Alright, Now What?

After nearly 2 years of a global pandemic with severely gendered impacts, how are women, girls, and Two Spirit, trans, and non-binary people fairing today? What do the losses in three decades of gender equality gains and alarming trends mean when we're searching for a better way forward? What is the state of gender justice in Canada at the top of 2022?

Paulette Senior, President and CEO of the Canadian Women's Foundation, recently wrote about this topic in The Hill Times, saying, "We need gender justice pursued at a level, pace, and sophistication Canada has not yet known." In this episode, Paulette gives us deeper insight into what's so concerning about the state of gender justice today and where we need to go.

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.

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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A new survey by Environics Institute for Survey Research shows that 57% of women in Canada identify as feminists, a big increase from the past. The number is especially high for young women aged 18 to 24. In addition to that, 40% of men consider themselves feminists, and 90% of people in Canada believe we need to do more to promote gender equality. 

Is feminism no longer considered a "bad word"? Is calling yourself a feminist less stigmatized and is feminism actually ... trending? What does this mean for the future of feminist movements and our goals of gender justice? Michelle Musindo, Manager of Community Initiatives at the Canadian Women's Foundation, shares her perspectives and addresses the impacts of young feminists today. She also gives a helpful book recommendation in honour of the passing of bell hooks, the legendary Black feminist scholar.

Read more: The Enduring Legacy Of bell hooks by Paulette Senior, President and CEO of the Canadian Women's Foundation (Chatelaine, 2021)

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

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

The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability recently reported that, in 2020 and 2021, the rate of femicide - murders of women because they are women - has been on the rise. In Canada, a woman is killed by her current or former partner an average of every 6 days. That's a pretty frightening and unacceptable number. And that was the number before the pandemic's spike in risk of abuse. 

What is femicide, exactly? What can we do to end this completely preventable form of gender-based violence as we move into a new year?

Anuradha Dugal, Vice President of Community Initiatives at the Canadian Women's Foundation and a representative of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, joins us to speak about this issue.

Content note: this episode features discussion of femicide and intimate partner abuse. If you need access to support, you can find a list of services that may be useful to you on our website.

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.

Be a Signal for Help Responder: signalresponder.ca or text SIGNAL to 540-540

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

As we move into the holiday season, we have seen more news stories about gender-based violence. For every case we do learn about, there are many we don't know about. Those facing violence aren't always safe enough to tell anyone what's happening. Sometimes, they fear a response of judgement, disbelief, or retaliation. And sometimes the response they get is a complicated mixed bag with both positive and negative elements. Addressing gender-based violence and the gender injustice that underlies it means reflecting on these complexities and paying attention to diverse experiences of survivors. Laura, a friend of the Canadian Women's Foundation, shares her personal experiences and insights about the key ingredients of a better response to signs and signals of abuse.

Content note: this episode features a personal experience of intimate partner violence. If you need access to support, you can find a list of services that may be useful to you on our website. 

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.

Episode transcript

Be a Signal for Help Responder: signalresponder.ca or text SIGNAL to 540-540

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

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

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

What can supporting someone going through abuse actually look like? And what about the times where we might have ... messed up?

Our new Signal for Help Responder Campaign gives people tools and training to respond to signs or signals of abuse because a signal is only as good as its response. And we need to shift our culture of stigma about gender-based violence to a culture of support.

This honest, insightful conversation with Suzanne Duncan, Vice-President of Philanthropy at the Canadian Women's Foundation, speaks to what support can look like and addresses those times in the past when we actually didn't respond to signals of abuse.

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.

Be a Signal for Help Responder: signalresponder.ca or text SIGNAL to 540-540

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

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

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

November 20 is the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to remember and honour the lives of trans and gender-diverse people murdered due to hate, prejudice, and discrimination. It was first held in 1999 to honour the memory of Rita Hester, whose 1998 murder in Boston, Massachusetts remains unsolved. In Canada, violence against diverse Two Spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people is high and their experiences of gender-based violence is unique. But when we talk about gender-based violence, we rarely focus on their unique experiences, nor have we historically centred their solutions and ideas for change. Fae Johnstone, public speaker, consultant, educator and community organizer, joins us to shine a spotlight on the issues and the changes that need to happen.

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

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

This bonus episode will get you up to speed on what's been going on with the Signal for Help, a simple one-handed gesture you can make without leaving a digital trace. It means "I need you to check in with me safely." We launched it in April 2020 in response to an increased risk of gender-based violence in the pandemic. By July 2020, 1 in 3 people in Canada knew about it or saw it being used and it had gone viral all over the world ... including on Tik Tok. Last week, we learned of a missing 16-year-old girl in the United States who used it in distress in a moving car and someone saw her and called 911. She was helped out of a dangerous situation and the person driving the car was arrested. We have gotten a lot of media interest in the Signal for Help and on the broader issue of what it means to support survivors of violence. Suzanne Duncan, Vice-President of Philanthropy at the Canadian Women's Foundation, addresses this huge spike in interest and what we can do to transform our culture of stigma to a culture of support.

More on the Signal for Help: canadianwomen.org/signal-for-help

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

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

Many of us know what it's like to be told to "lean in". And there are lots of articles on how women and equity-seeking people can better ask for what they need and want at work. It's all meant as helpful advice, but especially in a pandemic where we've experienced historic setbacks in gender equity in the labour market, how helpful is it? Does "leaning in" actually work? What are the more useful questions to ask about building gender justice at work, and what are some of the more useful answers? Sagal Dualeh, Director of the Investment Readiness Program at the Canadian Women's Foundation, speaks to this issue broadly, as well as to her specific work changing the landscape of entrepreneurship so more of us can access its opportunities and promises.

More on the Canadian Women's Foundation's Investment Readiness Program: https://canadianwomen.org/irp-ppi 

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

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

In this back-to-school season, we launched the Got Your Back campaign to support girls and gender-diverse young people in their struggles with mental health, healthy relationships, identity, belonging, and confidence in the pandemic. It got us thinking about future ramifications for diverse girls and young people – both millennials and Gen Z. We’re joined by Anjum Sultana, National Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications at YWCA Canada, who shares what it would take to prevent a “lockdown generation” and why planning for the long-term is so important … especially since policy solutions too often take a short-term approach.

Support the Got Your Back Campaign

Read Preventing a Lockdown Generation: A Plan to Support Canada’s youth in post-pandemic recovery 

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

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

The issue of trafficking is in Canadian news media all the time. But what is it? Why is the term so confusing? And why is it that matters of policing, prosecution, and prison dominate public policy discussions when learnings from the grassroots tell us a different story of what will effectively address this form of gendered violence? The realities are complicated, the impacts are highly intersectional, and Karen Campbell, Director of Community Initiatives and Policy at the Canadian Women's Foundation, helps us disentangle them.

Read more: Sexual Exploitation/Trafficking: Essential Learnings from the Grassroots Anti-Trafficking Grants Program Evaluation Summary 2016-2021

Visit our website and donate today: canadianwomen.org

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Twitter: @cdnwomenfdn 

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation

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