Master Media Engagement
March 18th, 2014
Don’t blame the messenger, folks: When Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda blogged and tweeted recently about the show’s difficulties in recruiting female guests, he elicited a firestorm of protest. But what he says rings true to me. Our experience is that women decline interviews much more often than their male counterparts. Many journalists have told us this, […]
read more...Why women decline interviews – and how we’re trying to change that
Improve your Writing
February 11th, 2014
Up until this week, Rob Ford’s life experience — elected office, crack cocaine, domestic abuse — had little intersection with mine. But hearing his contention that he’d been “profiled” for the jaywalking ticket he received while in BC took me back. I felt badly for Mr. Ford that he wasn’t spotted by the Vancouver motorcycle […]
read more...Making smart advice irresistible
Our Advocacy Work
February 6th, 2014
“You’re not making the best use of your prime real estate,” Chamika Ailapperuma told us. (Which was news to us: we didn’t even know we HAD real estate!) An experienced digital strategist, Chamika attended an Informed Opinions’ op ed writing workshop last spring, and shared some valuable insights during the session. Afterwards, we approached her […]
read more...Pro Bono Expertise Transforms Digital Real Estate
Improve your Writing
November 8th, 2013
Hanging out with teenagers can be an enlightening experience. Last week, I participated in a panel discussion convened by MediaSmarts, “Canada’s centre for digital and media literacy” and a repository of fabulous resources for teachers, parents and kids. The teenagers present from across Canada asked really smart questions, many of which betrayed both deep scepticism […]
read more...TL;DR – advice to ignore, but implications to heed
Our Advocacy Work
September 23rd, 2013
The following op ed was published in the Ottawa Citizen 23 September 2013. Constance Sugiyama, pictured at right, a respected mergers and acquisition lawyer and honorary patron of Informed Opinions, serves on a number of boards, and is one of thousands of Canadian women qualified to do so and capable of making a significant contribution. […]
read more...Women on boards to counter “affirmative action plan for men”?
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
Improve your Writing
July 28th, 2013
I have no legal training or experience in the sex trade. No one would ever mistake me as a candidate for the corner office of a large corporation. I am not a celebrity and have never been pregnant. And yet in recent months, major daily newspapers have published my commentary about: a supreme court hearing […]
read more...Expert status less important than insightful context
Our Advocacy Work
July 1st, 2013
The positive responses to our video campaign in pursuit of a more inclusive O Canada are still outpacing the cranky ignorant ones, and among the most inspiring was an email I received from Toronto poet and physician, Ron Charach. He turned his attention to not only eliminating the sexism of our anthem’s lyrics, but also […]
read more...“Get me rewrite!” – a truly inclusive O Canada
Our Advocacy Work
June 29th, 2013
The following op ed, commissioned by the Montreal Gazette, also appears in today’s Saskatoon Star Phoenix. It’s like poking a hornet’s nest: Dare to suggest that the words to the English version of our national anthem should be altered to include the 50 per cent of the population they currently leave out, and you’re guaranteed […]
read more...Official sexism brought to you by Canada’s national anthem
Our Advocacy Work
June 24th, 2013
A few years ago the Conservative government threw a bone (briefly) to Canadian women, and (rashly, as it turned out) promised to update the lyrics to our national anthem to include the 50% of the population currently excluded. (Rumour has it that outspoken advocate for women, Senator Nancy Ruth, pressed her colleagues into doing the right thing — […]
read more...O Canada… Oh, Canada
