Digital safety · AI literacy · AdvocacyCanada · 2026
ShieldHer AI

Building solutions for women: online & offline

The ShieldHer AI framework

Protection and empowerment must advance together.

Our framework responds to two connected realities. Women need practical pathways for navigating AI-enabled harm, and they need the confidence and capability to participate fully in an AI-shaped workforce.

Pillar 01

Safety and protection

Reduce harm by improving recognition, evidence preservation and access to qualified support.

Explore R.A.S. ↓
Pillar 02

Workforce empowerment

Build practical AI literacy so women can adapt, create, lead and make informed decisions at work.

Explore B.U.I.L.D. ↓

Why Pillar 2 exists

Exposure is unequal. Outcomes do not have to be.

AI exposure does not mean that an entire job will disappear. It means that some tasks within a role may be automated, accelerated or reorganized. The central question is whether workers have the knowledge and power to shape that transition.

Women are concentrated in clerical, administrative, professional and service occupations where generative AI can perform a growing share of cognitive and language-based tasks. Without accessible training, exposure can deepen existing gaps. With responsible adoption and strong human skills, the same technology can support productivity, advancement and entrepreneurship.

29%of female-dominated occupations are exposed to generative AI, compared with 16% of male-dominated occupations.International Labour Organization, 2026 ↗37.3%of Canadian workers are in occupations exposed to generative AI under the OECD task-based measure.OECD Canada country note, 2024 ↗Transformationis more precise than replacement. Statistics Canada separates high-exposure jobs by whether AI complements or may substitute for tasks.Statistics Canada, 2024 ↗

Pillar 1: Safety

R.A.S.

A response sequence for suspicious, manipulated or harmful digital content. Hover or tap each card to open the safety toolkit layer.

R

Recognize

Pause and assess the content, account or interaction. Identify urgency tactics, source inconsistencies, emotional manipulation, impersonation and signs of synthetic or altered media.

Ask: Who created this, what evidence supports it and what does the sender want me to do?

Report pathway

Recognize

If it involves fraud, extortion, impersonation or cybercrime, report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre / RCMP online portal. If intimate images are involved, use Cybertip.ca and the platform report tool.

A

Archive

Preserve information before it disappears. Save URLs, usernames, timestamps, messages, screenshots and original files when it is safe and lawful to do so.

Create a factual record. Do not repeatedly download, redistribute or forward harmful intimate material.

Evidence retrieval tips

Archive

Use a clean folder named by date. Capture the full screen with URL, username, date and time visible. Export chats when possible, save original files without editing metadata, record account handles, and keep a short incident timeline.

S

Seek help

Use the appropriate platform report, trusted organization, workplace or school process, legal support or law enforcement pathway. Harm is easier to navigate with informed support.

Call 911 for immediate danger. Use specialized Canadian services for fraud, youth safety and privacy concerns.

Who to contact

Seek help

Immediate danger: 911 or local police. Youth intimate-image support: NeedHelpNow.ca. Privacy complaint: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Emotional/community support: 211 Canada or Kids Help Phone.

Pillar 2: Workforce empowerment

B.U.I.L.D.

A capability cycle that moves women from uncertainty to informed, demonstrable AI use. Hover or tap each card for examples, apps and practical use cases.

B

Baseline

Identify the tasks, knowledge and decisions that define your current role. A clear baseline shows where AI may assist and where human accountability must remain.

Start with your assets

Baseline

List what you already have: skills, clothes, coursework, volunteer work, work history, tools, time limits and goals. AI becomes more useful when it starts from your real context instead of a blank prompt.

U

Understand

Learn what the tool does, what information it uses, where it fails and what privacy or bias risks apply. Confidence begins with informed limits.

Choose tools critically

Understand

Ask what data the app needs, whether uploads are private, whether outputs must be verified, and whether the tool is helping you create value or only generating noise.

I

Integrate

Start with low-risk, reversible uses such as brainstorming, outlining, summarizing non-sensitive material or comparing options. Keep human review at every consequential step.

Try practical apps

Integrate

For sustainable fashion, Whering lets you photograph clothing, digitize your closet and plan outfits for events. OpenWardrobe and Acloset are strong alternatives. For resumes, use Teal or Jobscan to check whether your resume is readable and aligned with a real job description.

L

Leverage

Use AI to expand capacity, not erase expertise. Combine it with context, empathy, ethical judgment, communication and domain knowledge that technology cannot supply on its own.

Turn tools into outcomes

Leverage

Use AI to build capsule outfits from what you own, reduce impulse shopping, draft stronger resume bullets with measurable outcomes, compare job descriptions, practice interview answers and plan learning steps.

D

Demonstrate

Document the outcome. Build examples that show improved quality, saved time, stronger analysis or new creative possibilities. Evidence of responsible use becomes workforce confidence.

Show proof of growth

Demonstrate

Keep a portfolio of before-and-after examples: a resume tailored to a posting, a wardrobe plan that reuses existing clothes, a workshop outline, a budget, a content calendar or a project completed with AI-assisted research and human judgment.

Responsible workforce use

Confidence is not blind adoption.

Canadian help and learning resources

Move from information to action.

Learn AI literacyMediaSmarts Canada AI Literacy Day ↗Strengthen digital safetyGet Cyber Safe ↗Support for youthNeedHelpNow.ca ↗Report fraudCanadian Anti-Fraud Centre ↗Study the Canadian frameworkLearning Together for Responsible AI ↗Browse all supportShieldHer AI Resource Hub →