There’s something particularly pernicious about how women politicians are singled out
This past week, Equal Voice spoke at a quickly convened memorial for the late Jo Cox, the U.K. legislator who was stabbed and gunned down in her constituency. In a world where women remain a distinct minority in elected office, the death of Jo Cox, who was a passionate and outspoken advocate for the disadvantaged, […]
Women in STEM is necessary for an innovative and prosperous country
Canada is most prosperous when all Canadians have a fair chance to succeed. These were the words used by Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, during the Canadian government’s announcement of its innovation agenda last Tuesday afternoon in Ottawa. We at Ladies Learning Code could not agree more. Over the last five […]
Women and weed tipping point in last election
OTTAWA—Women and weed were the tipping point in the last election. According to last week’s Elections Canada 2015 voter update, the number of young women voters rose an astonishing 20 per cent. Similar positive results were posted for first-time young male voters, with a 17 per cent increase in their turnout. Those hikes meant more […]
What the response to Christy Clark’s sex-assault story says about life for women in politics
Last week, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark waded into the broader discussion of sexual assault by breaking her own silence about her experience of sexualized violence. She recounted her childhood, which, she noted, included not one but several advances from strangers who flashed her, groped her, and spied on her. Worse, however, was how, at […]
New nanny initiative a push to make House more family friendly
NDP MP Christine Moore broke records when she gave birth during the last federal election. Now she’s the first MP to use a new on-call Hill nanny service. Ms. Moore, who represents the large rural riding of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Que., was the first MP on the Hill to try the nanny service which started on June […]
Canada’s diplomatic brass: too white, too male
The Prime Minister is a feminist and there is gender parity in cabinet, but Canada’s foreign service still has a long way to go. Sources say that the foreign service has negative gaps in regards to the number of women it employs, as well as aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities. According to a public […]
Conventions serve to inspire and celebrate change, leverage women’s engagement
WINNIPEG—At the risk of invoking the overused motherhood-and-apple-pie analogy, it was clear from both the Liberal and Conservative conventions this past weekend that the amplification of women’s voices within each party is changing the tenor and the conversation for both. While it played out somewhat differently for each, the elevation of women’s voices infused both […]
How do you solve a problem like social conservatives?
OTTAWA—Back in 2006, after Stephen Harper won his first election as head of the Conservative Party of Canada, his minority government brought forward a motion calling for legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage. The vote was just for show, of course. The courts had already legalized gay marriage with a declaration that barring […]
Fight malnutrition
One thousand days is the time from the start of pregnancy to when the child is two years old, where proper development must occur in order to grow up healthy. In Canada, we ensure every pregnant women and each child gets all they need, from prenatal visits to vitamins and proper nutrition. Women and girls […]
Stakes high at world conference on women
The secret to achieving the world we want is not so secret after all: invest in women and girls, create more equitable societies, and everybody wins. The fact remains though that if you are a woman or a child in a developing country today, your odds of dying from a simple, preventable cause are significantly […]
