The Leading for Change Conference is for Black, Indigenous, racialized women and non-binary individuals over the age of 15 to gain the knowledge and resources to engage with municipal politics and municipal leadership in Markham and across York Region.
NEED
In 2021, the City of Markham had a male-dominated government with more than 75% of the members of city council being men, despite the fact that women constitute more than 50% of the population of the region. While white people make up only 22% of the Markham population and racialized people make up 61.5%, the majority of council members are white.
The numbers don’t lie.
In order to have policies and programs that meaningfully serve the community, it is critical that leadership reflects the lived experiences of its communities. However, marginalized people historically don’t have access to the resources needed for civic engagement.
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
The Leading for Change conference was designed to disrupt the status quo by supporting the most marginalized bodies in Markham and across York Region who are not currently represented in the political domain: Black, Indigenous, racialized women, nonbinary people, and youth.
By providing participants with opportunities to learn, understand, and engage with municipal government to get involved with local politics,. the one-day event will introduce participants to the skills, resources, and supports required to pursue municipal leadership opportunities – with sessions on designing campaigns, building community, and understanding municipal bureaucracy.
This conference is designed to be the precipice of future City of Markham initiatives supporting traditionally marginalized communities in engaging on civic leadership. The City of Markham and the South Asian and Tamil Women’s Collective hope that this is not the first of this type of opportunity for the region. With more diverse representation in the City of Markham’s civic leadership, public policy, and program delivery is destined to meet the goal of equity and inclusion.
To learn more about our work, follow @l4cmarkham on Instagram.
Partners
About Markham
The City of Markham stands against all forms of racism, stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. As of July 2022, Markham has been led by a new plan for equity and inclusion, demonstrating this commitment. The values of diversity, inclusion, and equity lay at the heart of the City’s strategic plan, Building Markham’s Future Together. This plan is working to end anti-Black racism and all forms of inequity in the city.
As part of the City’s diversity strategy, regular and ongoing training and education on diversity, racism and bias are also provided to the community. The City is partnering with various community groups to engage meaningfully, have respectful conversations and to break down barriers for all Markham residents.
The City of Markham has partnered with the South Asian and Tamil Women’s Collective, a grassroots community organization, to create an opportunity for progressive leadership and change in the city. In addition, the Leading for Change conference is also supported by key community partners and change makers in Markham and across York Region. These partners include: Civic School GTA, The Toronto and York Region Labour Council, York Communities for Public Education, and the Federation for Canadian Municipalities.