36

REPORT TO THE 2015 ANNUAL MEETING ON 

ETFO’S EQUITY AND WOMEN’S PROGRAMS

III

SISTERS IN THE STRUGGLE (SIS) WP

SIS is ETFO’s advanced leadership course for women. This week-long course is designed for women 
who are already involved in leadership at the local level. Many are graduates of Leaders for Tomorrow 
or Union School, are members of their local executives and sit on local and/or provincial standing 
committees. Several local released officers also attend the course as participants. SIS took place in 
Port Elgin as an affiliate-specific course during the CLC Women’s School in July 2014. Twenty-nine ETFO 
members attended. 

VISIONS PROGRAM

This six day program is for 
women members in their first 
five years with ETFO. Members 
attend three sessions in the 
spring term, and leave the pro-
gram with a full understanding 
of ETFO, including our structure, 
budget, service areas and Annual 
Meeting, and learn about labour 
history, Robert’s Rules and com-
munication skills.

Workshops, Conferences, Symposia  

and Professional Learning Communities

… and still we rise 2015 WP
ETFO’S ANNUAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN 

Another successful …and still we rise took place in February 2015. Four hundred and fifty ETFO members 
attended the conference. The opening night was a celebration of women union leaders from across 
the province and all different sectors, with over 20 union leaders joining us for dinner and then on 
stage. The keynote speaker, Dr. Naila Keleta-Mae, followed with a speech that highlighted education, 
women, leadership and transformation. The next morning, our keynote speaker was Marie Clarke 
Walker, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. Her speech focused on challenges 
and barriers to leadership, specifically as a racialized leader. 

Participants attended workshops including: Collective Bargaining, Equity, Professional Relations 
Services, Public Speaking, Political Action, Feminist History, Leadership Skills, Roberts Rules, 
Introduction to ETFO, Community Activism, Health and Safety and Workshop Presentation Skills.

On Thursday evening, the movie Pride was shown to participants. This is based on the true 
story of an LGBTQ group in Britain who supported the miners during their strike in the 
1980’s. 

Friday morning, Carol Wall and Nicole Wall, a mother and daughter who are both labour 
activists, talked about being racialized women in the labour movement, and also discussed