Celebrating women’s leadership and diversity

Happy International Women’s Day!

Today we celebrate with the United Nations theme, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” Women stand at the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, community organizers and as some of the most exemplary and effective national leaders in combating the pandemic. The crisis has highlighted both the centrality of their contributions and the disproportionate burdens that women carry.

Our graphic designer, Yeha Ahn, created the image above to honour diverse and unique women who have inspired others in Canada and around the world. Featured are:

• Kenojuak Ashevak (top left), Inuit artist and trailblazer of modern Inuit art
• Sandy Ho (top centre), research associate, community organizer, and disability justice and intersectionality advocate
• Michaela Ivri Mendelsohn (top right), founder of TransCanWork, an organization that helps trans individuals find employment with welcoming companies
• Marisa Franco (middle), community organizer and Latino rights advocate
• Sitara Hewitt (bottom left), Canadian actress who portrayed Dr. Rayyan Hamoudi on Little Mosque on the Prairie
• Alicia Garza (bottom centre), co-founder of Black Lives Matter and civil rights advocate
• Rebecca Nagle (bottom right), indigenous activist, speaker and writer, identifying as a two spirit (queer) woman

“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” –G.D. Anderson