Democracy needs women; snowplowing policy proves it
September 12th, 2019Can snowplowing be sexist? Even if you live in Ottawa, a city that removes snow from its downtown core with military precision, you’ve probably never asked yourself that. Until I read Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women – Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, it had never occurred to me to pose the question […]
Clear speech advocate writes; Twitter sh*t storm erupts.
May 24th, 2019These are just a few of the exchanges provoked by the Toronto Star’s recent publication of a commentary I wrote about the downside of filler phrases. Many of those who responded on Twitter took issue with my apparent ageism. (Although I referenced recent interaction with young people, I also mentioned that the habit isn’t confined to […]
Featuring more female sources could increase your audience engagement, research suggests
April 30th, 2019This article was originally published on Poynter What would happen if news media struggling to survive applied the productivity mantra “What gets measured gets done” to the sources they quote? Business research, Hollywood sales data and anecdotal evidence from the news industry itself all suggest it’s worth a try. In many western democracies — the United […]
Here’s what you missed…
March 8th, 2019Business people, bureaucrats and board members, researchers, equality advocates and journalists — that’s who showed up on February 4th at Ottawa’s Rideau Club for the launch of the Gender Gap Tracker. They came to celebrate the application of big data analytics to achieving gender equality in public discourse. And they stayed to watch an Informed Conversation […]
In numbers there is strength – how big data can help close the gender gap in Canadian journalism
February 11th, 2019This article was originally published in The Ottawa Citizen We hear a lot these days about how artificial intelligence is taking away jobs and making it easy for foreign powers to hack democracy. But some scientists are hunched over their computers in an effort to harness the power of big data analytics for social good. A […]
Online tool gives media outlets incentive to achieve gender parity
February 5th, 2019This article was originally published in The Toronto Star Could the incentivizing power of a fitness tracker be adapted to help achieve gender equality in the media, enhancing Canadian democracy in the process? After a year of collaboration with a team of big data scientists, we’re about to find out. Despite the increasing attention paid to […]
In praise of academic media sluts – a New Year’s resolution
January 9th, 2019Are you a media whore? Or do you worry you might be labeled one by your colleagues – if not to your face, then behind your back? In the process of delivering hundreds of media engagement workshops, I’ve heard dozens and dozens of you express this fear, using precisely this language. You’ve made it clear […]
How will we spend the $1 trillion coming our way?
December 4th, 2018Did you hear about the woman who left her small fortune to a potted plant because it was “the only thing that listened to her”? As relatable as the sentiment might be, the truth is that women are a growing force when it comes to donating to charities generally, and to social justice causes in […]
Interview tips from best-selling author and media interview veteran Ann Douglas
November 13th, 2018Prolific author, volunteer advocate on mental health issues, mother of four — notwithstanding the demands on Ann Douglas’ time implied by all of those roles, she also regularly makes time to engage with media. In the course of promoting her best-selling parenting books, she’s done many hundreds of print, broadcast and online interviews. And she’s […]
How journalists and universities can make it easier for experts to say “yes” to media interviews
October 30th, 2018Nancy Worth is a rock star in our world. After participating in one of our Writing Compelling Commentary workshops a little over a year ago, the University of Waterloo professor asked us if we’d be interested in collaborating on some research about our work. Then she developed the proposal, successfully applied to the Social Sciences […]