The value of free inquiry is the very reason for universities, and it’s the foundation of free and democratic societies
Free speech is under siege on many university campuses, including in Canada. Professors, administrators and students are ‘deplatforming’ invited guests, or disrupting and disparaging their fellow academics who fail to toe the politically correct party line. With precious little evidence, these speakers are said to be “sexist,” “racist” or “Islamophobic.” So closed-minded enforcers, just like…
Tanya van Biesen of Catalyst talks about how gender diverse teams drive better business results and how we can bring about workplace equality
Tanya van Biesen is executive director, Canada, of Catalyst. What is Catalyst Canada and what does it do? Tanya: Catalyst is the leading non-profit focused on building workplaces that work for women through inclusion. Since 2000, Catalyst has worked in Canada to address the unique experiences of Canadian working women, through research, education and engagement.…
After years of being the best team in the world, they continue to fight for equal status and respect at home
Sexism sucks. And nobody knows that better than the U.S. women’s national soccer team. The current team members, and their predecessors, have been fighting gender discrimination on the part of the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for decades. The U.S. national team has been the best women’s…
Many walls remain in the world, including physical ones and those of racism, sexism and economic injustice
The most significant global event of my lifetime has been the fall of the Berlin Wall. It not only changed the geopolitical climate we live in, it also demonstrated the power of the human spirit. As a teacher, I often bring up this event. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently spoke to the graduates of Harvard…
We don't need to disparage masculinity in order to celebrate the qualities and contributions of women, or to encourage social equality of the genders
One of brightest students in my university department was seriously intellectual and widely read, always taking an active and constructive part in seminars. The student was approached by two others who complained that the student took up too much space and time, and should step back. No professor ever advised such a thing to this…
Instead of eliminating racism and sexism, we've established a new set of rules that ignore merit and competition
On Dec. 1, 1955, a tired seamstress was making her way home on a bus after a long day in Montgomery, Ala. The driver angrily informed the woman that the law required her to sit in the back. But the woman wasn’t just tired from work, she was tired of a law and a system…
Sociologists have convinced us to think of people solely in terms of their census categories and their victim credentials
When an acquaintance accused me of being unsympathetic to minorities, I was indignant. I’m a member of a much-maligned minority ethnic group, with which I identify strongly. And both of my children are visible minorities: my son was adopted from Thailand and my daughter was adopted from China. In this cultural moment, to be unsympathetic…
B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is a watchdog that barks public interest but whose bite is about self-interest
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) was created to provide independent civilian oversight over municipal police forces in British Columbia. But a string of recent cases shows the OPCC is more about overreach than oversight. I know. I was one of the cases. This summer, after 40 years of unblemished service with the…
Saudi Arabia’s anti-women laws require a swift dose of economic freedom, and they’re not alone
The Canada-Saudi Arabia diplomatic dispute appears to have calmed – for now – but the issue at the heart of the dispute remains. The dispute peaked in August after Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted her support for women’s rights activist Samar Badawi. That prompted Saudi Arabia to pull its students from Canadian colleges and universities…
There isn’t any sport – played by men or women – in which Williams’ behaviour at the U.S. Open would or should be tolerated
Serena Williams wanted an apology from Carlos Ramos. It should’ve been the other way around. Ramos was the chair umpire in the U.S. Open women’s tennis final last Saturday. The match pitted Williams against a young upstart from Japan named Naomi Osaka. Ramos is widely recognized as one of pro tennis’s best umpires, one of…
Free speech is under siege on many university campuses, including in Canada. Professors, administrators and students are ‘deplatforming’ invited guests, or disrupting and disparaging their fellow academics who fail to toe the politically correct party line. With precious little evidence, these speakers are said to be “sexist,” “racist” or “Islamophobic.” So closed-minded enforcers, just like…
