Justin Trudeau

At Davos, Canada’s Trudeau speaks up on women’s rights

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at Davos Tuesday, where he resolved to prioritize gender inequality and women's rights and discussed the importance of using privilege, wealth, and power to help others. Click through to read more about his address, and the issues being discussed at the World Economic Forum.

By Yara Bayoumy, Noah Barkin

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a passionate defense of gender and social equality in Davos on Tuesday, days before U.S. President Donald Trump was due to take the stage at a forum traditionally seen as an enclave of the global elite.

Trudeau, whose country has the presidency of the Group of Seven industrialized nations this year, said gender equality would be a priority in “everything the G7 does this year”.

Trudeau, who appointed a cabinet with an equal number of women and men on taking power in 2015, also referenced social media campaigns against sexual harassment and misconduct and women’s marches in several U.S. cities last weekend in which speakers blasted Trump for policies they said had hurt women.

“MeToo, TimesUp, the Women’s March, these movements tell us that we need to have a critical discussion on women’s rights, equality and power dynamics of gender,” said Trudeau.

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Justin Trudeau says poverty is sexist. These 5 charts show why he’s right

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Leading voices from around the world have been illustrating worldwide injustice, inequality, and differences in opportunity with the refrain "Poverty is sexist," made prominent by the advocacy group ONE. (Download a report measuring poverty, its relative effects on women and girls as compared to boys and men worldwide, and various specific measurements of global wellness here.)

But it's always important to have women's voices joined by men's -- particularly leaders. So we were excited to read the latest from the World Economic Forum, highlighting Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wholehearted agreement with the statement "Poverty is sexist" -- as well as a commitment to work toward gender equality.

"As a feminist, I know that women must be treated equally everywhere. That is why, as one of my first actions as Prime Minister, I named a gender balanced Cabinet. It is my hope that this will set an example for governments around the world," Trudeau said in a letter shared on ONE's website.

The World Economic Forum also shares five charts illustrating just how sexist poverty can be: everything from access to the Internet and education to land ownership and bank accounts present obstacles disproportionately to women, making it nearly impossible to achieve financial stability or security.

Read below and click through for the full story, including specific statistics on the inequality of poverty.

www.weforum.org - For a couple of months now, leaders from the world of politics, business and entertainment have been lining up to make a declaration: poverty is sexist.

Back in March, 86 leaders – from Sheryl Sandberg and Melinda Gates to Oprah and Bono – signed a public letter stating exactly that.

Now they’ve been joined by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In an open letter, the self-declared feminist wrote that he “wholeheartedly agrees: poverty is sexist. Women and girls are less likely to get an education, more likely to be impoverished, and face greater risk of disease and poor health.”

The declarations are all part of a campaign from ONE, an organization that works to end extreme poverty. But what exactly do they mean when they say poverty is sexist?

The argument boils down to this: in every sphere, women are disproportionately affected by poverty. So the measures we’re putting in place to end it must be specifically targeted at them (something development specialists refer to as gender mainstreaming).

 

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6 Reasons women support Justin Trudeau

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From his push for greater diversity, to his advocacy for First Nations citizens, to his support of clean technologies; Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada has made waves and won supporters since before his election. So it should come as no surprise that the leader of the Liberal Party supports—and is supported by—women. Check out this article from SheKnows listing just a few of the reasons women support Justin Trudeau.

sheknows.com - Image: Chesnot/Getty Images

If you can say anything about Canada's new PM, he certainly has made an impression on women voters. A new survey of over 8,000 Quebecers proves this, as it found that women and young people (aged 18 – 24) were among the biggest fans of Justin Trudeau.

More: Trudeau's response to the question of gender-balance is perfect

The poll found that while 55 percent of Quebecers approved of Trudeau's work so far, that number was higher among women than men — with 58 percent of women reporting that they felt "satisfied" with what Trudeau has accomplished in his first 100 days in office.

And why is Trudeau popular with women? Because he's done the following things:

1. Trudeau is proud to call himself a feminist

Trudeau isn't afraid of the F-word, which no politician should be in 2016. He's called himself a feminist many times, crediting his mother for his feminist education: “My mom raised me to be a feminist," explained Trudeau this fall at an Up For Debate event. "My father raised me — he was a different generation — but he raised me to respect and defend everyone’s rights, and I deeply grounded my own identity in that, and I am proud to say that I am a feminist.”

Read the rest of the article here. Also check out the SheKnows slideshow introducing the 15 women appointed to Canada's new cabinet. We'll leave you with a video Trudeau posted to Twitter late last month, commemorating the 100-year anniversary of Manitoba women getting the right to vote: