”Women’s Equality” is a real trending topic these days, (and by these days, I mean it’s an ongoing conversation).  Participants include government, NGOs, corporations, private/public sectors, not-for-profit organizations, think tanks, and summits; the dialogue is continuous, global, and unrelenting!

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For International Women’s Day (IWD) – March 8 – every year there are campaigns (and “hashtags”- #) with a different theme, but always with purpose to continue the mission of the campaign throughout the year.

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**In 2016, the UN Women theme was:“Planet 50-50 by 2030; Step It Up for Gender Equality”

   #WomensDay & #Planet5050

 

**The IWD 2016 campaign, in-line with the UN’s theme therefore became: #PledgeForParity

 

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**In 2017, as per the UN Women, the current theme is:

“Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”

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**The IWD 2017 campaign, specific on matters of women in the workplace is: #BeBoldForChange,

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"Status of Women Canada”, is a designated page pertaining to all issues on women within the Canadian federal government's website. For IWD, it has its own campaigns, and this year’s is: #EqualityMatters – also in-line with the theme of women in the workplace as pronounced by UN Women.

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​​​"HeForShe", (#HeForShe) created by UN Women is a

solidarity program for gender equality. 

You can make the commitment by adding your name

in the “Count Me In” page.

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(I added my name, and that's my commitment proof

– this very page I’m working on, in a sense, is how I’m

putting my commitment into action!)

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This past July 2017, after the G20 Hamburg summit, Jim Kim, president of the World Bank, wrote on LinkedIn:

 

“The evidence is overwhelming that supporting women’s economic participation pays enormous dividends for families, communities and economies. Fostering women’s entrepreneurship will empower women and bring us much closer to our goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity."

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​The "Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WE-FI)" was launched at that 2017 meeting, with the support of 12 countries, and an established $1 billion contribution was agreed upon, for the cause.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed Jim Kim’s message (read here), and announced that Canada will contribute $20 million towards this very initiative.

 

Justin Trudeau, a self-proclaimed “Feminist”, and has spoken on the issue at many events.  On September 11, 2017, Women in the World Canada Summit with Tina Brown, came to Toronto.  You can read about it and watch the video here.