Tuesday, March 8, 2022 – International Women’s Day
Thank you and good morning, everyone.
It is my pleasure to wish everyone a happy International Women’s Day! Bonjour tout le monde, et bienvenue à cette édition de la célébration annuelle de la Journée internationale des femmes. Je suis très heureuse d’être ici avec le maire Watson, la très honorable Michaëlle Jean, sa famille et ses invités, mes collègues du Conseil et vous tous qui êtes avec nous aujourd’hui. (EN: I am very happy to be here with Mayor Watson, the Right Honorable Michael Jean and her family and guests, my Council colleagues, and all of you who are with us today.)
All over the world, people are gathering today to celebrate the hard won rights and contributions of women. On International Women’s Day, we intentionally lift our gaze beyond our own city; our own country; our own struggles. And we join our thoughts and hopes with all the other women who are using their energy to make the world a better place.
There are so many accomplishments I am proud of when I look back on the past few years since we launched the Women and Gender Equity work of our city. The Mayor has named many of the initiatives we’ve seen here at the City of Ottawa through the work of Suzanne Obiorah, Sawsen El-Rafei and their team.
Cette équipe a fait un travail incroyable pour intégrer l’équité des genres au travail à tous les niveaux au sein de la Ville. Le tout est aligné avec notre travail sur la vérité et la réconciliation, nos objectifs de lutte contre le racisme, notre nouveau Plan officiel et notre Plan de sécurité et de bien-être dans les collectivités. (EN: They’ve done an incredible job of integrating the gender equity work across the board here at the city. It is aligned with our truth and reconciliation work, our anti-racism goals, our new Official Plan and our Community Safety and Well Being Plan.)
Our new hiring practices help ensure women are protected from harassment in interviews and on the job. We have some exceptional new leaders in Renee Amilcar, Jennifer Shepherd and Nathalie Gougeon, just to name a few. I’m excited that again this year, we ‘ll be hosting They Govern, where young women from high schools all across the city and our rural communities are welcomed right here to be a “City Councillor for a day”.
Nous avons démontré que lorsque nous prenons nos décisions avec une perspective d’équité entre les genres, nous sommes meilleurs. (EN: We’ve demonstrated that when we apply a gender lens to our decision-making, we are better.)
Nous célébrons nos premières répondantes, nos professionnelles de la santé ou des services de garde d’enfants, nos cadres supérieures, et toutes les femmes qui veillent à notre santé, à notre sécurité et à notre productivité. Je tiens également à remercier l’ensemble des enseignantes, des éducatrices à domicile, des préposées aux services de soutien et des fournisseuses de services. (EN: We celebrate our first responders, our health and child care professionals, and all those who ensured our safety and provided services to allow us to continue working. )
But equally important as celebrating our accomplishments, we have to boldly face the fact that we are far from done. As long as some women are unsafe in their homes, aren’t paid equal wages for equal work, aren’t represented in the places where decisions are being made, we are all diminished.
La Journée internationale des femmes concerne donc aussi les femmes d’Afghanistan, du Congo et d’Ukraine, pour ne citer que quelques-uns des nombreux endroits où les femmes et les filles sont souvent les premières victimes d’environnements non sécuritaires. (EN: So International Women’s Day is also about the women of Afghanistan, Congo and the Ukraine, to name just a few of the many places where women and girls are often the first victims of unsafe environments.)
It’s about the 231 Calls to Action for murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls here in Canada. It’s about Muslim women in Quebec who, because of Bill 21, are feeling that they have to choose between their jobs and their beliefs. It’s about the alarming rise in domestic violence.
It’s about all the women who have lost jobs because they stayed home to care for their kids or parents during the pandemic or went to work in insecure jobs to keep the rest of us safe. It’s about the women whose kids are going to school hungry because they spend too much of their income on the rent.
So what’s the work ahead of us right here in Ottawa, our nation’s capital?
First let’s not aim for “back to normal”. Normal wasn’t good enough for lots of people. During the pandemic, we learned that we have dangerously neglected our social safety net, especially for seniors, women and the most vulnerable.
Let’s go for better. Safer. More inclusive. More informed.
Those of us who are still okay have the responsibility to use our voices on behalf of those who can’t safely use theirs. In that spirit, I’d like to end with a few challenges for all of us here today; women and men alike.
- First, have the courage to find out more about your own blind spots so that you can keep learning and making your own changes. Break your own biases.
- Approfondissez vos réflexions lorsque vous entendez parler de ce qui arrive aux femmes ailleurs dans le monde. Cherchez à savoir comment ce problème se manifeste près de chez vous et faites quelque chose pour y remédier. L’Ukraine en est le parfait exemple. Il existe de nombreuses façons de venir en aide à partir d’ici. (EN: Dig a little deeper when you hear about something happening to women in another part of the world. Look for ways that issue is playing itself out close to you and do something about that. Ukraine is the perfect example. There are lots of ways to help from here)
- Speak up every time you hear comments that reinforce stereotypes and generalizations
- Soutenez les groupes communautaires et les campagnes qui militent pour la justice. Participez à des marches. Écrivez des lettres. Travaillez sur une campagne électorale. Donnez de l’argent. (EN: Support community groups and campaigns that advocate for justice. Go on marches. Write letters. Work on an election campaign. Give money.)
- Befriend and mentor a young woman or 2SLGBTQ+ person in your life. You can actually change the trajectory of a person’s life by just stepping in and being there consistently.
- Apprenez à reconnaître, à réagir et à informer les autres de l’Appel à l’aide, un signe de détresse international de plus en plus répandu qui indique qu’une femme n’est pas en sécurité et a besoin d’aide. Ce signal commence à être enseigné dans nos collèges et universités et à être utilisé dans le monde entier comme un outil permettant aux femmes d’appeler à l’aide en toute sécurité. Consultez le site Web de la Fondation canadienne des femmes. (EN: Learn to recognize, respond and tell others about the Signal for Help, a growing international distress sign that indicates a women is unsafe and needs help. It’s starting to be taught in our colleges and universities and is beginning to be used around the world as a tool for women to safely call for help. Look it up on the Canadian Women’s Foundation website.)
These are just a few ways we can each make this International Women’s Day count.
In closing, I want to leave you convinced of your own power to make a difference. The world needs what women have to say. In the famous words of Kamilla Harris, “Excuse me, I’m speaking.”
Je vous souhaite une bonne Journée internationale des femmes!
Thanks. Merci. Meegwetch.
You can view the full event below including The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean’s very moving keynote speech.
Mayor Jim Watson presented the Key to the City to the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean at the Mayor’s annual International Women’s Day breakfast on March 8th, in recognition of her illustrious and distinguished career as a journalist, 27th Governor General of Canada, UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti and third Secretary General for La Francophonie.
The event was co-hosted by Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, Council Liaison for Women and Gender Equity, and Michaëlle Jean delivered the keynote speech.
