International Women's Day focuses on equality

International Women’s Day (March 8) celebrates the achievements of women and demands action to accelerate equality.

The past decade has been dominated by social movements that have challenged the status quo and ignited conversations about bias, equity, justice and general human rights. The #metoo movement has gained significant momentum around the globe, bringing many changes in workplace culture, systems and policies – including here at The City of Calgary.

According to a 2018 report, women represent 31 per cent of The City’s workforce and this week our Women in Transportation committee co-hosted an event with the Calgary and Area United Way to further raise awareness and celebrate the empowerment of women in our community.

United Way Vice President and COO Beth Gignac recognized the need for employer programs that advocate and support the advancement and growth of women in all industries.

“I want people to think about the privilege and the opportunity we’ve been given to actually design spaces, places, systems and a culture that is actually in support of the most vulnerable in our community. And that women are often the most vulnerable in our community or taking care of the most vulnerable in our community,” said Gignac.

The City’s Women in Transportation Committee works to advocate and support the advancement and growth of women in all roles across the Transportation department while contributing to the overall goal of building a more inclusive workforce.

“It’s important that we continue to service equity in the workplace and look for talent wherever we can find it,” said Doug Morgan, the acting General Manager of Transportation and the event’s executive sponsor. “We need to share our stories and talk about this stuff and realize we all have our biases and we need to explore those, discuss and make sure this issue is always something we’re talking about and trying to get better at.”

Canada’s theme for this year #EachforEqual: An equal world is an enabled world, is a call to action to join the conversation; challenge global stereotypes and gender biases, in turn building Canadian values where everyone has equal opportunities to participate and succeed. Visit internationalwomensday.com for more information on how you can take action for equality.

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