February.2.2017

President’s Message: Advocacy, Action, and Accountability

Why is Business and Professional Women of Saskatoon more than just networking? How are we making a difference on a Local, National and International Level?

On Saturday, January 21st, I was grateful to join approximately 1000 men and women who took part in the Women’s March – Saskatoon – one of thousands of Marches across the globe.

“Women’s March Global is a proactive international movement, not a U.S. election-specific protest per se, which has galvanized people to defend women’s rights and those of others in response to the rising rhetoric of far-right populism around the world.”

While these marches were “spurred” by the recent election and inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, they represent so much more. They are our way of saying that we will not sit down and be silent when there is blatant sexism and racism being spoken by anyone, let alone a person of incredible power. We need to show them that we will do more than just talk the talk, we will walk the walk! We will act and we will hold people accountable. If you would like to know more about how you can continue to take action, please visit https://www.womensmarch.com/100/.

What other ways is BPW Saskatoon taking action? At our monthly meeting in January, I spoke about BPW’s Saskatoon’s Letter of Support for Bill S-215, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (sentencing for violent offences against Aboriginal women), written by Senator Lillian Dyck. We have finalized the letter of support and have mailed these to our Saskatchewan MLA’s to help the bill receive Royal Assent. BPW Saskatoon is proud to be recognized by BPW Canada for their role in a national letter writing campaign for this bill with other BPW groups across Canada. As National Chairperson for the BPW Canada’s Initiative to End Violence Against Women, I have drafted a resolution based on this bill. It has been submitted to National for review. These resolutions are then sent to our Federal Government, these resolutions are what help invoke change at parliamentary level. I look forward to updating everyone through this exciting process.