President Steenkamp: five women speakers who lead and inspire

Earlier this week, we celebrated International Women’s Day. March 8 is a dedicated opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements and take action for equity.

At Royal Roads, we have an extraordinary community of women: staff, students, faculty, associate faculty, alumni and friends of the university who are leading the way.

I am proud to work at an institution that highlights and celebrates these accomplishments.

Over the last year, I’ve had the great honour of having conversations with several remarkable women, including those who joined us as guests for our Changemakers Speakers Series.

From the global pandemic to issues of race and belonging and even discussions about self-driving cars, these women make sense of complex challenges facing humanity.

Watch the video to see some of my favourite moments from talks with BC’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, Giller Prize winner Esi Edugyan, founder of the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada Sandy Hudson, and Dr. Lucy Suchman, definitive artificial intelligence expert. Or watch all the full recordings at rruchangemakers.ca.

I look forward to having more fascinating conversations with leaders in our community, including our next guest, Monique Gray Smith. She is an award-winning, best-selling author and leader in Indigenous relations, and truth and reconciliation. She also happens to be a member of Royal Roads’ Board of Governors.

She will be joining us for a talk April 14. 

Happy International Women’s Day! May we continue to take action toward gender equity and recognize the strength and courage of women around the world.