Workshops – Featuring New Facilitators!
Our workshops are open to those who identify as women, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse only
Writing Compelling Commentary with Shari Graydon
March 10 & 12
11:00 am – 1:00 pm ET + 15 minutes of homework/session
This highly interactive workshop builds women’s leadership capacity and enhances their credibility and influence. It provides participants with the confidence and tools to contribute their expertise to the public discourse through compelling, short-form written commentary for newspaper op ed pages and online sites. The session equips women to:
- Own and articulate their authority as experts (recognizing and addressing the entrenched undervaluing of women’s expertise by both society and women themselves);
- Understand the essential elements and format of newspaper commentaries, including how to build a concise, persuasive and accessible argument that is likely to engage a lay audience;
- Increase their publication prospects by linking their expertise to the news and enhancing the relevancy and timeliness of their knowledge;
- Submit their work to online and print editors.
Facilitator: Shari Graydon has spent more than 25 years shamelessly exploiting media to draw attention to issues she knows and cares about. She’s a former newspaper columnist, TV producer and commentator for CBC radio and TV.
The group size for this workshop is limited to 10 participants, and is available on a sliding scale:
- Private or government sector, or a non-profit with 25+ staff – $400 (+hst)/participant
- NGO with staff between 11-24 – $300 (+hst)/participant
- NGO with staff of 10 or less, self-employed or a student – $200 (+hst)/participant
How to Position Yourself as a Source with Jacky Habib
March 22 & 24
11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET + 15 minutes of homework/session
Many experts do great work under the radar, and like it that way. But others who have the ability to help the broader public make sense of current issues can be invaluable sources for the news media. This two-part workshop provides a brief overview of the terrain from a journalist’s perspective, including what reporters and producers are looking for and how they find sources. As a participant, you’ll learn concrete strategies for raising your profile, connecting with journalists, and effectively positioning yourself as knowledgeable, accessible and reliable. You’ll also receive coaching on your online presence and feedback on outreach and engagement approaches.
Facilitator: Freelance journalist Jacky Habib draws on a decade of insider knowledge, reporting and producing for CBC, The National Post and others.
The group size for this workshop is limited to 10 participants, and is available on a sliding scale:
- Private or government sector, or a non-profit with 25+ staff – $400 (+hst)/participant
- NGO with staff between 11-24 – $300 (+hst)/participant
- NGO with staff of 10 or less, self-employed or a student – $200 (+hst)/participant
Reframing Imposter Syndrome with Sweta Rajan
March 31 & April 7
12:00-1:30 pm ET
Facilitator, Sweta Rajan defines imposter syndrome as “a symptom of the systemic barriers women navigate every day.” Her own familiarity with those barriers is informed by her experiences as a scientist operating in a male-dominated field, her intersectional identities as an immigrant woman of colour, and her insights as a diversity and inclusion consultant. In this workshop, she draws on all of these to walk participants through a process of reframing “imposter syndrome” from one of low confidence to one that recognizes the inadequacies of external environments. She shares concrete strategies to challenge the unconsciously absorbed message about who’s responsible for adapting poorly-designed systems, and recommends approaches to help participants shift workplace attitudes and circumstances.