DAY 1
COADY – FEMINISM IN PRACTICE Hosts: Veronica Torres, Eileen Alma Feminism in practice was the topic for today’s session. Participants shared reflections on what feminism looks like in each other’s work. Everyone agreed that feminism appears in different ways in each organization. While some may have been new to feminism in practice, other organizations identify as feminist organizations and have incorporated feminism into every aspect of the organization. Eileen Alma presented on the experience of feminist practice at the Coady Institute, and shared her personal journey of the growth of her feminist consciousness and commitment. When she came to Coady, she was encouraged and supported in developing the Women’s Centre’s focus on gender equality and women’s leadership, as well as Indigenous programming. Practicing feminism in our organizations influences all aspects including governance and decision-making. There will always be challenges and we must continue to demonstrate our commitment to addressing them. A lively discussion followed regarding feminism in organizations including policy and work/life balance, and different countries and cultures. We must consider ways of working within organizations and also modelling that behavior for the community.
1 | Engage! 2021 Learning Forum
The final discussion was focused on what it means for Engage to be a feminist program. Participants spoke of the diversity of experiences. There was consensus that the Engage project’s focus is on dismantling oppressive structures that are limiting to women and underrepresented groups, and providing equal opportunities to all.
DEEPENING GENDER LEARNING The “baggage” of the misrepresentations of what feminism means in different contexts continues to present a challenge to our work. Other tensions were shared of monitoring and evaluation frameworks expecting measurable results, which do not encourage the space for feminist colearning.
