Alright, Now What?

Content note: this episode addresses gender-based violence.

“Is #MeToo Over?”, headlines are asking. There’s been a resurgence of victim-blaming narratives in the media and popular culture. Why is this happening? What can we do about it?

The deeper story is grounded in our contradictory cultural imagination when it comes to gender-based violence like intimate partner abuse and sexual assault. A recent survey by the Canadian Women’s Foundation found that most people in Canada believe we all have a role to end this violence, but nearly half are hesitant to act and 23% say “intimate partner violence is none of my business if it doesn’t directly involve me.” We may see statistics that prove how common this abuse is, but it’s hidden. We seem unable to fathom just how widespread it is. And we say we believe survivors, but we easily blame them, question their motivations, and worry about the impacts of their allegations on abusers.

Nicole Bedera joins us to dig into these dizzying contradictions. She’s a sociologist who studies how social structures, organizations, and culture create a world where violence is predictable and ordinary. Over the past decade, she has studied sexual violence in contexts like college campuses and has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine and more. She’s a fellow at the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism and an Affiliated Educator at the Center for Institutional Courage.

Be a Signal for Help Responder: signalresponder.ca

Episode transcript

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The Canadian Women's Foundation acknowledges the support of Women and Gender Equality Canada.

The anticipated overturn of Roe v. Wade, a 1973 US Supreme Court decision that established abortion access as a constitutional right, highlights the importance of reproductive justice everywhere. Achieving a gender equal Canada requires true reproductive justice. The ability to make informed choices about your health should be a basic right. In Canada, even with legislative standards and legal precedence in place, the lived realities of women, girls, and Two Spirit, trans, and non-binary people have not matched that right.

What are the implications of this news in Canada? What’s the state of reproductive rights and access here today?

Meghan Doherty, Director of Global Policy & Advocacy at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, joins us to talk about it. She has over two decades of experience advocating for sexual and reproductive rights in Ireland, Canada, and internationally. As Action Canada’s Director of Global Policy & Advocacy, Meghan is responsible for leading the implementation of Action Canada’s strategic objectives to advance sexual and reproductive rights in global policies, with a particular focus on the UN Human Rights Council. Throughout her career, Meghan has collaborated with activists, parliamentarians, civil society organizations, UN agencies and government officials to support the realization of women’s human rights, including sexual and reproductive rights.

Read Reproductive Justice is Essential to Gender Justice.

Episode Transcript

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

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LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

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Overworked, overwhelmed, undervalued. Last May, we launched The Mother Rising, a campaign to draw attention to the voices of diverse mothers and caregivers in Canada. We learned that many of them were at their breaking point in the pandemic. Their mental health was suffering, and the burdens were even greater for those facing poverty, multiple forms of discrimination, and gender-based violence.

Our follow-up research in May 2022 finds that circumstances have not improved. Mothers are disproportionately impacted today, especially when it comes to their health and careers.

Stacey Rodas, Manager of Public Relations and Online Engagement at the Canadian Women’s Foundation, led this research process and joins us now to talk about it. Stacey has been with the Foundation for five years and has led a number of surveys over the years to gain insight into the attitudes of people in Canada and the needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. Her overall goal is to make Canada more livable and lovable. She is a mother to a twenty month old son, and she is also a huge basketball fan.

Learn more about The Mother Rising.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

Content note: this episode addresses sexual violence.

“Not every Ontario hospital has rape evidence kits,” reads a recent Toronto Star headline. “A proposed law would change that.” May is Sexual Assault Prevention Month, and the issue of sexual assault evidence kits not being available to survivors in all hospitals - in Ontario and throughout Canada - is an important one. But sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes. Survivors may not feel safe enough to report in the first place. Evidence collection is just one piece of a complicated puzzle.

What’s the issue with sexual assault evidence kits in hospitals? And what’s the deeper story about evidence, reporting, supporting survivors, and ultimately, ending sexual violence? Nicole Pietch, Writer and Advocate at the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC), joins us to share her insights.

Nicole Pietsch is a past counsellor at the Sexual Assault Centre of Halton and current Writer and Advocate with the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres. OCRCC works toward the prevention and eradication of sexual violence. OCRCC’s membership includes community-based sexual violence and rape crisis centres from across Ontario, offering counselling, information and support services to all survivors of recent and historical sexual violence, including sexual harassment and sexual trafficking. Since 1998, Nicole has assisted adults and youth living with violence, including immigrant and refugee women and survivors of sexual violence. Nicole has worked with youth survivors of violence who are incarcerated, those living in an institutional settings, and Deaf youth. Nicole’s written work has appeared in York University’s Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering, and the University of Toronto’s Women’s Health and Urban Life and Canadian Woman Studies/les cahiers de la femme.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, find support options at OCRCC’s website.

Be a Signal for Help Responder: signalresponder.ca

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

The Canadian Women's Foundation acknowledges the support of Women and Gender Equality Canada.

The 2022 Federal Budget says that 44% of its investments are gender neutral, 42% benefit men more than women, and just 14% benefit women more than men. What this all means can be a bit confusing. Why should we look at the budget with a critical lens, and can it really move the needle on gender justice? Ann Decter, Senior Director of Community Initiatives and Policy at the Canadian Women’s Foundation, provides helpful explanations, starting with the basics: what, why, and how.

In her work at the Foundation, Ann focuses on a transformative intersectional response to the gendered economic impacts of the pandemic as well as on advancing social enterprise in the women’s sector. Ann joined the Foundation in 2018 after a decade as Director of Policy and Advocacy at YWCA Canada, where she founded a women’s housing advocacy campaign that led to the commitment of 25% of Canada’s National Housing Strategy to programs and services for women and girls.

Watch "How Feminist is the federal budget" on the Canadian Women's Foundation's YouTube channel. In this panel, cohosted by the Foundation and Oxfam Canada, feminist leaders provide an enlightening analysis of what the budget does and doesn’t achieve for the goal of gender justice.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Visit our website: canadianwomen.org

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We're mindful of crises in the Ukraine, in Afghanistan, in Yemen, and other regions of the world. The goal of gender justice in Canada is intertwined with the goals of peace and safety all over the globe. But the distinct needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse people fleeing conflict as refugees and the interplay of discrimination like racism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism are underrecognized in our responses and in the settlement process. What do we mean when we say that refugee experiences are gendered?

Sizwe Inkingi, Coordinator of the Positive Spaces Initiative at the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), joins us to talk about it. OCASI acts as a collective voice for immigrant-serving agencies and coordinates response to shared needs and concerns. Its membership is comprised of more than 200 community-based organizations.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Visit our website: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

It's 2022 and the gender pay gap still hurts us. What does the data say? And what are some real life stories behind the numbers?

The gender pay gap refers to the difference in average earnings of people based on gender. It’s a widely recognized indicator of gender inequities, and it exists across industries and professional levels. There are different ways to measure the gap, but no matter how you cut it, the gap still exists. And it’s not just about gender. Gender pay gaps are worse for those who face multiple barriers, including racialized women, Indigenous women, and women with disabilities. Though it differs by age group, the gap starts from young and carries into the senior years.

Ahead of Equal Pay Day on April 12, Suzanne Duncan, Vice-President of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, and Paulette Senior, President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, tell us stories of where they’ve heard about the gap or experienced it in their own lives.

Read The Facts About the Gender Pay Gap

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

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The Canadian Women's Foundation's new national survey shows a significant difference between how able people feel to support those facing abuse and how supported those survivors of abuse actually feel. It shows that most people believe everyone has a responsibility to end gender-based violence but, at the same time, almost half think the issue’s too big to play a role in ending it and almost one quarter feel intimate partner abuse is none of their business if it doesn’t directly involve them. What in this world is this "support gap” all about? How do we bring our values and actions in line so that survivors of abuse get the non-judgmental support they deserve?

Stacey Rodas, Manager of Public Relations and Online Engagement at the Canadian Women’s Foundation, led the way in this research and joins us now to talk about it. Stacey has been with the Foundation for five years and has led a number of surveys over the years to gain insight into the attitudes of people in Canada and the needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. Her overall goal is to make Canada more livable and lovable. She is a mother to a twenty month old son, and she is also a huge basketball fan.

Content note: this episode features discussion of gender-based violence. If you need access to support, you can find a list of services that may be useful to you on our website.

Sign up to be a Signal for Help Responder: signalresponder.ca

Read more: Responding to Gender-Based Violence: National Survey Results

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

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More about Alright, Now What? Podcast: canadianwomen.org/podcast

The Canadian Women's Foundation acknowledges the support of Women and Gender Equality Canada.

Misogynoir is a term coined by Moya Bailey to describe the unique form of anti-Black sexism faced by Black women. It’s a key topic explored in the documentary, Subjects of Desire, an award-winning documentary written, directed, and produced by Jennifer Holness and Hungry Eyes Media. The film explores Black women and beauty standards and interrelated topics like misogynoir and gender-based violence.

Paulette Senior, President and CEO of the Canadian Women's Foundation, joins us to talk about these essential matters as we recognize and mark Black History Month as well as look forward to International Women’s Day on March 8. Paulette Senior has devoted her life and career to breaking down systemic barriers and building up diverse women and girls. Her personal experience immigrating to Canada from Jamaica as a young girl ignited her interest in social justice and helped make her the dynamic, grounded leader she is today. She is a sought-after thought-leader on numerous issues including gender equity and gender-based violence, women’s poverty and the gender pay gap, girls’ empowerment, and leadership. Her focus at the Canadian Women's Foundation is to bolster an inclusive national movement for all women, girls, and communities across Canada.

Register for Our March 3rd Panel Discussion, Black Women + Beauty Standards: A Conversation on Subjects of Desire. After signing up, you will receive a free private link to view the film in advance.

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Visit our website: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

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We’ve seen breaking news about the rise of alt-right ideology and its connections with misogyny, racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination and oppression. It’s not new, but in the COVID-19 pandemic context, it’s resurging in contemporary ways. How does this ideology stand at odds with the goal of gender justice and what do we need to do to address it?

Luna KC joins us on these important issues. Along with her coauthors at the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW-ICREF), Luna wrote “The Rise of the Alt-Right in Canada: A Feminist Analysis”. She also did research on women and COVID-19 in Canada. Luna is now a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Research Network on Women, Peace, and Security at McGill University. Her work focuses on these very issues and sits at the nexus of women and warfare, gender justice, peace activism, and intersectionality.

Read The Rise of the Alt-Right in Canada: A Feminist Analysis

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at canadianwomen.org and consider becoming a monthly donor.

Visit our website: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation