July/August Newsletter 2012

The Power of Social Media with a Pinch of Serendipity!   In the early weeks of July, @dance_octopus received a tweet from Manitoba MLA Myrna Driedger, Chair of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Canada Region. She informed us that our video contest promo, and winning submission by Rebecca Hansen (http://www.dancingwiththeoctopus.com) were slated to be shown at the annual CWP conference coming up in Quebec Ctiy. Serendipity kicked in and five days later Sandy found herself at that conference, sitting on a panel discussing 'Breaking the Glass Ceiling - How Are We Doing?'   It was a dream come true - sharing ideas with elected women from across the globe including Malaysia, Zambia, Australia, and the U.K. The power in the room was palpable. So many strong, smart, caring women all working together to increase our numbers in government - and good news, they are very interested in the DWtO conversation. Looks like a plans for outreach programs are in the works! *|FACEBOOK:LIKE|* From Sandy's Desk Happy to say that the DWtO virus has infected yet another young woman! This time it's student and Toronto bookstore sales rep Katherine Cheng who noted my orange octopus brooch and queried 'why octopus' as I paid for 8 octopus greeting cards. Never needing an excuse to DWtO-chat, I filled her in. Presto: another Intern has joined the ranks.  Thanks for your contribution and enthusiasm K.   Report from Quebec City: So exciting to address the CWP panel on the immortal "glass ceiling". Does it exist? If so, why, and how can we finally break it? From DWtO's perspective, demographics play a big part in the answer. Girls 8–14 think they are unstoppable, older teenagers tend to start lose that confidence, but luckily some young 20s women overcome the media image-beating & cultural pressures and recover. This age group mostly rejects the notion of feminism and gender inequality. But at some point - usually in the workplace - issues of pregnancy, job promotion, and pay equity come up and they learn first-hand that barriers and old ways of thinking do exist and do affect them.  An "Aha" moment usually shocks them either into apathy or activism.  My comments ended on a hopeful note - communicated to me through Women’s Studies classes across the country.  Young women are using different approaches that simply presume their equality. They are not trying to fix this deeply entrenched patriarchal system, but creating fresh, new models to decision-making that foster success.  I raise my glass to that! *|FACEBOOK:LIKE|* What do you think about the “glass ceiling”? Join the conversation! *|FACEBOOK:COMMENTS|* *|TWITTER:TWEET|* LIKE on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend What we do Dancing with the Octopus is a passionate, entertaining, 8-tentacled media project that takes a non-partisan look at the how's and why's of getting more women into politics in Canada and abroad. Welcome to new Intern Katherine Cheng! Katherine is an International Relations student at the University of Toronto. She is the most recent addition to Dancing with the Octopus as an intern and Eastern Correspondent. Passionate about human rights, she hopes to raise the voices of girls all over Canada and the world. Check out her new blog post for DWtO. LadyPoli News During the month of July we noted: - Vancouver filmmaker Brishkay Ahmed's film on Afgan women, media and social change. - The U.S.A. acknowledges the value of women in peacemaking, speaking on violence against women and stating the necessity of equality and having that goal be reflected in policy. - The 2012 London Olympics mark the first for Saudi Arabian women to compete, and the first Olympics in which every country has a woman athlete on the team.  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  You are receiving this email because you attended a DWtO event, corresponded with a member of our team, or subscribed from our website. We send one newsletter on the first of every month. Contact us to donate or volunteer your talents!  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences