March ECI Newsletter 2024: Transgender Awareness and Day of Pink
In honour of International Women's Day (March 8th), International Day of Transgender Visibility (March 31st), and anticipating the International Day of Pink (April 10th), Professional Communication has collected a number of resource materials that reflect on gender and transgender equality.
Transgender Awareness
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TMU's Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI) has compiled some key facts, figures, concepts and definitions you should know relating to trans awareness.
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This day is dedicated to celebrating transgender people, their contributions to society and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide.
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“The world is scary for trans people. It feels like every day we awake to a new law being proposed to strip us of our human rights, or more violence that extinguishes yet another trans life. It is up to all of us to take a stand against this rising level of hate. In a world that seems to be slipping increasingly into darkness, we each need to light a candle of hope.”
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Did you know, in 2018, approximately 75,000 people in Canada were transgender or non-binary (external link) , representing 0.24% of the Canadian population aged 15 and older.
Although much has been accomplished since the beginning of the new millennium, including the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2005, and the protection of gender expression and identity in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code in 2017, concerns remain as transgender people were still more likely to have experienced unwanted behaviours at work.
The International Transgender Day of Visibility reminds us that we can all be allies in many ways and work together to stand up for the protection and promotion of the human rights of people in Canada who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or Two-Spirit, or who use another term that refers to gender or sexual diversity.
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Egale is Canada’s leading organization for 2SLGBTQI people and issues. Egale hopes to achieve this by informing public policy, inspiring cultural change, and promoting human rights and inclusion through research, education, awareness and legal advocacy. Their work helps create societies and systems that reflect the universal truth that all persons are equal and none is other.
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Read about key moments in Canadian trans history, legal challenges and successes, and explore other resources, including 'Pronouns 101' and 'Trans 101'.
Speaking with guests from RuPaul's Drag Race, Jasmine Kenned, Miss Monroe Elise, and Cornbread on the representation of gender and trans experiences, along with other topics centered on the trans community.
Trans Talk is a series by the Human Rights Campaign. Please check out their other videos (external link) as well.
Day of Pink
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Discrimination takes many shapes, whether it’s based on race, age, disabilities, gender or sexuality. The 2SLGBTQIA+ community is no stranger to the bullying and violence that stems from hateful beliefs. While progress has been made towards removing these social barriers from our society, discrimination still persists. So, every year, on the second Wednesday of April, people around the world to put on a pink shirt and stand in solidarity with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to continue fighting for equality and acceptance.
The second Wednesday of every April marks the International Day of Pink. Positive Space Faculty and Staff Network is hosting an event welcoming the entire university community to gather to visibly display its solidarity against homophobic and transphobic bullying.
We encourage community members to come to the Student Learning Centre (SLC) Amphitheatre from 12:00-12:30pm on Wednesday, April 10th for some brief remarks and group photos.
There will be student speakers, including ProCom's own Roger Castelo.
Come wearing pink or pink accessories!
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This educational resource guide compiled by The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) contains webinars and resources to help workplaces tackle bullying and harassment, including harassment and discrimination directed at 2SLGBTQI+ individuals.
Reflecting on International Women's Day
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"The world’s crises do not impact equally, let alone fairly. The disproportionate impacts on women’s and girls’ rights are well-documented yet still neglected, when not ignored outright." – Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s Secretary General
Check out Amnesty International's highlights from International Women's Day.
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Master of Professional Communication (MPC) alumna Denée Rudder was recently recognized by Canada International Black Women Excellence (CIBWE) for her achievements and impactful contributions, making her mark on Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch 2023 list.
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We cannot discuss gender equality in Canada without talking about the mistreatment of Indigenous women specifically. The Truth and Reconciliation Report issued 94 Calls to Action. Among them was Call 41:
We call upon the federal government, in consultation with Aboriginal organizations, to appoint a public inquiry into the causes of, and remedies for, the disproportionate victimization of Aboriginal women and girls. The inquiry’s mandate would include:
i. Investigation into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls.
ii. Links to the inter-generational legacy of residential schools.
Please also see the (PDF file) Master List of Report Recommendations (external link) produced by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Student's Corner
Review of Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Reviewed by Stefania Casale (ProCom)
Image credit: Jessica Miller
“If it isn’t blood that makes me your sister, it’s how you understand my heart, as if you carry it in your body” - Rupi Kaur
There is a remarkable and quite unexplainable depth that being and having a sister brings to a woman’s life. When you’re little, your sisters are the ones you play dress up with or sing karaoke in the back seats of the car. As you grow into your own person, you get the privilege of growing alongside them on their journeys. You both learn from each other and teach each other despite age gaps or differences. Growing alongside other women who must also face the same patriarchal challenges as you is a an unfortunate truth to the lives of so many women.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is a gripping story about four sisters growing up in Chicago between 1970 and 2008. Over the course of decades, the story weaves together how being a sister and having one can truly alter your heart. In every walk of life, the Padavano sisters impact each other as their joint childhood experiences and connections tie them together despite how hard life and their relationships try to pull them apart.
The story primarily follows Julia and Sylvie, the eldest sisters, as they navigate university, marriage and finding themselves. The story does a wonderful job of capturing each sister’s thoughts and emotions regarding who they feel they need to be versus who they truly want to be. Julia, the firstborn, is a planner who always needs to have her life laid out 6 steps ahead and will do anything to feel like she has control over her life and the chaos that might ensue. Sylvie, her second-born, is a strong-minded bookworm who has been waiting to truly embrace her life until she finds someone who makes her feel like she’s the lead in a classic romance novel. These two sisters grew up extremely close, being able to read one another’s emotions as if they were their own.
However, over time, the novel shows how even the strongest of bonds can be put to the test by the difficulties of the world, especially for women. At a certain point in the novel, Julia’s life and marriage take a turn for the worse, resulting in her packing up and moving to New York City for a job. Back home in Chicago, all her sisters are devastated by Julia’s sudden move. Sylvie specifically feels the most hurt by this as she sees the value of sticking with family despite how hard things may get. While Sylvie tries her best to keep in touch with her sister, she finds she has a strong emotional connection with her ex-brother-in-law that she desperately wants to act on, raising tensions between her and Julia. The sisters recognize how much each of them needs these sudden changes in their lives but also know how much it hurts one another. Julia and Sylvie’s dynamic is one that does a great job of reflecting a hard truth in life: what’s best for you may not always be what’s best for your loved ones, and unfortunately, it just has to be done anyway.
I read this novel at the beginning of March, right around International Women’s Day. As I mentioned, Napolitano highlights so many important elements of being a woman and a sister in a world that historically and systematically has worked against women. There is such a beautiful and moving impact of this book as it is written by a woman about four sisters. It delves into the girls’ minds and reveals all the truths of being a sister and woman. Sisterhood is a battle to balance personal emotions while simultaneously deeply sympathizing with your sisters. This novel shows how women can be both a sister and an independent woman. It shows there is beauty in sisterhood but also a liberating feeling in having personal and unique experiences outside that. During Women’s Month, it is crucial to highlight stories that show a rare, authentic look into the challenges women face simply living their lives, whether that be in a relationship, with family, at work or within one’s mind. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is truly a tear-jerking and heartwarming story that perfectly captures what it feels like to be both a woman and a sister trying to navigate this world.
