Canada can become an equity superpower

This op-ed was published by Waterloo Region Record on November 7, 2015. Read it on The Record.com. Photo Credit: Cabinet, Adrian Wyld, The Canadian Press

image of Justin Trudeau's cabinet
On Wednesday, University of Waterloo alumna Bardish Chagger was sworn in as Canada's new Minister of Small Business and Tourism.

In its own right, her appointment is an impressive achievement for one of Waterloo Region's new members of Parliament.

But there's more to celebrate. Chagger is one of 15 women in a federal cabinet that symbolically achieves gender parity.

In forming his first cabinet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a historic breakthrough for equity in this country, achieving what feminists have been aiming at for decades in just his first day on the job.

He's not alone either. Our self-proclaimed feminist prime minister is part of the growing consensus in the corridors of power across Canada's civil society and business sectors: gender and demographic representativeness matters not just for symbolism, but for success.

The evidence continues to mount. A recent study by the research and advocacy group Catalyst reports a direct link between the financial success of private sector firms and the percentage of women on their boards, for example.

It's fascinating and inspiring to imagine how the tone, tenor, and the decision-making process in Canada's federal cabinet could evolve now that our top politicians better reflect the composition of society.

Just as importantly, Canada's more reflective and diverse cabinet gives the Trudeau government an unprecedented moral authority to advance the cause of equity here in Canada and around the world.

As he now walks the walk, Trudeau's calls for female participation in civic life, in the corporate suite, and in fields traditionally dominated by men will ring louder and truer than those of almost any other leader in the world.

As Canada seizes this opportunity to promote gender equity and cultural diversity, the University of Waterloo is already helping to define the way forward.

We're a university with world-leading strengths in several STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — fields. While our strength gives this region some outstanding advantages in driving innovation and attracting talent and investment, STEM-heavy schools like Waterloo have to take bold steps to make these fields more representative and accessible to women.

It's not just about enrolment — although I am proud that this year we welcomed the highest percentage of female engineers ever in our incoming class. It's about smart programming and practices that promote comprehensive, long-term and sustainable gender equity. It's about eliminating the implicit biases and "thousands of small, sexist moments," in the words of journalist Zane Schwartz, that make women feel unwelcome.

We're working systematically to achieve this.

We've implemented new programs through our equity office to promote an atmosphere of inclusion and cultural diversity, and my special adviser on women's and gender issues is what you might call a cabinet-level source of pro-equity perspective and advice to my administration.

Unfortunately, it's not every day a STEM-heavy institution like Waterloo takes the bold step to tackle equity so directly, but when the United Nations noticed our efforts and invited me to participate in the HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 initiative to enlist boys and men in the cause of gender equity, they didn't have to ask twice.

As Canada's only representative among 10 heads of state, 10 CEOs, and 10 university presidents, I believe we need to use Justin Trudeau's victory for equity to galvanize support for progressive change both here in Canada and in communities around the world.

I will be advocating for this when I meet with fellow HeForShe IMPACT presidents and CEOs at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Canada's new prime minister has given us a powerful first example of the leadership needed to achieve a more equitable society.

In fact, it paves the way for Canada to become an equity superpower. The University of Waterloo is ready to help make it happen.

Feridun Hamdullahpur is president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. Waterloo is Canada’s leading innovation university and Feridun Hamdullahpur is the only Canadian university representative on the United Nations HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 initiative.