Tag: CBC

Let’s make this the last election in which our voices, realities, leadership capacities are absent, marginalized

Our Advocacy Work

September 27th, 2021

The 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...Let’s make this the last election in which our voices, realities, leadership capacities are absent, marginalized

“Poet, can you write this?” We need to write the post-coronavirus reality we want now

Improve your Writing

April 6th, 2020

In Stalinist Russia, poet Anna Akhmatova’s husband was shot and her son imprisoned. Every day for months she stood outside the prison walls begging for word about her son’s fate. Recognizing her, one of the other women in similar circumstances called out to ask, “Poet, can you write this?” She responded, “I can.” And then […]

read more...“Poet, can you write this?” We need to write the post-coronavirus reality we want now

Should Smart Women Strive to be Public Intellectuals?

Our Advocacy Work

December 6th, 2014

You know you’ve done your job as a conference planner when delegates depart complaining of not having slept since they arrived, thanks to an excess of intellectual stimulation provided by the presenters and programming you’ve so expertly curated. But I’m guessing that conveners Christl Verduyn (Mount Allison) and Aritha van Herk (University of Calgary) both […]

read more...Should Smart Women Strive to be Public Intellectuals?

Girls fuel outrage and inspiration

Our Advocacy Work

October 14th, 2013

I don’t often shout back at the TV, despite the vast volume of material it broadcasts that I find vile or banal. But last week I couldn’t help myself. The object of my fury wasn’t Fox News or Sun TV, it wasn’t some retrograde beauty pageant, exploitive reality show, or a crime drama featuring a […]

read more...Girls fuel outrage and inspiration

Canada’s anthem back in the hot seat

Our Advocacy Work

October 10th, 2013

Jian Ghomeshi calls it common sense. But will the government listen?   Last week, some of Canada’s most notable women (including Informed Opinions Honorary Patrons, Senator Nancy Ruth and the Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell) launched a formidable campaign advocating that gender-neutral lyrics be restored to Canada’s national anthem. Since then, all sorts of media heavyweights […]

read more...Canada’s anthem back in the hot seat

Changing lives through media commentary

Improve your Writing and Master Media Engagement

August 13th, 2013

“You really have to write that!” This enthusiastic exhortation — often exclaimed simultaneously by a chorus of voices — is a common refrain in the commentary writing workshops we lead. Although I’m clear about the benefits provided by the tips and strategies we teach, I’m also keenly aware of how much additional value participants derive […]

read more...Changing lives through media commentary

When they get it wrong

Master Media Engagement

April 4th, 2013

It’s one of the most commonly-cited deterrents to doing media interviews: not having control over how the words you speak will be used in the resulting story, whether it’s in a newspaper, on the radio or on TV. But just because you can’t oversee the editing or transmission process doesn’t mean you shouldn’t participate — […]

read more...When they get it wrong

The Motivational Power of Guilt

Master Media Engagement

January 31st, 2013

Guilt didn’t play a big role in my upbringing: I was never discouraged from having sex in order to prevent my mother from having a heart attack, nor was I warned to do well in school to compensate for any sacrifices my parents suffered in raising me. So it comes as a surprise to me […]

read more...The Motivational Power of Guilt