Gender equity lens backbone of Status of Women Committee but do councillors care?

This is getting ridiculous.

For well over 10 years, the Hamilton Status of Women Committee has presented a motion to council requesting the city adopt an equity inclusion lens in the budget planning process. And for every one of those years the motion has been shot down, but none so spectacularly as what happened last week.

Status of Women chair, Denise Christopherson, who is also CEO of the YWCA and well-versed on the importance of gender, diversity, equity and inclusion, was thrown under the proverbial bus by councillor Donna Skelly, a fellow Status of Women committee member and the first to speak to the motion by discounting it completely. Not only did she discount it, she arrogantly stated unequivocally that she knows what the needs are of low-income women, women of colour, immigrant women, young women, old women, disabled women, gay women, trans women etc. and needs no help from any inclusion lens.

In elucidating her response, Skelly illustrated her failure to understand that child care is just one factor that impacts the lives of women. Status of Women has done lots of work on this issue. Perhaps it would behoove councillor Skelly to acquaint herself with the purpose of the Status of Women and the work they’ve done over the many years of their existence before commenting on policy. She seems out of sorts with their mandate.

I watched the video of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting and the Status of Women presentation. Big shout out to Joey Coleman who live streams and then uploads the meetings online at The Public Record. I was shocked at the level of animosity and ignorance displayed by councillors regarding the importance of an inclusion lens in budget planning. I was appalled at the lack of awareness our councillors have regarding what other municipalities are doing to improve their processes. Don’t they talk to each other? How do they not know this is happening elsewhere?

Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton; they all employ an inclusivity lens in budget determinations. City councillors in these jurisdictions aren’t afraid to admit that they don’t know what they don’t know. By utilizing an inclusivity lens, we can be ensured that all citizens in our community are considered when decisions are made on how to spend their money, from planning parks and green space, to family friendly environments, to housing development, to safety planning and traffic flow, to walkability and livable communities.

During the last municipal election a campaign promise was made by now Mayor Eisenberger to address gender and diversity issues at City Hall. We are now prepping ourselves for the next municipal election coming up in the fall and we are still waiting.

There is something coming, coming, coming … but it’s been promised for the last two years. I hear it’s a tool kit and I believe that an inclusivity lens is included. It would have to be; it’s a foundational piece of the endeavour. But judging from the response at the meeting last week, the whole exercise will meet stiff resistance from those on council who fail to see that the times they are a-changing. Rather than deal with the issue during the term, it will now become an election issue. Yet another hurdle to overcome.

If I were a cynic, I’d say that we women are just being patronized. That all the work being done by women who are committed to change is being passed over as unimportant and not necessary by arrogant and narrow-minded councillors who favour the status quo. It’s beyond ridiculous and time for a change.