MoVeRS &
ShAKeRS
With
Q
Julie White - Director of Unifor's Women's Department
What are some of the key challenges
women face in labour?
Our theme was, "I'm a feminist – now what?" We discussed women in political power and where
women stand in Canada in terms of elected women in government. The second key issue was
violence against women and how domestic violence effects the workplace. As well, child care and
reproductive choice, and women's economic equality.
What motivated Unifor's
women's conference?
The challenges for women in the union are also felt by women in society. We're losing ground
and we certainly have lost ground on all of these issues especially child care. The funding for
the national child care program has lost major resources. And, the funding cuts to women's or-
ganizations. This was an opportunity for us to show women the lay of the land in terms of how
we've been sliding back and how women in this country have been sliding back since the Harper
Conservatives have been elected.
Why is this important now?
One of the things were trying to do is educate women on the issues and how we've really lost
ground. Our plan is to continue this with our local women's committees continuing up to the
2015 election. So it's making women aware of what's happening and engaging not only the 305
women at the conference, but hopefully they're going to take it to back into their communities
or workplaces and they'll set up additional outreach with women in the future. One of the things
we don't want to do is wait until the writ is dropped for the federal election and then start talk-
ing about these issues. We want to raise awareness and engage women so that when the writ is
dropped we're ready to move on a woman-to-woman campaign that we have held at both the
provincial and federal level.
It seems there has been a fire lit
under the feminist movement
of late. Thoughts?
The F word used to be a word that women were often nervous about saying, that I'm a feminist.
My sense from the conference is that women have reclaimed that word.
What's next?
What we're hoping is this is the beginning and not the end of our discussion, that women will go
back into their communities connect with other women and so when the election is called were
actually engaged as feminists. There were only 305 delegates at this convention, but we have
86,000 women in our union, so our goal is to touch every single one of those women with this
information.
Julie White, director of Unifor's Women's Department, helmed the union's
first-ever women's conference in late August. Herewith, she talks the con-
vention, upcoming federal election and what it means to be a feminist.
Unifor holds first-ever
women's conference
&
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