Maryam Monsef’s ONWARD and the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce are partnering to host a community-focused gathering at the end of March about the status of women in the community, in honour of the late trailblazer Ann Farquharson.
“A Conversation about the Status of Women in our Community” is being held at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31 with sponsorship from Kawartha Financial Services, Electric City Real Estate, kawarthaNOW, East City Flower Shop, and the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA).
Tickets are priced at $49.95 plus tax and can be purchased at pkchamber.ca.
“March is a very special month for women with International Women’s Day on the 8th, but also March 9th was Ann Farquharson’s birthday,” says Monsef, the former MP for Peterborough who was also federal Minister for Women and Gender Equality from 2017 to 2021.
“I haven’t met anyone who loves birthdays as much as she did, so given the inspiration and the support she was for so many in our community, particularly women, it felt fitting to honour her on her birthday month with a gathering that brings women and those who care about us together for an important conversation about the status of women.”
The event is a follow up to the “How Women Superpower the Economy” event that ONWARD presented in 2025 shortly after Trump resumed presidency of the United States. That event was designed to discuss how tariffs would impact women given that they often superpower the economy with “invisible work” like emotional labour and caring for loved ones.
“What we forget, and what history and research shows us again and again, is that women are hit hardest in these times,” Monsef says. “Many of the people who came (to last year’s event) left feeling invigorated and inspired and they said they want more. They want to delve deeper into topics like health, safety, money, and leadership, so this is a follow-up to that conversation.”
Also featuring a light lunch and refreshments an opportunity to network with other women and allies in the community, this year’s event will offer engaging discussions covering key topics like women’s leadership, economic empowerment, gender equity, intersectional barriers, community impact, and pathways forward.
“The war in the Middle East is going to have implications for everyone all over the world,” Monsef notes. “I believe this event is going to create a space for us to talk about how geopolitics, and the threat for more tariffs, are going to continue to affect women in our economy and in our community, and what the role for women is in moments like this.”
Speakers at the event include The Tiffany Show’s Tiffany Arcari, DBIA executive director Nour Mazloum, Chamber president and CEO Brenda Whitehead, Curve Lake First Nation artist Missy Knott, and Peterborough MP Emma Harrison.
“The idea is to convene a room full of women supporting each other and those who care about us and to build community in a really difficult moment for all of us,” Monsef says. “In scary, unsettling times, it’s easy to feel alone and so we’re offering a chance to come together in community.”
Monsef paraphrases a quote from Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this year about middle powers acting together — “If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.” — and applies it to gender quality.
“If we’re not at the table raising our voices about what we bring to the table and how we might be affected negatively, then our experiences won’t be included in the way that they should be in the decisions that are to come,” Monsef says. “This is an opportunity for us to be at the table and in community and be reminded that we are all in this together, and that we have the good fortune to live in a country like Canada where our voices matter.”
This, Monsef says, is work that Farquharson would have supported.
A prominent lawyer and former city councillor who had a long history of civic leadership, serving on boards and committees for a large number of organizations in Peterborough, Farquharson died unexpectedly in her sleep on November 24 at the age of 68. As a proud feminist, she devoted much of her life to advocating for women’s health and safety.
A longtime friend and supporter, Monsef calls Farquharson a “mobilizing force” who brought the community together, made it better for everyone, and whose “significant loss” has been felt widely.
“I think she’d be proud to know that we’re coming together in solidarity, in community, in celebration, and that we’re making a day of it where we’re going to have a nice lunch and we’re going to network and hopefully build some business-to-business connections in the process,” says Monsef.
“She would have been proud of that and that we’re talking about serious issues that women and children and our families in this community are experiencing, and trying to give voice to those who can’t come out to these events.”
kawarthaNOW is proud to be the media sponsor of for “A Conversation About The Status of Women In Our Community.”
