The Society is proud to have six equity committees. The committees are: United Sisters, the Indigenous Relations Circle, the Black and Racialized Professionals Committee, Professionals with Disabilities Committee, Pride & Solidarity, and the Young Professionals Network.
The purpose of these committees is to hear directly from members of the union that identify as being from these equity-seeking groups so that the union can be responsive to their issues and needs—both in terms of our advocacy and in the way that we approach our collective bargaining processes.
Empowerment Day is full-day event is open to all members of the union who are interested in learning more about equity, how to be an ally, and how to get involved with one or more of the Society's equity committees.
The Society had their 2024 Empowerment Day last month as a lead-in to the Annual Delegates Council (our Annual General Meeting) and more than 120 members attended.
Empowerment Day this year featured presentations on a wide range of topics. The Young Professionals invited a guest speaker who talked about the challenges of navigating change. The Professionals with Disabilities Committee presented on invisible disabilities in the workplace and how we, as a union, can advance their advocacy. United Sisters invited Dr. Hannah Scott from Ontario Tech U who presented the Bully Wheel—a tool for identifying workplace bullying and harassment. And the other committees gave presentations focused their personal experiences navigating the world and their workplaces as racialized, queer or Indigenous.
The consensus this year was that this was the best Empowerment Day ever. It was a very powerful day full of enlightening content. We hope to continue to see more Members take part and join our equity committees and the fantastic work that they do.
