Muslim and racialized women across Canada shared their career experiences with CCMW through the ASPIRE Study. We heard you. This program is our response.
The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) is proud to launch a 1-year Leadership & Mentorship Pilot Program, developed in partnership with Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi, founder of Accelerate Her Future (AHF). Built directly from what our community told us, this pilot is part of CCMW’s National Capacity Project and is designed to strengthen leadership pathways, expand access to sponsorship, and build long-term community capacity within and beyond CCMW.
The pilot cohort is open to Muslim and racialized women — including Black Muslim women, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and women with disabilities — as mentees, and welcomes both Muslim and non-Muslim women as mentors.
Why This Program Exists
Muslim and racialized women continue to face systemic barriers to advancement in the workplace and leadership spaces. These barriers are not only individual — they are structural, persistent, and often compounded by intersecting forms of discrimination.
Through CCMW’s ASPIRE Study, women described being left to navigate their careers largely alone – without the sponsors, advocates, and networks that so often open doors for others. Mentorship, participants told us, offers guidance. However, mentorship alone rarely translates into real opportunity.
What makes a measurable difference is the combination of:
- Mentorship that builds confidence, skills, and leadership capacity
- Sponsorship that opens doors and creates access to decision-making spaces
- Peer networks that sustain learning, belonging, and shared growth over time
This program brings all three together — and it’s built on a reciprocal model. Mentors don’t just guide; they actively sponsor, opening their networks and advocating for the women they mentor. And that relationship runs both ways: as mentors invest in their mentees’ growth, they build their own leadership and community impact in return. Everyone in this program is both giving and gaining.
About the Project
Project consultant
Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi – Founder of Accelerate Her Future
Dr. Golnaz Golnaraghi is an award-winning social impact leader and Founder of Accelerate Her Future, one of Canada’s leading career accelerators supporting Indigenous, Black, and racialized women in business and STEM. With experience spanning corporate leadership, academia, and social impact, she brings a multidisciplinary approach to mentorship, sponsorship, and leadership development.
Members of Dr. Golnaraghi’s team also serve on our Advisory Committee for this project.
Meet the Advisory Committee Guiding the Project
Our advisory committee brings together leaders, researchers, educators, and community advocates from across Canada – including members of our consultants’ teams and independent experts in gender equity, AI, and women’s rights.
AI for good
Samar leads partnership and research engagement at the Diversity Institute, bringing seven years of expertise in equity-focused evaluation, policy, and systems change — grounded in her lived experience as a Black Muslim immigrant woman.
AI for good
Dr. Elmi leads multi-stakeholder research at the intersection of technology, equity, and economic inclusion, with a PhD in Information Systems and deep expertise in digital inclusion and AI governance.
Mentorship
Natasha leads facilitation of AHF's Fellowship Circle mentorship program, having connected over 300 racialized women with 180 mentors across seven cohorts — achieving a 97% Net Promoter Score in 2025.
Project Volunteer
Naba Siddiqui is the Technical Founder of Poket, a last-mile intelligence platform used in 30+ countries to power data collection for climate, agriculture, and humanitarian programs. With 10+ years in digital transformation, she also consults on Cybersecurity and AI in Canada's public and finance sectors.
Project Volunteer
Zeeniya Waseem is a researcher and advocate working at the intersection of gender, religion, and development, with experience at Musawah, Plan International Canada, and the UNHCR. She most recently served as a Research and Learning Fellow with YCI's HerStart Program in Zanzibar and holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto.
Independent
An Associate Professor of News, Social Media, and Public Communication at SFU's School of Communication, Dr. Al-Rawi founded and directs the Disinformation Project, with research spanning misinformation, global communication, and social media dynamics across Canada and the Middle East.
Independent
A Research and Evaluation Associate at MediaSmarts and Research Associate at Carleton University's CHORUS lab, Khadija holds an MCS from Carleton and brings deep expertise in online privacy, security, and the spread of antagonistic content online — including the privacy implications of AI for disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.
Independent
A multidisciplinary researcher with a BSc in Computer Science from UBC and an MA in Russian Affairs from the University of Toronto, Nafeesa has worked across six countries with Digital Public Square, bridging public opinion, online communities, and international policy at the intersection of digital culture and politics.
Independent
A strategic leader with 15+ years in infrastructure, energy, and capital programs, Anam brings engineering expertise, sustainability leadership, and a track record of uniting diverse partners to drive measurable community impact.
Independent
A Policy Analyst at Memorial University's EDI office, Shazia brings over a decade of feminist and human rights advocacy spanning Pakistan and Canada, including legislative reform work and gender-based violence programming.
Independent
A licensed Quebec lawyer currently with the Department of Justice, Asiyah's lived experience as a visibly Muslim woman in Quebec drives her commitment to legal equity and rights protection for Muslim women in Canada.
Independent
A senior executive with nearly two decades across Canada's public sector and top consulting firms, Ishma founded an EDI Centre of Excellence and brings governance expertise, public policy insight, and lived experience to the design of AI strategy for racialized women.
Independent
With 15+ years of global experience across the World Bank, OECD, and APEC, Marwa leads research on inclusive economic growth and has authored policy papers on gender equity and the economic potential of underrepresented groups.
Independent
An Associate Professor in Engineering at TMU and Director of the NSERC CREATE program on Responsible AI, Dr. Ensan's research focuses on trustworthy AI in high-stakes settings including biomedical applications.
Independent
Waeza S. Afzal is a Toronto-based public policy professional with over a decade of experience advancing governance, equity, and stakeholder engagement across the public, regulatory, and non-profit sectors.
Public Webinar Series
CCMW are launching a free public webinar series this summer and fall, exploring the themes at the heart of the Leadership & Mentorship Pilot – from mentorship and sponsorship, to building networks, to what it means to be part of this program’s founding cohort.
These sessions are open to everyone, whether you’re considering joining as a mentor or mentee, or simply want to learn more. Each webinar will feature guest speakers and interactive polls, giving you a direct hand in shaping the program before it launches.
Past Webinars
Missed a session? No problem. Simply click on a past webinar below to watch the recording.
Upcoming Webinars
Ready to join live? Register for an upcoming session below to save your spot
Questions or Interested in Getting Involved?
If you would like to learn more about the Leadership & Mentorship Development project, share comments please contact us at capacitybuilding@ccmw.com
Interested in joining the program as a mentor or mentee — or just want updates on this project? Fill out the form below and our team will follow up with next steps.
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