“This day is more important than it ever has been.”
Though International Women’s Day (IWD) has been around for more than 100 years, Peterborough city councillor Joy Lachica’s comment resonates with three other female leaders in Peterborough, including Maryam Monsef, Kim Dolan, and Bonnie Clark.
Officially marked by the United Nations in 1975, IWD is marked around the world every March 8th as a celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and as a call to action that more work can be done to advance women’s equality — something that’s even more prominent under this year’s IWD theme of “Accelerate Action,” which is a call to take immediate steps to move women closer towards gender parity.
“We are far from equal, despite how far we have come culturally and legally in accepting the fundamental rights of women and girls,” says Maryam Monsef, former Peterborough-Kawartha MP and founder and CEO of ONWARD. “In fact, we are seeing backsliding to progress. Accelerating action is necessary.”
According to the Global Gender Gap 2024 from World Economy Forum, it is predicted that gender parity will not be achieved for another 134 years — approximately five generations beyond the 2030 target of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Monsef, who was federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality (previously known as Minister for the Status of Women) from 2017 to 2021 and established Canada’s first Department for Women and Gender Equality during her time in parliament, suggests the reason a gap remains is because “there is complacency with some who believe women have achieved equality.”
Kim Dolan, executive director of YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, suggests the fallout of this disparity can be seen in our communities.
“The fact that many women, of all ages, races, and socioeconomic status, live in fear in our homes, in our workplaces, and in our communities is a barometer of how well we are doing as a society,” Dolan says. “Most women don’t speak of the fear of violence in their homes and workplaces, and how state-sanctioned poverty, hunger, and homelessness create even more barriers to achieving the best possible social determinants of health outcomes.”
Dolan points to the UN’s theme for this year’s IWD (“For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”), stating that “the theme is particularly poignant as we witness the steady eradication, led by politicians, far-right religious leaders, and billionaires, of over 100 years of human right gains.”
“We cannot ignore the influence of the sociopolitical climate south of the border, where we’ve already seen the impact on women’s lives — when access to sexual health care isn’t just disappearing, it is illegal,” Dolan pointed out. “State-sanctioned misogyny and attacks on LGBTQI+ individuals and communities are feeding hate and fuelling fear.”
The recent threats to Canada’s economy made by U.S. President Trump could also pose a larger risk to women in comparison to men. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there was 11.5 per cent difference in 2023 between employment wages for Canadian men and women in the same decile, leading women to retire with a smaller pension and contributing to gender poverty.
“When women earn a living wage, have safe, affordable housing in their name, have access to healthy, nutritious food, have access to education and healthcare, and feel welcome in their communities, they thrive, their families thrive, our economy thrives,” says Dolan.
“Let’s ask ourselves what would happen if women’s rights here and around the world accelerated backwards. Women and girls represent just over half of our local and global communities. It isn’t possible to achieve the rich possibilities that a world of abundance offers when half of the population has less access to income, housing, food, education, healthcare, safety, and physical and emotional health and wellness.”
For Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark, the IWD theme of “Accelerating Action” means “we need to simply stop talking about gender equality and start living it more and working towards it.”
To live up to this, Clark attends elementary and secondary schools to talk to students about her career in public service and to demonstrate women in power, believing the need to educate and inspire women from a young age.
“As a grandmother to two young granddaughters, I need to walk (the talk) so they can see that you can be effective and a leader in this world,” she says. “When we empower women, it benefits everyone in our society.”
According to The Gender Snapshot 2024 from UN Women, despite making up 52.4 per cent of the world’s population, women held only one in every four seats (26.9 per cent) in parliament and one in three seats (35.5 per cent) in local governments.
On Peterborough County council, which comprises mayors and deputy mayors from each of the eight lower-tier municipalities in the county, six of the 16 members (38 per cent) are female-identifying, including Clark and the deputy warden Sherry Senis, who is mayor of Selwyn Township
“Women can bring a different dimension to the table than men do, so let’s put it together and have the best society we can,” Clark says. “When you look at a society that is gender equal, you get stronger economies, better health outcomes, and I see them as more peaceful communities. Through the steps that we are doing here in our community and if we’re working together, we can move the pendulum until we get there.”
Peterborough city councillor Joy Lachica suggests having more women involved in politics provides an opportunity to accelerate action for equality.
“Based on everything we’ve achieved as a democracy, on any level — municipal, provincial, federal — I think we need to be trying and continue to strive for leadership excellence that includes the scope of the identities of the community,” she says.
“Being an intersectional individual who identifies as a woman, racialized, and queer, I have lots of intersections and I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to participate in change, in policy making, and in service to my community. I take that opportunity to look around the horseshoe (the council table at Peterborough City Hall) and I ask myself, ‘Have we achieved the scope of excellence we deserve in our municipal representation in Peterborough and do we reflect the gender representation of our city?’ And I have to say no, there is a great deal of work to do.”
Lachica, who is one of only two people who identify as a woman on Peterborough city council, highlights that gender equality is not an isolated issue but rather intersects with the need for all voices to be heard.
“I care deeply about looking at our landscape through a decolonization lens. We live in a city, Nogojiwanog, where there are two First Nations that are part of the area and we need to work on that equality in terms of our consultations,” she says. “The template for that should be designed by the Indigenous communities that we share the land with, and we should be asking Elders and women from the Indigenous communities for their voice.”
Lachica adds that this is even more imperative at a time when “DEI is on trial everywhere we look,” she says, referring to the organizational policy of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which seeks to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination based on identity or disability.
“One thing I believe that we as a people have in common is we believe in excellence — that’s what we look for in leadership and I don’t think anybody wants less than that,” she says. “It’s something that brings us altogether and, as Canadians, many of us are feeling that on a deep level with the threats that have come our way from the south.”
“I think that belief in excellence is what does bring us together as a democracy. When we choose leaders, we have to uphold the critical achievement that we’ve gained, we have to hold our ground on the equity gains that we’ve worked so hard to embed in our democracy, and we can’t let them go.”
Lachica notes that while it might be an “anxious” time, it’s also a time to stand together with the help of days like IWD.
“If we can channel it towards a political action and resistance and forging a way that is brighter and hopeful and optimistic, that will be the thing that shatters all of the negativity and the hate that is building up,” she says.
This year for IWD, the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre and Kawartha World Issues Centre are teaming up to offer a free event on Saturday, March 8. At 11:30 a.m., a rally and march will begin at Peterborough City Hall and end at the Peterborough Public Library, where a community event featuring speakers, a panel discussion, live music, and more will take place until 4:30 p.m.
“I foresee that it’s going to be a big day around the globe in terms of attendance and in terms of solidarity,” Lachica says of this year’s IWD. “This is the time to be activists. This is the time to be political and to stand together as women.”
For more information and updates about this year’s IWD event in Peterborough, visit kwic.info/international-womens-day-2025.
