Four women who #ChooseToChallenge every day
(From left to right) Top row: Justice Maryka Omatsu, Ryerson University (now named Toronto Metropolitan University) Honorary Doctorate ’19, Rusul Alrubail, Literature of Modernity (MA) ’09; Bottom row: Rukiya Bernard, Theatre Performance ’01, Hanako Tjia, Social Work ’14
International Women's Day (IWD) is a time to celebrate the social, economic, political and cultural achievements of women globally. This year, the theme for IWD is #ChooseToChallenge, because challenge leads to change. To mark the occasion, we are spotlighting four Ryersonians who exemplify excellence in their respective fields.
Here are the alumnae choosing to challenge the status quo:
Justice Maryka Omatsu
Ryerson University Honorary Doctorate, 2019
Over the course of her career, Justice Maryka Omatsu has experienced many firsts, many wins, and is a trailblazer for women in the legal profession. In 1993, Omatsu became the first woman of East Asian heritage to become a judge in Canada after she was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice. At a time when there were few women in such roles and even fewer women of colour, Omatsu's achievements paved the way for women across the country. Before her judgeship, Omatsu spent 16 years working in criminal, human rights, and environmental law. Throughout her career, she was dedicated to advocacy and championing the voices of marginalized communities. In the 1980s, Omatsu became a key player on the negotiating team for the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) that demanded the Canadian government acknowledge the injustices it inflicted upon the Japanese community during World War II. The group would eventually win that fight, and in 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, on behalf of the Canadian government, apologized to Japanese-Canadians for the historic wrongdoings and provided individual compensation.
In addition to law, Omatsu has also had success in the arts. In 1992, she published Bittersweet Passage: Redress and the Japanese Canadian Experience, which won the Prime Minister's Award for Publishing and the Laura Jamieson Prize for Best Feminist Book. And in 2018, she produced the award-winning video Swimming Upstream, which explores the case for Redress from the British Columbia government.
Justice Omatsu is still fighting for redress in British Columbia and is currently working on two films about racism and the Japanese Canadian experience in B.C. Omatsu is also working on three autobiographical projects and continues her work with the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, and is on the National Association of Japanese Canadians' executive board.
In addition to your long and successful career as a judge, you played an active role in the Japanese-Canadian redress movement, published an award-winning book and video, and served on many foundations and committees dedicated to making a difference. What motivates you to keep striving for change?
The Japanese Canadian community was denied the rights of citizenship, "ethnically cleansed," incarcerated in camps, dispossessed of all that two generations in Canada had accumulated and damaged as individuals and as an ethnic group based on their race. Coming from this history, I have been a life-long activist advocating equality.
Unfortunately, today, racism, sexism, and xenophobia are on the rise. White supremacist ultra-right organizations are gaining supporters and winning elections. Collectively there is much that needs to be done to combat this.
What advice can you offer the next generation of women in law?
Oscar Wilde wrote, "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken." My advice? Remember what brought you into law, keep your values and do not recreate yourself to blend in with the white, male culture of your colleagues. Women candidates applying for judicial appointments typically do not reapply after their first rejection, but apparently, male lawyers keep sending in their papers until finally, they get the nod. So, aim high and do not give up.
What does International Women's Day mean to you?
At the turn of the 20th century, IWD was celebrated by women in Europe fighting for equal rights and suffrage. In the 1960s, American second-wave feminists took up the banner for equality, economic and reproductive rights. Those battles have still to be won. On IWD, I celebrate the pioneers who have moved the dial for women in the 21st century and march with others to continue to improve the lives of women. In both periods, IWD was not just a celebration but a call for systemic changes.
Rusul Alrubail
Literatures of Modernity (MA) ’09
Rusul Alrubail is the Founder/Executive Director of Parkdale Centre for Innovation, a social activist, entrepreneur, published author, and most recently one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women of 2020, according to WXN, a national organization that celebrates the advancement of women. Alrubail was recognized in the category that honours women who are challenging the status quo in STEM. Parkdale Centre for Innovation is a non-profit incubator and accelerator focused on filling the accessibility and inclusivity gap to innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. The centre aims to help underrepresented groups in the field, such as women, newcomers and people from low-income backgrounds.
Prior to launching the centre, Alrubail taught at Seneca College for five years before becoming an entrepreneur and launching a student publishing platform called The Writing Project with her partner. Like the incubator, this project's goal was to highlight stories and voices that are traditionally overlooked. However, after a few years of growth and success, Alrubail says she and her partner struggled to secure the investments needed to scale the business. That's when they founded Parkdale Centre for Innovation in 2017. Despite a great deal of success, and a need in the market for the resources the centre provides, Alrubail says the journey has been challenging and there is still more work to be done.
In addition to her work at the Centre, Alrubail is also a member of the City of Toronto's Economic and Culture Recovery Advisory Group.
Your work with the Parkdale Centre for Innovation is focused on providing opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups. What inspired you to start the centre and work to close this gap?
When I was an entrepreneur myself working on The Writing Project with my partner back in 2013-2017, I encountered many different barriers in Toronto's entrepreneurship landscape. The ecosystems and incubators here aren't designed to support women launching businesses, especially at an early stage. That drove me to launch an incubator that's made for us by us. Our communities need the support, and more importantly, the support has to be real, without lip service and diversity optics. When we launched in 2018, people from other underrepresented areas in the GTA enrolled in Parkdale Centre's programs, which speaks volumes about the need for a welcoming and inclusive space for our communities.
What do you think is the biggest challenge the next generation of women in entrepreneurship, tech, and innovation will face? And what advice can you offer them?
The biggest challenge right now is to build businesses with strong business models that can withstand the current pandemic landscape. Entrepreneurs have to also consider digitizing their businesses, streamlining their processes and operations. The need to be digital is important now more than ever, but it's not enough to simply be active on social media channels and digital marketing. Businesses will likely need to start using advanced analytics to reach a broader consumer base. Another challenge that women entrepreneurs often face is the lack of access to funding and starter capital to kick start their business. This is one of the challenges we're addressing at Parkdale Centre through our partnership with Alterna Savings, which provides entrepreneurs who complete the program access to micro-financing starting at $3000 and up to start their business.
What does International Women's Day mean to you?
It's a day to celebrate our achievements, what women have accomplished to date to get us where we are today. It's also a day to reflect on what more can be done for women and especially young girls in this day and age. I have two young girls, and this month often reminds me of the importance of supporting and building up women and young girls' self-esteem and confidence. Teaching girls to self-advocate, to speak up and understand the power their voice has can truly make a difference.
Rukiya Bernard
Theatre Performance ’01
One glance at Rukiya Bernard's IMDB page, and it's evident the award-winning actress, writer, and producer has made a name for herself in the film and television industry. Bernard began working almost immediately after graduating from Ryerson's Theatre Performance program in 2001. Like many, she describes her career as going through peaks and valleys, however, two decades after graduating, her career is thriving. Her acting credits include Van Helsing (Netflix/Syfy), numerous Hallmark movies, and appearances on Supernatural (CW/Warner Brothers), The Magicians (Syfy), Travellers (Netflix), Cabin In the Woods (Warner Brothers) and more. In 2019, Bernard won a Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for her role as Doc on vampire apocalypse series, Van Helsing.
In 2020, following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, which sparked public outcry around the world, protests and calls for an end to systemic racism, Bernard felt compelled to use her voice to advocate for change. In an opinion piece titled Dear Becky (external link) , Bernard calls out the film and television industry in Canada and Hollywood for the negative representation of Black people on the big and small screens. She has also participated in numerous panel discussions. She uses her skills as a writer and producer for her latest project, The Blactor (previously titled Becky), a comedy about a Black actress struggling with stereotypes in the Film and TV industry.
Bernard is currently in post-production for The Blactor and preparing for another short film that will be shot this fall. You can also catch her on the Hallmark Channel on April 3rd, 8/9c in One Perfect Wedding.
You have publicly called out the film and television industry for the way Black people are represented, not only in Hollywood but also in the Canadian industry. What motivated you to take that stand?
It's my firm belief that the representation we see on our screens teaches viewers how to treat one another. The negative depiction of Black people, in particular, needs to change as there are real-life consequences. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery showed the world that this last year — though there have been countless others. As a Black Canadian actress, I've built my career on the backbone of this systematically bigoted industry, and I felt compelled to speak up and out. I've done numerous round tables, talks, and more but the most succinct explanation of my POV is in the opinion piece called Dear Becky (external link) .
What do you think is the biggest challenge the next generation of women in your field will face? And what advice can you offer them?
I think the biggest challenge will be to increase and maintain the amount of female decision-makers who populate the workforce permanently — in particular, BIPOC and Transgender women. There's a lot of tokenizing of marginalized people by the status quo, which feels inauthentic — especially since many are still being paid less. Making this "change" the new status quo in front of the camera, behind the camera and in people's bank accounts will be the biggest challenge to establish. Though it will make for better storytelling as the voices will be new and fresh. My advice for future generations of women in the entertainment industry: keep the pedal to the metal with this equality work - we can't afford to slip back into old prejudice systems. Also, and this is in general, don't make this career choice a self-fulfilling one. You'll get jaded quickly. Instead, "be of service," knowing you are intentionally paving the way for future generations.
What does International Women's Day mean to you?
International Women's Day means a time to stop and reflect specifically on the accomplishments of women globally. It is also a time to reflect on what changes I'd like to see for the future. When I think about this day, I try to focus on the intersectionality of what it means to be a woman and BIPOC, transgender, elderly, of lower-income, not from a Western country, etc. The woman that consistently inspires me is the Nobel Prize winner, Wangari Maathai. With very little, she was able to inspire and empower women in East African to rebuild themselves economically and help rehabilitate the environment at the same time. Given the state of our Earth, we need more women like her.
Hanako Tjia
Social Work ’14
Hanako Tjia is a talent agent revolutionizing the landscape of esports. She works for United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the world's leading global talent and entertainment companies. But what sets Tjia apart from other agents is her client roster, which consists of some of the most prominent female gamers in the world. Some of her clients include Pokimane, a Canadian Twitch streamer and Youtuber with over 7 million followers and Valkyrae, an American gamer on Youtube with more than 3 million subscribers. Tjia's job is to negotiate contracts, endorsement deals and ultimately create opportunities to build her clients' brands. In 2020, Tjia’s hard work was recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the games category.
This journey of taking on the male-dominated gaming industry wasn't always the plan for Tjia. Before becoming an agent, she had completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in Social Work from Ryerson University and the University of Southern California. After graduating, she had planned to go into private clinical practice in her field of study. However, an interest in the digital space, which was quickly churning out extremely successful content creators on platforms like Vine and Snapchat, led Tjia to take a job for a small talent management firm in Los Angeles. In 2018, that firm was acquired by UTA, where Tjia continues to work.
You work in a traditionally male-dominated industry, helping to advance other women's careers and success. What challenges have you faced in this journey? And what motivates you to keep doing it?
I am naturally more introverted, so finding my voice in the industry was a challenge at first. Luckily, those attributes that I initially thought would be potential weaknesses actually became my strengths. We are in a client service business, and having the ability sometimes to listen a little more has helped me read between the lines of clients' needs.
I think people assume that being a woman means that we can encounter certain hardships because of our gender, and while that can be true, I also believe there is a lot of power in being a woman of colour today. It has opened doors for me in ways that I could never have imagined. I think it is a matter of perspective, and while there is no doubt that there are still inequalities, I have found an amazing opportunity that celebrates diversity. It is my hope that more industries can embrace the beauty found in diverse storytellers and creators. I can't speak on behalf of every industry, but we are only getting started in gaming, and that's what keeps me going.
What do you think is the biggest challenge the next generation of women in your field will face? And what advice can you offer them?
As the space matures more, it is becoming more difficult to break into the gaming talent representation landscape. Seven years ago, watching people play games online seemed like a foreign concept here in North America. Since gaming has attained mainstream popularity, many people are starting to take an interest in either live streaming or the business of esports. My advice to anyone interested in getting into talent representation is to be up to date on all the platforms that curate content and seek mentorship. Much of gaming still operates in tight communities, so seeking internships, getting involved with school esports clubs, and becoming a consumer of gaming content are important pathways to a career in the industry.
What does International Women's Day mean to you?
To me, International Women's Day is a celebration of how far we have come while also acknowledging that there is still more work to be done. It is essential to pinpoint the diversity issues that need to be addressed and find the most productive ways to have those conversations continually. Over my years of working with female gamers, I have learned that our shared love and interest for the gaming community goes beyond gender, and our ability to embrace those shared passions is what brings us together. Also, any discussions of diversity require companionship and open conversations with others regardless of gender.