On March 12 and 13, to advance the UN International Women’s Day theme on achieving an equal future for women in leadership during these difficult times, Feminist Legal Studies Queen’s (FLSQ) is convening the conference “Indigenous, Diversity, Inclusion, and Post-Covid Paths to Gender Equalities, Sustain/abilities, and Leaving No One Behind.”

“We are thrilled to be hosting a dynamic group of critical thinkers, leaders, movers, and change-makers sharing their experiences and their research as presenters on a rich, diverse, and inclusive conference program that will address a range of topics, from the local to the national and international levels,” says Professor Bita Amani, FLSQ Co-Director. “The pandemic has not only exacerbated conditions of inequality, but also accelerated the loss of progress in increased equalities previously identified in relation to women’s social and economic lived realities.

“This conference will pull the curtain back on how women are facing systemic flaws in gender equality laws, policies, and practices,” says Professor Kathleen Lahey, FLSQ Co-Director. Getting Canadian and global experts together is expected to bring potential national and international solutions to the fore and show how they can be made to work to create better futures for all, while meeting the equally important challenges posed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Paris Accord on Climate Change commitments.   

As the COVID crisis evolves, the ways it has particularly hurt women are myriad and continually emerging. “Women were already doing most of the low paid or unpaid formal and informal work on the globe,” explains Lahey. “Nowhere do women earn equally with men for work of equal value, and women's abilities in various countries and sectors to earn incomes that will even ensure that they can afford the basic necessities of living are particularly compromised because they are still expected to do virtually all unpaid care and domestic work yet find time to earn equally with men. It just cannot be done.

“The diverse papers being presented tackle the invisible aspects of this catch-22 that locks women into inequalities that are brought into sight in ways that the public and governments have not felt constrained to see before,” she adds. 

Many questions will be addressed at the event. What do homeless women facing violence in their homes do to escape violence, protect their children, and not “out” themselves as facing increased violence during the pandemic lockdowns – yet find ways to protect themselves and their children? Where do single mothers find the time, energy, and money to feed, house, work for pay if possible – and get the equipment needed for remote work, or to deal with the risks they bring home to their children while working outside the home, and the risks of leaving their children to care for themselves if no other care is available? How do migrant and vulnerable immigrants such as foreign domestic workers get fired during the pandemic – yet can no longer earn where they were housed while their visas were in place? 

The two-day virtual conference, which runs from 1:00 pm to 6:15 pm on March 12 and from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on March 13, will feature five panels of experts.  

First is a panel on “Wellbeing, Gender Inequalities, and Adequate Standards of Living,” which will cover such topics as legal responses to the climate crisis, food sovereignty and security, 
Indigenous legal advocacy, and the right to housing in Canada.

The second panel, “Alienation, Inclusion, Gender Inequalities and the Political Economy of Distributions and Benefits,” will delve into topics, including taxation and social protection policies, gender economic inequality in Brazil’s tax reform proposals, the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police pension plan discriminates against women, and the perpetuation of intersectional inequalities.

“(In)Equalities in Metrics and Measures of Value(s),” the third panel, closes the first day. Subjects include pro-abortion and disability rights, issues faced by sex workers involved in custody and access legal proceedings, and tort liability of websites hosting non-consensual pornography. 

March 13 starts with a more international focus on a panel titled “Gender Equality and Empowerment Ground Up.” Issues to be discussed include Indian Muslim women’s protest against India’s 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act, entrepreneurship education as sustainability tools in Afghanistan, and African women in leadership.  
 
Closing out the conference will be a panel on “Gender Inequality Case Study; Silenced Song: The Covid-19 Pandemic and Women in Music.”

“While the full program is not to be missed,” says Amani, “there’s something in it for everyone and anyone interested in promoting conversations to advance gender and intersectional equality in a post-pandemic world.”

The conference is free to attend. 

For more information and to register, please visit the FLSQ website.