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REPORT TO THE 2015 ANNUAL MEETING ON 

ETFO’S EQUITY AND WOMEN’S PROGRAMS

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY CONFERENCE FOR MALE EDUCATORS

The conference was held in March 2015. Jeff Perera of the White Ribbon 
Campaign presented his keynote called The Ladder of Manhood, which 
raised awareness of various stereotypes, promoted thoughtful discussion 
and action to help end gender-based violence and violence against women. 

Participants took part in five round table discussions and debriefed their 
emotional intelligence leadership profiles. 

SUMMER ACADEMY 2015: INFUSING ABORIGINAL 
PERSPECTIVES IN MATH, SCIENCE AND LITERACY

An Aboriginal workshop was offered as part of the Summer Academy 2015. 
Maintaining and revitalizing culture is important to Aboriginal people. 
Culture is lived through daily activities, ceremonies and the celebration 
of how stories and knowledge are shared. This three-day course invites 
participants to immerse themselves in hands-on activities that are inclusive of Aboriginal culture 
and pedagogies. Connecting these concepts with the Western ways of knowing, participants will 
gain a conceptual understanding of Aboriginal perspectives and how to infuse these pedagogies into 
mathematics, science and literacy.

WOMAN ABUSE AFFECTS OUR CHILDREN WP

This program focuses on the effects on children of exposure to woman abuse in the home and how 
educators can help. ETFO held three two-day “train the facilitator” sessions involving approximately 
100 members, who are now expected to pass the knowledge along locally, and will receive support 
to do so. Two sessions were held in Toronto, one exclusively for DECE members, and the third in 
Hamilton.

A new program, Be Aware, Prepare, Educate, provides ETFO members with online learning opportunities 
to complement and deepen the learning in these face-to-face workshops.

WOMEN IN POLITICS CONFERENCE WP

The fourth ETFO Women in Politics conference was held in April 2015, and attended by over 70 members. 
The program included two evening keynote speakers who set the context for the conference. Kate 
McInturff, a researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, opened the conference with 
a presentation on gender equality and the impact of federal Conservative policies. This was followed 
by a presentation on the status of female participation in the political process and of the number of 
women elected to all three levels of government by Nancy Coldham, co-chair of the Toronto chapter of 
Equal Voice. The panelists and presenters came from a wide variety of backgrounds, including a TDSB 
trustee, a previous provincial election candidate, a current federal election candidate, a labour leader, 
a refugee from Bangladesh, an MPP and a party staff member.

WOMEN IN THE MARGINS CONFERENCE WP

This leadership training opportunity for women members focused on the stories of women from 
designated groups. The two-day conference provided a venue for women to discuss and challenge