Rosemary Brown Memorial Conference 2018 - Women in Politics: Risk and Opportunity

I attended the 5th Annual Rosemary Brown Memorial Conference at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue at SFU this past weekend where the hot topic of Women in Politics: Risks and Opportunities was on point. 

The Asia Pacific Hall at the Wosk Centre is really cool. It's in the shape of a circle, with the intent of fostering dialogue and discourse. My friend Michele and I got good seats and we sat down and nerded out whilst getting our respective notebooks out to take our requisite handwritten notes of the session. 

Rosemary Brown is an incredible figure in Canadian history. She was the first black woman to be elected to the BC legislature in 1972. She was the first black woman to run for leadership of the NDP in 1975. From 1993-1996 she was the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Was bestowed the Order of BC in 1995 and the Order of Canada in 1996. She was known for her community service, her committee to equality and her compassion. 

Dr. Marjorie Griffin-Cohen (who I met when she was the head of the recent Fair Wages Commission last year) was our moderator/emcee. She started off the conference with the statement "politics are tough, scary in these times." Is she ever right. Women's bodies, livelihoods are political collateral even in our own country (I can't believe the CPC is still debating the abortion question). In Canada we don't have a terrific record of women representation in electoral politics - we're something like 16th in the G20 when it comes to the women representation...yikes.

It was cool to see Anne Roberts, Jean Swanson and Catherine Evans in attendance at the conference since they are right in the middle of campaigning for Vancouver City Council.

The program was a pretty diverse group of women who would be speaking about their experiences in politics. 

Speakers:

Minister of Childcare and State, Katrina Chen - MLA Burnaby Lougheed

Minister Chen started off by telling her story of deciding and running for Burnaby School Board trustee. She was pregnant at the time and after telling people she wanted to run for the school board, people reacted by saying things like "but you're pregnant" or " but you're going to become a mom" - not out of malice but there still seems to be a sentiment that women need to put everyone else first or else she's sacrificing the welfare of her child(ren). When it came to running for provincial politics the reaction was quite similar except now the response was "what about your child?"  Men simply aren't asked the same questions.

She was candid and honest about being a woman of colour and young. Often people mistake her for a staffer instead of the Minister. How do you maintain respect, balance, and personal space when men are proprietary to your body (either by automatically putting their arm around your shoulder in photos, or their arm around your waist). 

She asked the question " what can we do together?"

Well we need more women in leadership positions to break barriers. She told the story of a recent question period when there was a class full of young Asian girls in the gallery watching QP. Minister Chen's colleague told her that when she was speaking in the legislature that day, those girls where excited and were pointed at her - and it was because they saw themselves in the Minister. So cool. 

She made the pitch for affordable, accessible and quality childcare. Duh. And of course changing the electoral system would ensure better representation in the legislature. Conversations like the ones we are having at this conference are an important step to creating a more inclusive community.

Orene Askew (DJ O SHOW) - Councillor - Squamish Band Council

OK, Councillor Askew was cool as heck and the highlight of my conference. She was so earnest and energetic. And a DJ!! So cool. 

She thought she would never be in politics. She ran with the "New Nine" - a slate of new younger people, running for the Squamish Band Council. They were 8 candidates under the age of 40. 6 were women. 2 were Two Spirit. And they got in! This was the biggest change since 1981. She told the story of how they consulted with the community for people they would support, they campaigned together - never bashing another, and they inspired more people to vote. Amazing. 

She's so passionate about getting younger people to care about politics and governance and the value of having a variety of perspectives at the table. 

She also left us with an important piece of information when it comes to the host nations. MST. That's the order. Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh. MST.

After she was done I turned to Michele and said "we have to make her our friend." And we did. 

Senator Mobina Jaffer - Senate of Canada - Independent Senators Group

Senator Jaffer has quite a plethora of experience in the Senate. Admittedly, I don't pay much attention to federal senate politics so this was great opportunity to learn more. She was the first Muslim Senator, the first South Asian woman appointed to the senate, the first African-born Senator (she's a refugee from Uganda) who's worked on multiple human rights/women's rights/children's rights files. She's currently the Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defense. 


I liked that she started by saying "politics is about the people around you." She talked about the #metoo movement and how far we have to go to create a harassment free environment on the Hill. How do you do that? Well you have to stop silencing people. Silence breakers are seen as troublemakers. There's a huge power imbalance in the public service -  it can "look bad for the party" or for the person you're working for. 

As Deputy Chair for the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defense, she shared that she was pushed into that role. She decided to take on the issue of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces to create and foster a culture of reporting. Bill C65 (which is in its third reading in the Senate) calls for protections and resources on the Hill to prevent harassment and violence for the people who work there. She made a good point - these types of bills and approached to various departments and ministries are happening because there are more women appointed to committees and working at both levels of government, asking those questions.

Dr. Joy Masuhara - Co-Chair, Women Transforming Cities

Dr. Masuhara talked about being a political activist and the co-chair of Women Transforming Cities. WTC is a great organization whose mandate is "to live in cities where all self-identified women and girls, in all their diversity, have real social, economic and political power." 

She told us about the conversation cafes that have happened all over the city where citizens gather to discuss a variety of issues. Diversity, immigration, work, family, reconciliation, aging, safety, sustainability, city budgets, transit, public spaces...and so much more! 

WTC is doing some really important work - they are doing some research to see why women aren't participating in local electoral politics (in partnership with CRIAW), starting with Vancouver and Surrey. The Hot Pink Paper Campaign - where 11 policy statements that make your city more woman-friendly, are provided for candidates to pledge to take them when running for office.

Dr. Lynne Quarmby - Professor of Molecular Biology, SFU and Green Party Candidate in the 2015 Federal Election

Dr. Quarmby shared a couple of excerpts from her memoir that she wrote while on a 3 week artist residency on a tall ship in the Arctic! She was raw, honest and humorous about her experience running in Burnaby North - Seymour for the Green Party. She talked about how risky it was for her to run in that election. Whether it was openly hostile comments at the grocery store, or difficulty in securing funding for her research or just living in her basement suite, it was a tough run for someone who had the best of intentions. 

I can't wait to read her book!

Q&A

We had an extensive conversation about the tension between the traditional partisan way of politics and youth's rejection of them. How do you reconcile the candidate with your "team colours?" How would changing the electoral system impact partisanship? How does decolonizing education enhance democracy? 

I asked a question about the pressure to "play the game" while campaigning and what are the risks and rewards for bucking the system. The conversation moved into stories of sexism, oppression, socialized biases, expectations and the importance of language.

Break time!

Ellen Woodsworth was the recipient of the Rosemary Brown Award for Women. Well deserved  - her list of accomplishments are impressive. She started by saying "we live in changing times, but it's OUR time!" Current political movements are being led by women - Idle No More, Black Lives Matter, #metoo, #timesup and so many more. She shared stories of her childhood and adolescence, her parents and her life as a young woman at UBC. She started the UBC Women's Centre, participated in the Abortion Caravan in the 1970s and recounted the days of attending a lesbian conference in Toronto in 1972, where delegates had to attend with paper bags over their heads to hide their identities because it wasn't safe to be on out lesbian. 

What a life - she reviewed her time as a city councillor during the COPE sweep of 2002. She created the Women's Advisory Committee and the LGBTQ Advisory Committee for the City. Two committees that continue to influence policy at City Hall. She said that there are so many things that we can do as elected officials, but we have to fight for it. Women have to run and we have to support them.

It was great to hear from her and to remember and acknowledge all of the contributions she's made to the city. 

We ended the conference with awarding the Rosemary Brown Undergraduate Scholarship. 

This conference left me inspired. There were so many awesome women in the room and I learned so much. I left with a couple more friends than when I arrived that morning and can't wait for next year's conference!