Last 8 March, 2024, which was International Women’s Day, IAM Canada’s Director of Research, and Women and Human Rights Representative, Ivana Saula, held a Women’s Committee training at District 78’s office in Toronto.
Sisters from District 78 Locals: 1231, 2113, 1295, 907 and 901 attended the session. The training included a session on women’s history in the labour movement, emphasizing the key role women have played in the movement, and perhaps more importantly, what defined “women’s issues” throughout history. The term “women’s issues” for many can be an ambiguous term, but understanding what constituted women’s issues in the past and today sheds light on the ways in which women shaped unions into organizations we know today.
“Understanding our past allows us to appreciate our progress, and to understand that some of the issues women fought for have been a battle for as long as women have been part of the workforce,” Ivana Saula pointed out.
Additionally, the training provided policies pertaining to women’s committees, roles and responsibilities, objectives and how to create an action plan. The goal is for the sisters to take what they learned and engage the membership in developing and supporting the women’s committees within their locals. Bake sales and fundraisers often become the safe default position of women’s committees, hopefully, through training, we broaden the scope of ways in which women can be involved and how important these committees are.
Saula added, “The Grand Lodge Convention in 2022 clearly signalled the importance of women’s involvement at every level of our union, along with the implementation of LEADS. Ultimately, the IAM strives to empower sisters through training and mentorship to establish women’s committees – as history shows us, women’s involvement has often been the engine of progress, and necessary change in our movement.”
