THUNDER BAY – Residents of Thunder Bay marked International Women’s Day on Wednesday as a celebration of clear gains for women’s rights, but also a call to action, with gender-based violence and other issues continuing to impact women here and around the world.
Local International Women’s Day events concluded with a march of around 50 people along Memorial Avenue Wednesday evening.
Activities earlier in the day included a flag-raising at city hall, a women in trades event, and the launch of a new event series aimed at empowering women in business.
Sandra Snider of the Thunder Bay and District Labour Council, who helped coordinate the march, said organizers wanted to make this year’s event a celebration of hard-won progress.
“Thirty-three years ago, I was at Parliament knocking on the door with a baby, asking for universal non-profit child care,” she said. “[Now], universal child care is a reality – hopefully they put the resources in to make it truly happen.”
Snider also pointed to increasing representation of women in leadership roles, including local representatives.
Marchers gathered at OPSEU headquarters afterwards for poetry, music, and a celebration of the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre’s 50th anniversary.
Jan Oakley, a member of the centre's board and a lecturer at Lakehead University, agreed there are reasons to celebrate.
In remarks at the flag-raising, Oakley cited progress on identifying and calling out discrimination, harassment, and bias against women, with the rise of the #MeToo movement.
However, she also pointed to signs of disturbing rollbacks of women’s rights around the world, including south of the border.
“Thinking about the situation just in the past year, we know the rights of women are under threat or have been jeopardized, thinking about the... overturning of Roe v. Wade, for example.”
In an interview, Oakley said the COVID-19 pandemic had also set back gender equality.
“There’s plenty of evidence that showcases how women, children, and gender-diverse people have been disproportionately negatively affected by the pandemic… in terms of their health, their economics, their wellbeing, their experiences of domestic violence.”
Elder and activist Ma-Nee Chacaby who provided opening remarks at the march, said she hoped the day's events help inspire a younger generation to continue the fight for women’s rights.
“It’s so important to do this here in Thunder Bay, so younger women can continue doing the work we’ve been doing,” she said.
She said local Indigenous women in particular continue to face issues like domestic violence and racial discrimination.
Oakley said the day also serves as a chance for men to take stock of their role in the movement for equal rights.
“I certainly would call upon men to educate themselves, first and foremost, and then to think about the ways in which they may be contributing, even unconsciously, to systems that are resulting in experiences of gender-based violence or sexism, [whether] in their personal relationships or their professional lives.”
Tracey MacKinnon, a local resident and activist who attended Wednesday’s march, echoed that sentiment.
“Just even noticing there’s only a couple of men here… We need more men to join us in our fight, to walk with us, to support us in this fight for equality,” she said. “Still [in] 2023, women only make 89 per cent of what men do. It’s getting better… but there’s still that 10 or 11 per cent to go.”
Céline Mundinger, who attended the flag-raising and the march, said she was motivated by continuing struggles like the gender pay gap, and wanted to celebrate the work being done to advance women’s equality.
She cited the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the flood of legislation to limit abortion access that followed the decision, as a particular worry.
“I’m thinking about the right of abortion in the States, or into Spain or Italy, that got removed or [there's] terrible access to it,” she said.
Locally, she said the higher rates of discrimination and abuse suffered by Indigenous women remains an example of why the fight for women’s rights is still badly needed.
Wednesday’s display of solidarity helped show there’s local energy behind that fight, she said.
“It’s nice for me to see that a lot of people have hope, and they’re working together to make changes.”
