By: Deputy Mayor Brenda Hogg
Town of Richmond Hill

International Women’s Day

It is hard to believe that my grandmother’s generation had to fight for a woman’s right to vote. It was my grandmother’s generation who marched in the streets, held rallies, were jailed, and went on hunger strikes so that women could vote on such fundamental matters as education, business, and healthcare.

Now it seems that those battles are over. Not true. The World Economic Forum has measured gender-based gaps in access to resources and opportunities in 130 countries worldwide. Their most recent report shows that Canada ranked 31 out of 130 countries when it comes to men and women sharing opportunities and resources equally.

According to their Gender Gap Index, Canadian men and women enjoy reasonably equal access to education and employment. But our health and survival ranking was only 57 out of 130 and women are terribly underrepresented on the political stage. Although women comprise over 52 per cent of the Canadian population, only about 22 per cent of our elected officials are female.

If we are to move gender equity forward, women need to celebrate their successes and prepare our young women for a future where they will feel safe, determine their own life course, make responsible choices, and anticipate a bright future.

This year Richmond Hill will celebrate International Women’s Day for the first time.

On the afternoon of Saturday, March 7th, a small but determined group of women will take to the stage of our new theatre. We will entertain women and men of all ages, cultures, faiths, and persuasions with stories about women who have made their voices heard, sometimes at great personal cost and in doing so, have moved the social / political agenda for gender equality forward on a global scale.

Sponsors for this event are being solicited. Please contact me at: bhogg@richmondhill.ca or 905-771-2498

Brenda