What is the Impact of COVID 19 on Marginalized Communities in Particular?

Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Municipalities’ emergency responses to the COVID 19 pandemic are raising concerns about the lack of equity and inclusion in the crisis. While many cities have taken various positive steps, such as including diverse voices in emergency response planning, arguably, women continue to fall through the cracks. The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, and particularly women experiencing socio- economic marginalization, is well-documented in research from Canada and around the world. In these unprecedented circumstances, cities should be urged to apply an intersectional gendered lens on equity and inclusion to all phases of planning and implementation of COVID 19 emergency responses. This can ensure that any emergency response takes into consideration the full diversity of women, men, and gender-diverse people. The speakers will describe what the City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) in Ottawa has been advocating for during COVID 19. They will also share some of the helpful measures taken by that city. Speakers: Dr. Valerie Stam and Patricia Harewood Dr. Valerie Stam is the Executive Director of the City for All Women Initiative (CAWI) where she coordinates training and advocacy with community leaders for inclusive and equitable change in municipal policies. She is a facilitator and educator with over 20 years experience in intersectional gendered approaches to development, civic engagement, research, and policy both locally and abroad. Valerie has a PhD in Sociology from Carleton University. Her most recent research used participatory theatre to explore how difficult conversations around race can lead to social change. Patricia Harewood is a labour lawyer and a passionate advocate for human rights, especially women’s equality rights and the rights of racialized people. As a member of the Board of the City for All Women Initiative, a volunteer co-host of CHUO’s Black on Black and a Board member at her children’s daycare, the Centre éducatif Les Débrouillards, she especially enjoys collaborating with others to discuss and address systemic barriers faced by historically marginalized communities. She also loves cycling and playing soccer with her children. Date and time: Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 10 am YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/hD9OghKCshs In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming.