Evidence of meeting #36 for Status of Women in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond  Representative, British Columbia, Representative for Children and Youth
Jennifer Flanagan  President and Chief Executive Officer, Actua
Claudia Mitchell  James McGill Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University
Jessica Danforth  Executive Director, Native Youth Sexual Health Network

5:25 p.m.

James McGill Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

Dr. Claudia Mitchell

First of all, I think it's because there are small pots of money. I can speak particularly about the context in South Africa, where there are still many problems. But I think the people who are working on masculinities there have made a very convincing argument as to why the funds should go to them and not to girls, that we've already settled all the problems with girls.

I feel that one of the issues we have to think about is that all children need support and that we cannot have masculinity studies and feminist studies pitted against each other. If anything, we would still have these as academic areas but we have to be thinking strategically about how this kind of work can actually be supporting both males and females. And I really worry that as soon as you start talking about the idea of a special agency for girls as I did, people will say yes, but what about the boys? And I think we have to show that we're working for both groups and also encourage support for the work of the people who are seeing problems with boys. We have to avoid this polarization and binary analysis.

5:30 p.m.

Conservative

Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Okay. I appreciate that.

I just have a little bit of time left and I'm wondering if you could speak to the importance of mentorship, because a number of our witnesses have spoken of that. Could you lead us through your views on that.

5:30 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Marie-Claude Morin

Be very quick.

5:30 p.m.

James McGill Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University

Dr. Claudia Mitchell

Yes. We need to have older girls mentoring younger girls; and it doesn't have to be women to girls. I think we've got mentors in every single school and in every single community, and that's what we have to work on, to think about how girls who are even just a couple of years older can be mentors to younger girls. It's a very important role.

5:30 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Marie-Claude Morin

Thank you. I must interrupt you here, unfortunately. What you had to say was very interesting.

I thank our two witnesses who agreed to talk to us today in the context of our study.

I wish you a pleasant evening. The meeting is adjourned.