Usually, editorials about the status of women start out like this: Women are still a long way from achieving the equality we deserve in the workplace and the community.
But as International Women’s Day on March 8 approaches, local women have reflected and realized that, as women in Squamish, our dreams are not limited, and our success is not dependent on change that men need to make. We can now define our own futures.
When Patricia Heintzman was elected as mayor in November, we heard no one question her gender or even remark on the fact that she is a female mayor. However, she recalled in an interview this week with The Squamish Chief that in the ’90s, she was turned down for a business loan, and she suggested being female might have been a factor. Now, she is leading the community and does not need to lean on a female following for support, as women leaders often did 20 years ago. In fact, many of the people who are now pursuing her stamp of approval are men.
But Heintzman also recalls serving on boards where her suggestions were ignored, only to then later be attributed to a man who was congratulated for his wisdom. As all women know, this is the norm in many workplaces that respect a man’s opinion and leadership over a woman’s due to socially engrained values. Virtually from birth, we talk about a girl’s beauty, while we talk about a boy’s athleticism, leadership abilities and strength; this creates stereotypes that also entrap the men who do not fit into traditional moulds.
In Squamish, views toward women are more liberal than in many other parts of the country, and indeed much more liberal than in many parts of the world. In this scenic wonderland women can create opportunities for themselves. In other parts of the world, women are savagely raped, entrapped in unequal marriages and rarely given the encouragement to lead. Indeed, even though a newsmagazine this week declared German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the world’s most important leader, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish newspaper digitally removed her from a photo just a few months ago, rendering her invisible like so many other women in the world.
We’re lucky in Squamish, where a woman would never be photoshopped out of a picture of local leaders. In fact, so many of the local prominent people are women, any photo without them would look shockingly empty.
– Christine Endicott
