President Steenkamp: I'm in!

With International Women’s Day on March 8, I have been thinking about three important women, and how each of them — living very different lives — challenged norms to change their lives, and transform the lives of others.

My grandmother on my father’s side lived on a small, marginal farm in Kenya during the great depression, and was widowed six weeks after she married. My father recalls that she would make him sit at the kitchen table at night and, by the light of a paraffin lamp, read The Times of London cover to cover to learn English and about world affairs.

My grandmother on my mother’s side established the very first school in her city for children with developmental disabilities, at a time when they were considered beyond reach and institutionalized.

My mother persevered to achieve her BA (at the same time I did) through distance learning, all while working full time and raising a family.

At Royal Roads, we benefit immeasurably from women, who make up a majority of our students, staff, faculty and leadership.

But there is a long way to go to achieve gender equity here and around the world. COVID-19 has exacerbated the situation. For example, 47 million women and girls were pushed into poverty as a result of the pandemic.

The UN has made gender equity one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Together we must put our hands up high to say “I’m in” to challenge inequity and gender bias and to advocate for the kind of world we want to build together.