Women advocating for the abolition of prostitution on the steps of the Supreme Court (source: www.ctvnews.ca)

For a few years in the 1990s I had the enormous privilege of a regular column in the Vancouver Sun. Every week, I’d write 750 words on pretty much any topic I wanted, and the Sun (a broadsheet not affiliated with the tabloid chain) would disseminate it to hundreds of thousands of readers.

That’s where the privilege came in. Pre-Facebook, Twitter and widespread Internet use, having a newspaper column gave you a singularly influential platform.

After three years, a new editor-in-chief decided to replace my overtly feminist voice with that of another more conservative-minded woman whose opinions more often aligned with those of the new owner (and yes, his name was Conrad Black).  I doubt that my views ever registered on Mr. Black’s consciousness, but from the day he became the major shareholder of the paper, my own editor began second-guessing my commentary, calling me up to inquire, “Are you sure you want to (write about breast feeding, contradict yesterday’s editorial about same-sex parents, or encourage police to do a better job of investigating the disappearance of aboriginal women on the Downtown Eastside)?”

(This was years before the Port Coquitlam pig farmer was finally identified as the man behind those disappearances, and I continue to regret that I only devoted one column to the topic, instead of 5, or 10.)

Yesterday, the Ottawa Citizen gave me space to write about some of the issues currently being considered by the Supreme Court regarding the decriminalization of prostitution. The debate over the wisdom of what’s being advocated by Bedford and company is one that divides feminists, and I respect the perspectives of those who take a different view on the matter.

But I’m siding with Aboriginal women on this one. The Native Women’s Association of Canada is one of seven organizations that make up the Women’s Coalition for the Abolition of Prostitution. The Coalition used its intervener status at this week’s Supreme Court hearing to advocate for the decriminalization of prostituted women, but not the legalization of brothels or pimping. (You can read the full column here.)

Although mainstream newspaper columns don’t have quite the same dominance as they once did, being able to focus thousands of readers’ attention on an issue you think is important remains a privilege. I appreciate it every time I’m given the opportunity.

And I am genuinely thrilled every time a woman who has attended an Informed Opinions workshop, or heard me speak, takes advantage of a similar forum to amplify her voice on a topic she knows and cares about.

Our site now features more than 100 of these interventions, with many more to come…

Madonna and the boys

We are thrilled to announce that earlier this week, Informed Opinions’ Executive Director, Claire Bellefeuille, gave birth to two healthy, precious, beautiful baby boys. Kobe and Cameron arrived Monday April 29th.

The extent to which I miss Claire’s wise counsel, efficient administration and wonderful sense of humour, is offset by both appreciation for her current preoccupations, and the extremely competent part-time assistance of Ashley Armstrong, who’s in the office Mondays, Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons.

source: BBC Online

In the following 3-minute clip from a recent BBC interview, Gloria Steinem explains why the women’s movement is more important than ever. (Spoiler alert: Yes, it does relate to the fact that more American women were killed at the hands of their partners than all of the US citizens who died during 911 and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan during the same period of time.)

Gloria Steinem on BBC World News

Lily Cole, left, outgoing President of the Newfoundland Teachers Association, bought multiple copies of I Feel Great About My Hands at an event in Ottawa

The stories and statistics, quotes and encouragement seemed to resonate with many (all I have to do is ask: “How many of you have ever declined a speaking opportunity or interview with the words, ‘I’m really not the best person’?”, and a sea of hands get raised).

Gratifyingly for Informed Opinions, many of the women present also expressed support for the project by purchasing one or — in some cases 5! — copies of I Feel Great About My Hands – and Other Unexpected Benefits of Aging.  

This is the collection of reflections featuring the provocative and poignant voices of 41 women over the age of 50 that we released two years ago as a fundraiser for our work. It includes funny and powerful pieces by comedian Mary Walsh, poet Lorna Crozier, journalists Susan Delacourt and Susan Harada, and politicians Sharon Carstairs and Elizabeth May. And the royalties from every book sold support the training and editing we offer for women whose perspectives can add value to the public discourse.

Now a best-seller, the book has been cited as an ideal mother’s day present for those on the mature side of 40, and it remains widely available in bookstores and online. But I’m also happy to ship or schlep a box of books to speaking engagements, offering a discounted purchase price and personalizing copies with a note to the intended recipients.

To book a presentation or inquire about group book sales, contact shari (at) informedopinions.org

Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell is an Honorary Patron of Informed Opinions

There’s no predicting what impact your media intervention might have, but here are a couple of recent examples of the ripples created by published op eds…

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Two days after Kathleen Wynn was elected leader of the Ontario Liberal party, becoming the sixth female premier in the country, The Globe and Mail published a thoughtful commentary by former Prime Minister Kim Campbell.

Her uniquely informed perspective about women’s political leadership referenced the great work of Equal Voice, a multi-partisan organization dedicated to electing more women in Canada. This profile helped to reinforce Equal Voice’s position as the go-to source on the issue, and gave Executive Director Nancy Peckford broadcast exposure on two CBC Radio programs later the same week.

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My own recent op ed in The Globe about the regrettable use of sexist stereotypes in ad campaigns (the ignorance and ineffectiveness of which was illustrated by the Canadian Wheat Board in February) didn’t generate any broadcast requests. But a week or so after it was published, Sarah Barker at the Canadian Women’s Foundation told me that more than a dozen people in her network had emailed her the link asking,

“Do you know this woman? You should be working with her!”

(We’d already found each other, but it was nice for both of us to have the value of our collaboration re-affirmed!)

But just because you can’t oversee the editing or transmission process doesn’t mean you shouldn’t participate — even when a journalist or news outlet occasionally gets it wrong.

Consider Elizabeth Sheehy’s recent experience. The University of Ottawa law professor appeared on CBC Radio’s Sunday Morning to provide context about violence against women and the impact of granting bail to men accused of abusing their partners.

Disappointingly, the public broadcaster got the title of her new book wrong on its website and edited the interview in a way that cut out some information she felt was critically important.

However, when her initial request to correct the title and provide a link to the missing information failed to elicit a response, she contacted CBC’s ombud’s office, and within an hour, the website reference was corrected, and a note about the excluded information was posted, along with a new link to the original interview.

Which just goes to show that a little persistence pays off.

As importantly, the broadcast generated some great letters that were read on-air the following week, expanding the conversation and allowing more perspectives to be heard.

Because the internet allows information to remain accessible indefinitely, if and when a reporter misquotes you or relays inaccurate information (usually inadvertently), it’s important to request that the record be corrected.

It just might.

And even if it doesn’t, the informed analysis of the University of Regina professor of environmental systems engineering offered citizens valuable and timely information about her city’s pending spring thaw.

At the same time, its existence underlines one of the key messages of the workshops and guest lectures Informed Opinions delivers:

“It’s not about you.”

Because we’ve found that’s the best way to motivate educated, articulate, expert women who decline media interview requests because they don’t cherish the limelight or want to be seen as promoting themselves.

First we invite them to share some of the specific changes they’d like to see in the world. Then, after we’ve filled a whiteboard with their goals for greater social equity, better environmental sustainability, and more comfortable footwear (ok, that’s just me), we point out that media engagement is one way to amplify their voices, increase their power, and make it easier for them to bring about the changes they seek.

Being reminded of the bigger picture — the potential for enhanced impact on an issue that has significant implications for the lives of others — makes all the difference.

Telecommuting is not a right
The Globe and Mail by Shari Graydon 7 March 2013

Give Marissa Mayer a break – not to mention a little credit for showing leadership.
[Read more]

]]> http://www.blog.informedopinions.org/?feed=rss2&p=1075 0 http://www.blog.informedopinions.org/?p=1055&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-motivational-power-of-guilt http://www.blog.informedopinions.org/?p=1055#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:17:55 +0000 admin http://www.blog.informedopinions.org/?p=1055 Continue reading →]]> Guilt didn’t play a big role in my upbringing: I was never discouraged from having sex in order to prevent my mother from having a heart attack, nor was I warned to do well in school to compensate for any sacrifices my parents suffered in raising me.

So it comes as a surprise to me to hear — as I have twice in the past week — that my voice apparently rings in the heads of others as a guilt-inducing force.

Thoughtful scholars with important insights into two critical issues recently agreed to do radio and TV interviews, despite their discomfort with the activity, because they remembered my explicit encouragement during Informed Opinions workshops about the importance of women not abdicating the field. But both confessed to me afterwards that this pushed them over the resistance hump.

When I was first asked to go on CBC Radio earlier in January, I said no. Then I immediately felt guilty because I knew you would be so disappointed. I’ve now been on their show twice and on the local CTV station as well.

So wrote Kelly Grindrod, a pharmacist and professor at the University of Waterloo pictured above, who also published an op ed this week in The Toronto Star. Her piece offered clear, concrete advice about how we can — and must — collectively address the critical problem of the overprescription of antibiotics. In compensation for the time she invested to craft, polish and submit commentary on a timely issue, Kelly’s insights received more than 10,000 hits, and over 500 Facebook recommendations, making her piece the most read op ed of the month!

So although guilt may be the initial motivator, what keeps experts agreeing to interviews (despite the inconvenience, the time challenge, and even the nerves) is experiencing that kind of impact — knowing that thousands of people will benefit from the knowledge shared, and be able to make choices that may make a positive difference to some aspect of their daily lives, or those of others.

For scholars interested in becoming more comfortable and more effective in media interviews, the Informed Opinions website has a useful primer, accessible here.

University of Ottawa law prof, Elizabeth Sheehy, regularly shares her analysis through the media.

… of the news story, that is.

It’s a great strategy to increase your likelihood of publication: if you know that a research report, government announcement or legal decision is about to be released, and your informed opinion about the issue can offer insightful context and analysis, contacting op ed page editors in advance of the breaking news can:

1. Demonstrate to editors that you’re on top of the news in your field, and therefore a valuable resource; 

2. Let them know that you can provide a topical op ed in advance of the story breaking, allowing them to have something in the paper immediately afterwards;

3. Give them the opportunity to save space for the piece;

4. Save you the trouble of writing something entirely on spec, only to be told when you submit it that the paper has already agreed to run someone else’s reflections on the same issue. 

Last week, University of Ottawa law profs, Liz Sheehy and Carissima Mathen contacted Ottawa Citizen op ed page editor David Watson, offering to write an op ed about an about-to-be-released Supreme Court decision. This advance notice was a win on all fronts:

Watson knew that he’d have a timely piece written by two experts within hours of the decision on a controversial case being released, and Sheehy and Mathen knew that their analysis would be published.

You can read Battered women’s defences still in question in today’s Citizen, in print or online, and as of Monday, it will go up on Informed Opinions’ site alongside more than 75 other commentary interventions made by women experts who’ve participated in our workshops.

University of Ottawa Law prof, Carissima Mathen has also written numerous op eds.

Informed Opinions salutes the regular media engagement of  both Sheehy (who also serves on our Advisory Committee), and her colleague Carissima Mathen: they frequently provide thoughtful journalists and the broader public with informed analyses of justice issues.