October is Women’s History Month in Canada, and this year’s theme for celebration is Through Her Lens: Celebrating the Diversity of Women.
We’d like to take this opportunity to highlight women who have made significant contributions to gender equality, as well as women working to produce change in other sectors such as politics, sciences, policy development, commitments to reconciliation, addressing gender-based violence as well as many other fields.
Below you will find the biographies of featured women for Women and Gender Equality Canada 2023 (WAGE) and the organizations they support.
All information is from the Government of Canada’s Women’s History Month article that can be found here: https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/commemorations-celebrations/womens-history-month/featured-women.html
Alina Nizigama, YWCA Canada, Chief Executive Officer
Aline (she/her) is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of YWCA Canada. Through her leadership and dynamism, her ambition to move Canada forward to a more inclusive future, proud of its diversity and equality. She wants to contribute to making the world a better place for the next generations by using her lived experience as a former refugee to bring about trauma-informed change.
Gerri Sharpe, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, President
Gerri was born in Yellowknife and proudly calls Gjoa Haven her hometown. Throughout her life, she’s had the opportunity to live in various parts of Canada, but currently resides in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She is a mother of two and a proud grandmother of four.
Gerri’s commitment to advocating for the well-being and safety of all women, particularly Inuit women and women and children at the national level, has been a driving force in her life.
In February 2022, Gerri was eleced as the President of Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada. In this role, she continues her passionate advocacy for the rights and empowerment of Inuit women across Canada. Through this work, she aims to create a more inclusive and equitable society for women and girls.
Harmy Mendoza, WomanACT, Executive Director
For the past 16 years, Harmy Mendoza has led WomanACT. This non-profit organization advocates for a world where all women and gender-diverse people live free from violence and have economic security.
As an immigrant woman, Harmy intimately understands the hurdles marginalized groups face. This understanding fuelds her dedication to promoting gender equality as the cornerstone of societal progress. Under her leadership, the organization spearheads research, education, and policy reform initiatives to create an inclusive environment for all women.
Helen Kennedy, Egale Canada, Executive Director
Having dedicated her life’s work to improving the lives of 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada and around the world, Helen has learned that progress in the fight for equality can never be taken for granted. In 2007, with 22 years of experience in politics, Helen became the Executive Director at Egale Canada. In her own work, she has seen many legal and legislative advances including the win for equal marriage, the addition of gender expression and gender identity as protected grounds to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code.
While these moments in Canada’s history are important to celebrate and reflect upon, Helen would say to future generations of women and nonbinary people who aspire to make a difference in pursuit of gender equality that this work must be collective and ongoing, and inclusive of trans, Two Spirit and gender-diverse people. By uniting together, we can continue to move forward in creating a more inclusive and equitable society that reflects the universal truth that all persons are equal.
Léonie Couture, La rue des Femmes, Founding President and Executive Director
For Léonie Couture, relational health is part of health, as with physical and mental health. Having faced violence, inequality, and bullying since childhood, Léonie found the best defence against violence was in the search for meaning.
As an adult, she became committed to promoting women’s rights, and she was shaken by the plight of the most vulnerable among her fellow humans: women experiencing homelessness who had survived violence. Because violence leaves wounds, and those wounds need to be healed to cure homelessness, she founded La rue des Femmes, a relational health institute.
Enriched by her years of experience working with these wounded women, Léonie realized that there are three branches of human health: physical health, mental health, and relational health.
Relational health is a state of profound wellbeing that fosters vital capacities for safety, connections, and happiness for yourself and others.
By its very nature, relational health is inclusive and looks beyond all types of differences. Cisgender women or transgender women; Indigenous women, racialized women, or women from any other background; mothers or non-mothers; lesbians, straight women, or queer women – they all have a place at La rue des femmes because they are human beings. It’s that simple.
These are just a few notable women who have made significant contributions to the equality of women through their years of experience and through a wide range of work such as inclusivity for women and girls, preventing and addressing domestic violence, and inclusivity for marginalized groups among many other endeavours.
To view a full list of the WAGE (Women and Gender Equality Canada) featured women of 2023, please visit: https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/commemorations-celebrations/womens-history-month/featured-women.html
In addition to women who fight for gender equality, there are many Canadian woman who have made important contributions to Canada in the fields of STEM, Arts, Politics, Human Rights, as well as trailblazers who helped pave the way for women to continue this important work for future generations. More information about these remarkable women can be read here: https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/commemorations-celebrations/women-impact.html