Every year on March 8, we join others around the world to celebrate International Women’s Day to recognize the economic, political, cultural and social achievements of women, while making a call to action to accelerate gender equality.
This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is #BalanceforBetter which seeks to build awareness and drive action for gender balance worldwide. At the municipal level, we have our own role to play in recognizing barriers and breaking them down.
This morning at the Mayor’s annual International Women’s Day breakfast, we were proud to reaffirm Council’s commitment to creating the City’s Women and Gender Equity Strategy.
To move this initiative forward, Councillor Theresa Kavanagh was appointed by the Mayor as the City of Ottawa’s very first Liaison for Women and Gender Equity. A sponsors group of City Councillors and senior leaders will work with dedicated City staff, residents, community partners and women’s organizations to identify and address inequities that will inform the strategy. In addition, the City has created a full-time staff position dedicated to developing this strategy.
In honour of International Women’s Day, the Diversity and Inclusion team is hosting a learning event for City staff that will include an engaging discussion on gender balance and share experiences of diverse women in the workplace.
