(March 3, 2025) By: Louise Mignault, The SDG&A Cornwall Seeker<\/p>\n
At the Cornwall & District Labour Council\u2019s International Women\u2019s Day 2025 dinner, Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, delivered a speech that wasn\u2019t just insightful\u2014it was a call to action. A room full of women listened intently as she laid out, in no uncertain terms, just how deeply women\u2019s rights are under attack\u2014not just in the U.S., but right here in Canada.<\/p>\n
Mehra didn\u2019t hold back. She described what\u2019s happening south of the border: 28 states restricting abortion access, 14 banning it entirely, and 22 million women now living in places where reproductive healthcare is out of reach. But she made it clear that this isn\u2019t just about abortion rights. This is about a broader rollback of hard-won progress\u2014from pay equity to workplace protections to economic security for women. It\u2019s all connected, and it\u2019s all being systematically dismantled.<\/p>\n
Women Still Aren\u2019t Equal\u2014And It\u2019s By Design<\/strong><\/p>\n If you thought we\u2019d come a long way in Canada, Mehra laid out the numbers that tell a different story. Women still earn less than men, with racialized and Indigenous women experiencing even larger pay gaps. 65% of management jobs still go to men, and even when women do climb the corporate ladder, female executives still earn 56% less than their male counterparts. The situation is even worse for low-income women\u201460% of minimum-wage workers are female, and 21% of women-led households are food insecure, compared to 16% of male-led homes.<\/p>\n But why? It\u2019s not because the money isn\u2019t there. Mehra pointed out that we are living in one of the wealthiest times in history. The problem isn\u2019t a lack of resources\u2014it\u2019s that the wealth is being hoarded by the few at the expense of the many.<\/p>\n She traced much of this inequality back to neoliberalism\u2014a term that gets thrown around a lot but essentially boils down to: privatization, deregulation, and putting corporate profits above people\u2019s basic needs. Governments have gutted public services, allowed wages to stagnate, and handed over control of essential resources to private companies. It\u2019s no accident that the economic gains of the last 40 years have overwhelmingly gone to the top 20% while the middle and working classes have either stagnated or fallen further behind.<\/p>\n Empathy, Strength, and the Call to Fight Back<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the heavy subject matter, Mehra didn\u2019t just drop a reality check and leave us in despair. She was deeply empathetic, passionate, and unwavering in her belief in women\u2019s strength. She sees us, she understands the struggles we face, and she knows we have the power to change things.<\/p>\n She reminded us that women have always led the way in fighting for justice. We\u2019ve done it before, and we will do it again. She pointed to a new generation of women who are growing up with a stronger sense of feminism, equality, and justice than ever before. These young women aren\u2019t buying into the lie that \u201cthis is just how things are.\u201d They are ready to fight for something better.<\/p>\n And they\u2019ll need to. Because we\u2019re entering a new era of political and economic power struggles, where women\u2019s rights, democracy, and even basic human decency are being tested. Mehra stressed that we cannot afford to be silent, compliant, or afraid. Change doesn\u2019t come from hoping things get better\u2014it comes from demanding better.<\/p>\n