Catalyst Blog

Where is the women’s movement heading? What can we do better? Philosopher Nina Power outlines ten areas feminists should focus on. We must “campaign for fairer and better work, even in the midst of an economic crisis,” she writes. More of her points plus news about the gender pay gap, The Catalyst Canada Honours, and the new UN agency for women in C This.

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Feminism 2.0

British philosopher Nina Power charts a new path for feminism. One suggestion: Don’t fixate on female firsts. “Feminism should not be misled by the successes of individual women at the top of their professions (politicians, CEOs, etc.),” she writes. “Feminism would do well to remember how the struggle for real equality and fair income can sometimes be disguised by the purported success of the odd individual woman.”

READ: “10 Things That Feminism Could Do Better,” by Nina Power, Alternet, 7/9/10

Frozen Gap

The latest data from the US Department of Labor reveals almost zero progress on closing the gender wage gap for women ages 16–19. The gap persists because young women still start and stay behind equally skilled men.

READ: “The Persistence of the Pay Gap,” by Heather Boushey, XXfactor, 7/14/10

Financing UN Women

The new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women—now called UN Women for short—has an initial annual budget of $500 million, less than 1 percent of the $27 billion budget for the entire UN in 2008. “With the UN’s own working group proposing that by 2015, 15 percent of overall development assistance will be allocated toward gender, why is that not happening?” said Daniela Rosech of Oxfam International.

READ: “New UN Agency for Women–First Battle Won,” IRIN, 7/16/10

Secrets to Success

The recipients of The Catalyst Canada Honours share some insights with The Toronto Star. “You just have to understand, we would not be what we are if we did not recruit the best people,” said Ed Clark, President and CEO of TD Bank Financial Group. “If you don’t do this you will not be a high performing company 20 years from now.”

READ: “Making a Business Case for the Advancement of Women,” by Emily Mathieu, Toronto Star, 7/15/10

Campus Satisfaction

A survey by The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education revealed that male academics are more satisfied with their work than their female colleagues. The differences, noted COACHE Research Director Cathy Trower, “cut across disciplines and, in fact, are most evident in disciplines in which women are relatively well represented.” Physical sciences and humanities professors reported being most satisfied with their positions, while those in visual and performing arts and education reported being least satisfied.

READ: “Female Academics Less Satisfied Than Male Counterparts,” by Emmeline Zhao, Wall Street Journal, 7/14/10

One by one, people are starting to get it. What’s good for women is good for the world.

Last month began with the Women Deliver conference in Washington, DC on the economic impact of global maternal health. Then, days after the inaugural G(irls)20 Summit in Toronto, nearly 40 CEOs endorsed a UN-led initiative to empower women by promoting gender equality at work. The following week, the UN Economic and Social Council opened in New York with speakers calling for women and girls to be placed at the centre of the global struggle to achieve a set of UN development and anti-poverty goals.

All four events shared one simple message: women are the key to solving the world’s problems.

It’s all about access. When a woman accesses work and education, she can build a bustling economy in villages, towns and cities. When a woman accesses adequate healthcare, she can see to it that her  family’s health improves. When she can access women in political and business circles as role models, she becomes an active contributor. And when she gets access to political or corporate leadership, she can shape policy to further improve the lives of women, men and children.

It’s a cycle of positive change. And women are at its core.

A new blog is born! Last week, Catalyst’s second blog was launched. Dubbed Catalyst CanCon (short for Canadian content), this blog is penned by Toronto-based Deborah Gillis, Catalyst’s Vice President, North America.

In her introductory post, Deborah wrote that Catalyst CanCon is “an opportunity to extend the conversation in Canada and to share some of my thoughts, experiences, and reactions to change (or lack of change) in our workplaces and our society.” Deborah hopes to get a conversation going with CanCon—for readers “to agree, to argue, or to propose new ideas.”

Below is a cross-posting of Deborah’s most recent dispatch about the G(irls)20 Summit held in Toronto just prior to the G20 Summit.  She felt it demonstrated an enviable focus and spirit—3.4 billion girls cannot be ignored!

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Can 21 Girls Make a Difference?

Traditionally, the world’s 3.4 billion women have been neither seen nor heard when the predominantly male leaders of the wealthiest and most powerful nations meet.  But some new voices were raised in the lead-up to this year’s G20 Summit in Toronto, when 21 young women representing the G20 nations and the African Union gathered to chart a global strategy to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

I was privileged to review some of the applications for the 21 seats at the table.  After a long flight from Toronto for a business meeting in California, I got up at 4 a.m. to read amazing stories from accomplished and thoughtful young women.  Four hours later, when I left for work, I was refreshed, energized and inspired by their commitment to change the world. 

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