Femme Folks Fest was founded upon principles and hard data from the national Equity in Theatre Initiative. Dr. Michelle MacArthur’s study, Achieving Equity in Canadian Theatre: A Report with Best Practice Recommendations (2015) remains the most recent study on Gender Equity in Canadian Theatre. It was commissioned by Pat the Dog with support from Canada Council for the Arts. MacArthur’s study included a series of recommendations – key of which is to promote, platform and present Femme works. We took this to heart, founding both our Women’s Room (2015-2022) which folded into Femme Folks Fest (2020 ongoing).