Editors Note: On March 8, we celebrate International Women's Day. In the week leading up to it, SaltWire Network is sharing stories written entirely by women that focus on this year’s theme: "A challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change." Each day, we will tackle a different subject area as we celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness, and encourage our readers to take action towards equality.
March 8: Women in sport
IWD: Newfoundlander Jillian Forsey keeps running through challenges
Jillian Forsey remembers being 10 or 11 and slowing down her mom and aunt as she ran with them.
By the time she was 13, she was competing in her first running competition at the North American Indigenous Games in British Columbia.
“That was a really big eye-opener for me just in terms of what opportunities there were in running and what some of my capabilities were,” said the 25-year-old who is originally from Kippens, just outside of Stephenville on Newfoundland’s west coast.
“After that, I think I started year by year just taking it a bit more seriously.”
IWD: Indigenous SMU forward tries to ‘create a path’ for girls hoping to play hockey
Erin Denny saw her older sister playing hockey and something clicked.
“I watched her play and I told my dad I had to join,” the 18-year-old from Eskasoni, N.S., recalled.
But when she joined her first team about 10 years ago, none of her teammates were like her sister.
“It was more of a boys thing than girls, so I started off as the only girl on an all-boys team,” Denny said.
Not having an all-girls team at a younger age is common, though, so Denny didn’t think anything of it.
IWD: Newfoundland's Maria Htee finds power in a male-dominated sport
Maria Htee’s goal was the same as many other women who first join the gym.
“I wanted to be skinny, to look like those women on magazine covers,” she said.
“I grew up with the mentality that women were supposed to be like that, skinny and weak.”
Today, Htee turns heads, but not for the reasons she had initially thought — instead, it's for her strength.
March 7: Celebrating youth:
IWD: Nova Scotia teen an environmental champion, hopes to inspire youth to take on causes they believe in
At 17, Stella Bowles is considered one of Nova Scotia’s leading environmental advocates.
The Bridgewater, N.S. teenager is only the third youth to ever receive the Order of Nova Scotia, an honour she received in 2020.
In 2018, when she was 14, she was recognized with the Governor-General of Canada Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) and named a 2018 International Young Eco-Hero by the environmental organization Action for Nature, receiving the first-place award in her age category (ages 13-16).
March 6: Crafters/ creators:
IWD: More than just a hobby: Crafting becomes a business foundation for Atlantic Canadian women
For the past 49 years, the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design has been helping people put their creative energy into use.
And it’s no secret that most of those people are women.
“Women are creators, that is without a doubt,” says executive director Lori Burke, who adds a recent analysis shows the centre's membership base is over 80 per cent female.
IWD: Being female hasn't held back Cape Breton artist, but coping with attitude towards aging disappointing
When I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait to get out of Sydney, and I went far away to the Boston states. When I was there, I had already shown an interest in art and had taken classes when I was in high school at Holy Angels. In Boston, I studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School in between my jobs and I was able to do that for the four years I was there.
When I left Boston, I did so to come to Halifax and go to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, where I had what I considered an excellent education. It really focused on problem-solving and expert artisanship. You didn’t have to know how to do everything but you knew what was good. You were taught to look at a piece of pottery to see whether the craftsmanship was in it or not.
IWD: PAM FRAMPTON: Silent no more: Women must speak out every day to change the status quo
The very first International Women’s Day was marked on March 19, 1911 in Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, and Germany, with over a million women and men coming out in support of women’s rights to vote, work, hold public office and not be discriminated against.
Just six days after those rallies were held, a horrifying fire broke out in the garment district of New York City, killing more than 140 women. Known as the “Triangle Fire” for the Triangle Shirtwaist factory where it occurred, it was one of the worst workplace disasters in United States history, and shone a harsh light on unsafe labour conditions.
March 5: Diversity and multiculturalism:
IWD: More inclusive future needed: Women with disabilities say they face added level of inequality
Casey Perrin spent her 19th birthday in a coma.
The Oxford, N.S. native doesn't remember much from the months leading up to her birthday, either, because of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident where Perrin suffered life-changing injuries.
It was June 5, 2011. Perrin was the back passenger when the ATV she was on collided with one travelling in front of them. Perrin, then 18, was thrown from the vehicle, resulting in traumatic brain injury and paraplegia.
IWD: Sylvia Gawad is bent on helping immigrant women
“When you meet her in person, her whole personality, her eyes, her face, lights up. She's just such a strong example of a powerful human being,” Jennifer Gillivan, president and chief executive officer of IWK Foundation, describes her mentee Sylvia Gawad.
March 4: Celebrating women in science and tech:
IWD: Setting the stage: Female CEOs in Nova Scotia uniquely positioned to inspire, encourage young girls
Setting the stage for young women must happen now for them to be able to lead in the future.
Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) assistant professor KelleyAnne Malinen says this is what she and her Girls 2021 Conference team are working towards at this year’s event, which will reach more young women than ever as it hosts the conference virtually.
The timing of this conference format is striking, as the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women. Given this, Malinen says events like this are more important than ever to empower and embolden young women to ensure their ability to push ahead despite pandemic pushbacks.
'Future generations are looking up to us': Nova Scotia woman on a mission to help women in tech feel valued
Alison Knott has always loved art and computers.
"I remember, in the late 1990s, being amazed when I got my first scanner and could have art on my computer screen within 30 minutes. It was so quick to do things and connect with anyone about a topic you love," says the Halifax, N.S. woman.
“I was a lonely kid and found a lot of community online via chat groups and forums in the early days."
March 3: Women's health
IWD: 'Meet the need in a different way': Nova Scotia clinic strives to fill the gaps in women's wellness in welcoming environment
When you walk into the clinic on Cumberland Street in Yarmouth, the word ‘cozy’ comes to mind.
The waiting room can comfortably accommodate one chair next to the reception area. Two chairs would be a tight squeeze.
A display rack on a wall contains pamphlets offering information on a breast pump loan program, a directory of Tri-County mental health practitioners, and supports for new parents. There’s information about seniors safety programs; the Juniper House women’s shelter for those seeking refuge from abuse; and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program.
IWD: Women have shouldered many burdens during the pandemic, and the stress is becoming overwhelming
When the pandemic hit last year, Alessandra Nadudvari’s world was turned upside down.
Being self-employed, Nadudvari already worked from home, but she suddenly had to manage her son’s online learning. Other than her husband, she had no relatives in the province to help out.
The combination of working and taking care of a child time was overwhelming, says the Bridgewater, N.S. woman. During the day, she tried to be calm and organized but would wake up at night with anxiety and not be able to go back to sleep. She struggled with feelings of not being enough.
“As a mother, everyone comes to me for emotional comfort. How could I give it, though, when I was feeling exhausted?” she wondered.
IWD: Nova Scotia woman on a mission to get people moving, increase Black representation in wellness community
When Joy Chiekwe was a little girl, she played “every single sport you can think of.”
Her parents, who are immigrants from Nigeria, thought of sports as a way to get structure into their children’s lives. Chiekwe’s mother played sports at school because she had to, so she didn’t expect her two daughters to fall in love with athletics.
“They just thought it’s something we did to be with our friends,” said Chiekwe in an interview. “Whereas with my brothers, they took it a lot more seriously.”
Chiekwe’s parents were supportive when she continued going to the gym or basketball field, but sometimes her mother would say, “you don’t need to follow the boys or that’s not a place for a woman.”
“But now they understand,” she said. “It’s not just about looking a certain way. It’s really just taking care of my body and making sure I give myself the best chance to get through this life.”
March 2: Women in business
IWD: 'We are powerful': Nova Scotia entrepreneur helping pave the path to success for other Black women
Tia Upshaw is an early riser.
Every day, the African Nova Scotian entrepreneur and mother of three wakes up around 4:30 a.m. and runs through a daily checklist.
Unread work emails — replied to. Staff at her company Top Notch Cleaners — checked in on. Orders through her online plus-sized retail store Coco+ and online vegan cosmetics store Lips and Lashes — fulfilled. Potential bookings at her Airbnb properties — confirmed.
'The gender and the care penalty': Women still not valued equally in the workforce
Denise MacLeod worked a lot of nights as a manager of a retail business. When someone else didn't show up for work, her plans had to be pushed aside and she had to fill in.
As a result, she missed her son’s soccer games and her daughter’s parent-teacher interviews. If one of her children was sick, she couldn’t count on being home with them.
MacLeod is now an office manager, in a more flexible workplace, with the option to work from home. Her new workplace is more supportive, she said, and "mentally healthy."
“It definitely makes things easier,” she said.
Not forced to choose between work, family: PEI psychologist opens business with eye on equality
It was so important for psychologist Sarah Carr to have a better work-life balance for her and her two daughters, she left a secure, well-paid position as a psychologist in Alberta to open her own office in her hometown of Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Not only were her daughters, now aged nine and 10, excited to see their grandparents more often, it meant Carr could make a flexible schedule.
“It felt like everywhere I worked, we worked incredibly hard without much flexibility, (and) feeling a lot of guilt when we did take some opportunities available to us,” said Carr.
“I’m a single mom, so my life - in order to have that work-life balance, in order to go to my kids’ concerts - I wanted to have a job with flexibility.”
March 1: Gender equality – a look back at the #MeToo movement
P.E.I. musician channels her trauma to inform and empower others
“When I said “no” a thousand times...
You were a pirate in the night you took something that was mine
How do you live your life thinking this is alright?
If you come to my shows I think you should know I am gonna call you out
For the rest of my life, you are smeared on my mind, but I’ve got a microphone”
- "Microphone" by KINLEY
IWD: #MeToo brought the conversation about sexual violence into the light, but action still needed
Laura Winters, executive director of the St. John’s Status of Women Council women’s centre, said #MeToo helped women identify that they were not alone in their experiences.
But, she said, it's hard to measure the progress, as the measuring stick are reports made to police. Many women still don’t come forward for many reasons.
“I think, overall, we saw it bring the issue into the limelight but not necessarily to increase supports for women in a meaningful way or change the systematic issues that were causing that to begin with,” she said of #MeToo.