What do three years of data on the gender gap in news reporting tell us?
Our Advocacy Work
October 28th, 2021The following op ed, co-authored with Prashanth Rao and Dr. Maite Taboada, appeared on Poynter‘s website on 28 October 2021. Looking for silver linings in the midst of a pandemic is fraught. But here’s one that journalists need to pay attention to: Since March 2020, news media have devoted a lot more time and space […]
read more...Let’s make this the last election in which our voices, realities, leadership capacities are absent, marginalized
Our Advocacy Work
September 27th, 2021The following op ed first appeared on The Toronto Star‘s website (17 September 2021) and in the print version (20 September 2021). The argument I make below is one we’re going to repeat, in collaboration with researchers and advocates across the country, many times in the coming year as part of our new initiative, Making […]
read more...An epidemic of interview requests — and she’s still standing!
Master Media Engagement
September 13th, 2021In the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, Winnipeg-based epidemiologist Cynthia Carr began receiving many media calls. Although she had a lot of experience sharing her knowledge in public talks, she recognized that media interviews were an entirely different beast. Unable to wait for the next scheduled Informed Opinions’ workshop that would […]
read more...Giving media interviews through trauma — and giving back to community
Diversity Belonging + Inclusion and Master Media Engagement
August 11th, 2021Lori Campbell, newly appointed Associate Vice President, Indigenous Engagement, at the University of Regina has a long history of advocacy. A survivor of the infamous “Sixties Scoop”, she has used her voice to amplify issues affecting Indigenous peoples for many years, responding to media interview requests despite the challenges of doing so. We […]
read more...Why are some people such jerks online? And how do you respond to social media attacks?
Our Advocacy Work
July 21st, 2021Is social media snark the gateway drug to full-on trolling? I wondered this a lot last month, scrolling through the hate-tweets directed my way. Had I condemned a respected religious leader? Body-shamed a feminist icon? Described COVID as a viable form of population control? No, I’d had the temerity to confess in a Toronto Star […]
read more...I can no longer celebrate Canada Day
Our Advocacy Work
June 29th, 2021NOTE: This piece was originally published on the Toronto Star’s website on 23 June 2021, and in the paper’s print version the following day. It became the site’s most-read story, and generated significant response. Although I knew my thesis would be controversial, I was still taken aback by how incredibly hostile many people’s defensiveness made […]
read more...Four communication lessons from Doug Ford and Jason Kenney
Effective Communication and Increase Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
May 12th, 2021Doug Ford’s mis-management of the COVID-19 crisis has put the Ontario premier in the crosshairs of parents, teachers, restaurant owners and frontline workers alike; it’s caused health care leaders to publicly weep in frustration. Governing effectively in uncharted pandemic territory is like leading a country in wartime: the challenges are legion and unpredictable. Addressing them […]
read more...It’s not radical to expect political parties to field as many women candidates as men
Diversity Belonging + Inclusion
March 10th, 2021(Originally published in The Hill Times 15 February 2021) When Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet in January, he retained the gender balance that earned him headlines back in 2015. No one commented, because six years on, it’s become the default for the federal Liberals. That’s good news for the roughly 50 percent of the population […]
read more...Reframing Imposter Syndrome
Diversity Belonging + Inclusion
February 24th, 2021and Sweta Rajan SHARI: Sweta, when we spoke for the first time recently about how we might collaborate, you vented a bit about the whole notion of “imposter syndrome”. This is something that comes up in our workshops all the time — the extent to which many educated, experienced and competent women feel like they’re […]
read more...Should journalists quote women as often as men?
Diversity Belonging + Inclusion
February 10th, 2021Do you think journalists should be compelled to quote women as often as they quote men? The proposition sounded a bit radical, even to me, back in 2014 when Edelman CEO Lisa Kimmel invited me to defend it in a public debate. Seven years on, it’s no longer a radical idea. Journalists and newsrooms across […]
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