April Newsletter Updates, events, and recommended reading from Women Transforming Cities |
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Throughout this month, surrounded by cherry blossoms, we celebrate Earth Day and reflect on the intersection of the climate crisis and gender equity. There is so much evidence for the ways in which the climate crisis disproportionately affects women at a greater rate. We know that the more women that are involved in global leadership positions the more policy is created that moves towards addressing the climate crisis. Sociologists Christina Ergas and Richard York published a fascinating study called "Women's status and carbon dioxide emissions: a quantitative cross-national analysis." in which they found that, "carbon dioxide emissions per capita are lower in nations where women have higher political status." Elect more women, non-binary, gender queer people etc. and we can tackle this crisis head on and improve the lives of everyone who experiences gender marginalization. |
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Our resident climate activist and managing director here at WTC wrote a beautiful reflection this past summer on the realities of our changing climate. We urge you to read it and to ask yourself what you can do to impact climate policy around you. "We moved from Melbourne to Vancouver, Canada in mid-January 2020, when Australia was in the grip of ‘Black Summer’—unbearable heat, uncontrollable bushfires all down the country’s east coast, and hazardous smoke choking our cities. As Ash suffers from asthma, instead of spending our final weeks in Melbourne celebrating with friends and family, we were trapped in our share house with duct tape around every window and door, anxiously refreshing the air quality app. Part of the reason we moved to Canada was to live in a cooler climate with mild summers and snowy winters. We have been lucky to experience some amazing adventures in the snow here, but in 18 months we have also lived through more extreme heat and wildfires than we ever thought possible in this part of the world." |
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Register today for one of our dialogue cafes and have your voice heard! Our HPPC is still hosting dialogue cafes. You'll hear from community organizers and have the chance to discuss what you need to belong and thrive in Vancouver. Our next cafe is April 7th at 2 PM where we'll discuss Prosperity & Income, followed by our Participation cafe April 12th at 5 PM, and our Movement & Mobility cafe April 19th at 5 PM. Register here. |
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Apply to our free 6 week training program and learn how to become a changemaker! Applications are open until April 17th for Cities Organize! where we’ll walk you through all the tools you need to create your own grassroots campaign. This free six week program will cover topics like campaign planning, community engagement, media & outreach, engaging with city officials, and taking care of yourself all the while. Apply here. |
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Help spread our community survey! Have you filled out our 10-minute community survey yet? The answers you give here will be collected, along with input from focus groups and discussion sessions, and we will deliver it to every single candidate for mayor and council before the election and ask them to really consider what matters most to us! Spread the word and send our survey to 5 people you know! |
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Candidate 101: What to expect as a 2022 Vancouver election candidate Tune in to see WTC Co-Chairs, Joy Masuhara and Trudi Goels, as they speak in the 2022 Vancouver Election candidate information sessions that will cover the responsibilities of elected officials, expected time commitment and compensation, and more. The first session will take place Tuesday, April 5 from 5 to 6:30 pm, online, and in-person with limited capacity at Vancouver City Hall, Town Hall - Joe Wai Meeting Room - Main Floor (453 West 12th Avenue). | | |
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Join a Feminist Campaign Workshop The Feminist Campaign School is offering campaign planning workshops to get ready to run for mayor, councilor, parks board, or school trustee. Facilitators will lead participants through a feminist and radically inclusive approach to a certain aspect of campaigning with hands-on time to get some plans down on paper. | | |
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Why We Still Fight: BC's Unequal Women at Hilton Metrotown Speak Out Join Hilton Metrotown workers and Asian Canadian Labour Alliance BC April 9 form 10:30-1:30 PM "as Hilton Metrotown women workers reflect on the tactics and strategy of the struggle so far, and share how all of us can fight for a better future for working people." These women have been picketting for a year, "to call attention to how hotels take advantage of the pandemic to profit from long-term workers, many of whom are women of colour." Show your support and register today. | | |
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- Fill out this survey for #BlockHate from the YWCA to help them create an "Online Hate Speech Map, which will support our work in building real-world tools to help keep folks safer online." Open to any 14-30 year old women, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people living in Canada.
- Join the April Eco Poem Challenge that UBC Climate Hub is putting on over this next month. Channel your climate anxiety into art and help keep that climate doom at bay.
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- Read Uniting a Coalition of Feminist Leaders learn all about Katie Tobin's accomplishments as Senior Project manager of Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).
- Checkout the podcast, How to Save a Planet and learn all about the climate crisis, which activists are leading the charge, and how elevating woment to global positions of power is instrumental to the fight.
- Sign up for the 2022 Vancouver Election Newsletter to stay up to date on all things happening in the upcoming municipal race.
- Listen to this Rabble podcast on what success can look like when you implement gender equity.
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