision-making process. Sometimes, women themselves are reluctant to come forward due to time constraints, cultural attitudes, and the like. However, if our institutions are to be vibrant, welcoming, and inclusive, we must strive to include the voices of women at the board level – to shape governance and policies that reflect the entire community.

Our goal is to encourage Muslim communities to reflect upon their institutions, and strive to be more inclusive of women at the board level. Community members can use this information to see which of their institutions are making an effort to include women, and which institutions are not.

Change can happen – when congregants demand it. The local mosque (mentioned above) and the BCMA now have women on their boards, thanks to the hard work of women and men, alike.

The research analysis

We offer the information in two formats:

  • A summary of national, provincial and municipal trends; and
  • searchable database of charitable Muslim institutions for the most recent tax year.

We hope this information will be used by:

  • academics for research
  • other faith-based communities as a model to research their own institutions
  • Muslim community members

Our goal is to encourage Muslim communities to reflect upon their institutions, and strive to be more inclusive of women at the board level. Community members can use this information to see which institutions are making an effort to include women in the governing process.