Today, Tuesday, March 8, is International Women’s Day, celebrating women and girls’ social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. It is also a time to raise awareness, take action for women’s equality, and work towards a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
VIU’s Strategic Plan, People, Place, Potential, includes a strong commitment to deepen equity, diversity, and inclusion on our journey to becoming a more inclusive and healthier place for work and study. Among the priorities in our EDI Action Plan is gender equity. We believe that at VIU, our lives and work are enriched by the full participation of all groups in society. To do a better job and include equity deserving peoples, universities need to address subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) discrimination and implicit bias individually and at an institutional level.
A key aspect of International Women’s Day is celebrating the achievements of women and girls. The Vancouver Island University Faculty Association’s Status of Women Committee is hosting a celebratory event for International Women’s Day in the Malaspina Theatre lobby from noon to 1 pm. Invited speakers will talk about their “Sheroes: Past, Present Future.” Everyone is invited to attend.
This year’s international theme is #BreakTheBias. People are encouraged to strike the ‘break the bias’ pose and post it on social media with #BreakTheBias and #IWD2022 as hashtags. Learn more here. Canada’s theme is Women Inspiring Women. It celebrates all women and girls who inspire us by demonstrating leadership in the choices they make in their day-to-day lives to contribute to the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. You can download visuals to share on your social media channels here.
I encourage you to participate in some or all of the ways I’ve listed above. I want to personally recognize the contributions of everyone in our community who identifies as female for following your passions and forging positive visibility for women. Collectively, we can all #BreakTheBias.
