North America | Canada | Society

Sam Maggs wants to show the world nerdy women are people, too

The morning I sat down to talk to Sam Maggs, Joss Whedon had just quit Twitter. There was rampant speculation that the Avengers director had left the social media site after being harassed by women, angry over the film’s depiction of its female protagonist, Black Widow, and I asked Maggs, the author of the new book The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy, to weigh in. “People just love to blame feminists for things,” Maggs said of the controversy. “It’s low-hanging fruit. I wish that we all had the privilege to be able to exit social media. I connected with many of my role models

North America | Canada | Military

Canadian Military’s Sexualized Culture Hostile To Women, Inquiry Says

Source: Huffington Post

Being called an ice princess. A slut. That they only joined the army to find a man. Those are just some modest examples of the misogynistic, highly sexualized culture that pervades the Canadian military and confronts its female members every day, a long-awaited sexual misconduct review said Thursday. Eradicating that culture will take time and a concerted effort from military leadership, former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps said in her report — a conclusion agreed to by top Forces brass. They part ways, however, on the question of whether the problem can be resolved within t

North America | Canada | History

75 years ago, Quebec women won the right to vote.

Source: Montreal Gazette

Women in Quebec could not vote until April 25, 1940. This followed a long battle by the suffragettes, led by Thérèse Casgrain and Marie Gérin-Lajoie. Directrice générale des élections du Québec Lucie Fiset notes that today it’s women who show up to vote in the largest numbers. Quebec Culture Minister Hélène David says there is still much to do to convince more women to be politically engaged.

North America | Canada | Ethics

Ouellet calls out two Liberal ministers for their ‘condescending’ attitude toward women

Source: Montreal Gazette

Parti Québécois MNA Martine Ouellet criticized two Liberal cabinet ministers on Tuesday for being condescending toward women in the National Assembly. The only woman running to be the next leader of the PQ, Ouellet singled out Transport Minister Robert Poëti and Health Minister Gaétan Barrette. “You see it in question period. A few ministers are very arrogant and condescending,” she told reporters. “It’s their general attitude but I’d say it’s worse toward female spokespeople. It would be nice if that would end.” Last month, Poëti raised eyebrows after he invited

North America | Canada | Culture

Doctors warned not to encourage young women to freeze their eggs in new medical journal article

Source: National Post

Doctors are being warned not to encourage young women to freeze their eggs as a way to avoid “future regret,” says a just-published article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that argues it risks perpetuating expectations that being a mother is central to being a woman. “Social egg freezing uses medical technology to respond to a non-medical problem — natural aging,” the authors of the CMAJ analysis write in a paper published Monday, which was intended to help family doctors advise women contemplating egg banking. Growing numbers of Canadian women are seeking “social

North America | Canada | Business

Women in Capital Markets ‘job-shadow day’ grows in leaps and bounds

Source: The Globe and Mail

It’s been seven years since Hanna Naiman walked onto her first trading floor at TD Securities. She was only 18 years old, but it still stands out as one of the most significant career opportunities she was given. Today the event has grown in size to include 90 female Grade 12 students from across the Greater Toronto Area, who have applied to a business or related university program to learn first-hand about the different career opportunities in capital markets. The event, in its 12th year, takes place on Friday. During the job shadow day, students will have an opportunity to hear from