I think this committee has probably heard the term intersectionality over and over, so I think sometimes when I sit in rooms and say intersectionality people are like, “Okay, intersectionality.” The truth is that, when you work with clients, you see that they identify as so many different things and so many intersections of identity. You cannot have a strategy that will work for a person who doesn't recognize that. If you create a solution that is only based on a gendered framework, you are not recognizing that people of a particular gender are not the same. They identify differently and they're treated differently in society. I gave myself as an example. Why I think a race equity framework is so critical is that 25% of us are racialized and that number is growing. There is no reason why we would not have that front and centre with other intersections, like gender. If you don't have that type of framework, you will not have the success that you're hoping to have and the intention is to have that success. We are all intending for things to improve for people. You cannot do it if you are ignoring a specific part of a person's identity.
On September 25th, 2017. See this statement in context.