Hurrah for Women

The last week of January 2013 was a good one for women. At least from where I sit in southwestern Ontario, Canada.

Courtesy of Vince Talotta for the Toronto Star

The provincial Liberals elected Kathleen Wynne as party leader and she’ll be sworn in as Ontario premier Feb. 11. Her key opponent was another woman, Sandra Pupatello.

British Columbia and Alberta are now governed by women. There’s some talk that Olivia Chow will give Rod Ford a run for his money by joining the race to be mayor of Canada’s largest city, Toronto. And then there’s Hillary Clinton, the now retired U.S. secretary of state, who stepped down on Friday from her four-year post after logging the most miles ever for a person holding that role. She was a machine. A very smart one.

No matter what your politics are, you have to admire the depth and breadth of knowledge, intellect, experience and skill these women bring to the table and in service to the public good.

They’re a refreshing and necessary counterpoint to the Kardashians and Lohans of this world. When I’m looking for role models for my daughter and her friends, I’m happy there are many to choose from.

Courtesy of Dave Chan for the Globe and Mail

And yet, in the same week, in a final interview with the Globe and Mail, is the disconcerting plea set out by retiring Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps.

She says there needs to be more women appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in order to maintain gender equity and keep our reputation intact worldwide. Since her replacement was a man, only three of the nine sitting judges are women.

Her blunt message is that the situation is not good enough.

“Numbers do count. I was sad that I was not replaced by a woman. We are looked at not just as a model for the courts in Canada, but around the world – and I think it’s very important that the Supreme Court of Canada remains a model.”

Women bring a different tone and approach to the important work done at the highest court in the land, the judge suggested.

“We speak our minds very easily,” she said. “We do not hold our cards. We all had offices one beside another, which also helped. We kept our doors open. When we see someone sitting in the office of another now, it is an attraction, a magnet to participate in the conversation. It is really a different court.”

Different does not mean good nor does it mean bad. It speaks to diversity. Conversation. Different points of view. Respect. Leadership. Surely it upholds a standard to which we eagerly aspire. And that we want our daughters and our sons to embrace and see reflected in the society they will inherit.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, are you listening?