On September 30, the City welcomed nearly 200 residents and community partners to City Hall for the Women and Gender Equity public forum.
“The level of engagement from the community on this file has been extraordinary,” said Clara Freire, Manager of the Partner and Stakeholder Initiatives team leading the Women and Gender Equity Strategy.
“We had a sellout event in less than 48 hours and have seen more than 100 surveys completed on EngageOttawa. I’m inspired by the extent to which residents and community partners are reaching out to offer their support in creating a strategy that reflects their voices.”
The forum consisted of an opening prayer by Algonquin Elder Barbara Dumont-Hill and remarks by Mayor Watson and Councillor Kavanagh, the City’s Liaison on the Women and Gender Equity file. Guests were then assigned to one of 11 facilitated sessions lead by staff in Community and Social Services and Human Resources. Participants were asked to identify what they believed the City’s focus for the Women and Gender Equity Strategy should be.
In the coming months, the team will work to validate all feedback and will report to Council in 2020 with the strategy.
Want to learn more about what gender equity is all about? Check out the team’s latest video:
