Speakers Series & Standing Committees’ Workshops

2018 – 2019 Theme
“Women Helping Women”

Yorkminster Park Baptist Church
1585 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4T 1Z9

March 2, 2019
10:00 AM – 3:30 pm

Registration closes on Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Dietary Restrictions must also be received by this date

Click here for REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration Desk is open from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
The meeting begins promptly at 10:00 AM

Morning Plenary

Equal Voice Toronto: Promoting the election of more women

Founded in 2001, Equal Voice is a national, bilingual, multi-partisan organization dedicated to electing more women to all levels of political office in Canada.

Guest Speaker Yaelle Gang from  Equal Voice,  Toronto will speak on Equal Voice’s importance, history and activities to realize more women elected to political positions. Yaelle is chair of the Toronto Chapter of Equal Voice and is passionate about encouraging women to get involved in politics at all levels of government. She is currently also the editor of an investment publication for Canadian pension plans. Prior to this, she was a financial communications manager at a provincial agency and has a wealth of experience from her time on Parliament Hill, where she was a policy advisor to the federal minister of state (finance) and worked on two federal budgets. She also served as the legislative assistant to a member of parliament on the finance committee. Yaelle holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University. 

Afternoon Workshops

Legislation: 

The Better Ballot Campaign

Teresa McKeeman and Vivian Webb from Guelph’s Better Ballot Campaign will speak on the founding, implementation, lessons learned and steps to move this campaign forward for the upcoming Federal election.

Teresa retired from a 30+ year career in municipal social services with a keen interest in politics. This led to her active involvement in community volunteerism and CFUW Guelph’s Advocacy Committee, advocating for policy changes to improve the lives of girls, women and other marginalized groups.

Last year, Teresa helped organize a Women’s Campaign School in Guelph and Wellington County with the goal of encouraging more women to run for office in the 2018 municipal election. The women who attended the campaign school cited one of the main deterrents to running for office was the abuse that women face when running a campaign. As a result, the organizers and some of the attendees came together to discuss ways of supporting not only women candidates but all who wished to put their names forward in a way that would encourage more civil engagement during election campaigns. Thus the Better Ballot Campaign was launched.

Vivian is a freelance communications professional with a broad range of community volunteer experiences.  She has used her communications skills in a number of municipal election campaigns in Guelph. The Better Ballot Campaign is one initiative that will help clear the way for more women, especially young women, to participate in the political process. 

Education/Status of Women and Human Rights:

Mommy, Am I Pretty?  Margot L. Denommé LL.B. J.D.

Young girls today are inundated daily with images that create unrealistic and often deceptive expectations of size and beauty. How does growing up in a culture obsessed with outward beauty effect this particularly impressionable and vulnerable demographic? This question amid concerns about raising her own two young daughters sparked the inspiration for her illustrated book, Mommy, Am I Pretty?

MARGOT DENOMMÉ practices criminal law in Toronto where she lives with her two daughters. As a mother she is keenly aware of the negative effects media has on growing girls, and wrote this book to encourage dialogue between parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, and young girls with a view to empower them, to show them that true beauty lies within each and every one of us. As a criminal lawyer, Margot has seen the devastating effects of low self-esteem in youth and the ever-increasing incidents of bullying. In 2014, Margot created The Celebrate You Tour to take her message to schools and community groups to discuss the importance of developing ourselves from the inside-out by being confident, kind, strong, inclusive and unique.

Margot has just released a second book, Awesome Inside & Out. The press release can be downloaded here:

Ontario Council Standing Committees in Legislation, Education, and Status of Women and Human Rights were developed to keep members aware of current issues in Ontario. The Committees meet three times a year – in September, November, and March in downtown Toronto – for a day of speakers, workshops, discussion, and networking with other CFUW members and guests. All Club members are invited and are encouraged to bring friends, whether or not they are members, to enjoy these days of discussion and learning.

Archives

Speakers’ list as of March 2018

Reports from morning Plenaries have been archived in DropBox. Clicking HERE will open a new tab, where all reports can be viewed or downloaded.