Coming Together to Celebrate International Women’s Day at U of G

International Women’s Day on March 8 is a time to celebrate women’s contributions, tell their stories, and support their success. 

On March 8 and beyond, many units and departments across campus are holding Women’s Day events that touch on the fight for women’s equality, inspiring inclusion for all women, supporting women’s wellness, and more. Read more about how U of G is celebrating the achievements of women and accelerating women’s equality in President Charlotte Yate’s Women’s Day statement.

All staff and faculty are invited to the annual International Women’s Day Breakfast on Friday, March 8, featuring remarks from President Yates and a dynamic panel discussion on Inspiring Inclusion. 

Check out all the International Women’s Day events below!

Events: 

• Women, Work and Wellness: Breath and Voice Workshop

  “The voice is our emotional engine. It carries our energy, health, vitality, joy, and intelligence.  Our voices are powered by the breath so we must learn how to belly breath”. (From Play the Part:  Master Body Signals to Connect and Communicate for Business by Gina Barrett). Faculty and staff are invited to join Women, Work and Wellness for a revisit of some content on “Powerful Speaking” followed by a session on belly breathing and other exercises that will relax important areas of the body so we feel more confident in speaking and sharing our ideas.

  • Tuesday, March 5, noon to 1 p.m. (Guelph Gryphons Athletic Centre, room 3213) 

• International Women’s Day Breakfast

  Join the GenEQ committee to celebrate women’s achievements and reinforce commitment to women’s equality. The event will start with breakfast followed by a panel moderated by Dr. Leanne Son Hing of Psychology and featuring researchers and experts from across U of G. Open to faculty and staff; please RSVP by March 5.

  • Friday, March 8, 8:30 to 10 a.m. (Summerlee Science Complex Atrium) 

• Honouring International Women’s Day 2024 Conference: Refocus & Recenter

  The Community Engaged Scholarship Institute is pleased to support the 7th annual free one-day virtual format conference in honour of International Women’s Day. This year’s conference highlights interdisciplinary and intersectional research addressing challenges faced by women, girls and genderfluid communities through the theme “Refocus and Recenter.” Open to all.

  • Friday, March 8, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Virtual) 

• Sexualities, Genders and Social Change Art Installation, Poster Competition, and Public Lecture

  The Sexualities, Genders and Social Change (SXGN) program in the College of Arts invites the campus community to view posters created by SXGN students and hear remarks from College of Arts Dean Samantha Brennan and President Charlotte Yates. Afterwards, there will be a lecture by Emily Abrams Ansari, assistant dean of research and associate professor, Western University, Faculty of Music to discuss “Feminism, Crafting, and the Minimalist Music of Ann Southam” and refreshments.

  • Art installation: Friday, March 8, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Arts Research Centre lobby)
  • Public lecture: Friday, March 8, 11:15 a.m. (MacKinnon building, room 108) 

• U of G Climate Cafe: Postcards for the Future

  Cultural Diversity and the Sustainability Office are partnering to bring an International Women’s Day edition of U of G Climate Café! The purpose of a climate café is to provide a reflective, safe, respectful and private space for people to express their emotional responses to the climate and environmental crisis. Open to students, staff, faculty and alumni. Please register to attend.

  • Friday, March 8, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (UC 430) 

• Environmental Justice Through an Intersectional Lens

  This International Women’s Day panel of scholars, community researchers and organizations hosted by the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences brings together scholars and practitioners involved in revealing and responding to the politics of environmental (in)justice. Open to all.

  • Friday, March 8, 12 to 1:30 p.m. 

• Solidarity is a Team Sport: Re-imagining College Strength and Shared Joy

  Learn how women can pave the way to build their own success stories and how they can hold the door open for others in the future as women’s representation in senior business leadership, STEM, politics, and sports grow at this HeForShe keynote given by Saadia Muzaffar, founder of Tech Girls Canada. Hosted by the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, Gryphon Football, and the School of Engineering, this talk will also celebrate gender equality initiatives of the Guelph community, including presentations of student scholarships and an award for local business.

  • Tuesday, March 19, 7 p.m. (Cutten Fields) 

• Working Through Menopause

  Wellness@Work invites faculty and staff to learn more about working through menopause. Dr. Kristina Brooks, ND, will share about common symptoms of peri-menopause/menopause, review evidence-informed tools to address common concerns, talk about life after menopause and risk factors for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, and answer your questions.

  • Tuesday, March 19, noon to 1 p.m. (Virtual) 

Ongoing events and initiatives: 

• CEPS students bring wellness products to students in engineering

  A group of students led by Mya Simpson, VP of EDI for the Guelph Engineering Society have launched the “We Belong Wellness Initiative” to create a welcoming community for engineering students. Through funding from Women in Engineering via the Doody gift, the initiative provides wellness products such as period products, tissues, hair elastics, consent action week stickers and sensory tactile stickers, and sexual violence wellness resource cards in washrooms. These items are initially available in washrooms adjacent to the Thornborough Adams Atrium, with plans to expand to other CEPS buildings.

• HERstory: Books by women, about women

  The U of G Library presents a Gryph Reads physical book display on the first floor of the library. Drop by to browse titles by women and about women. 

• Women’s Only Swim

  Athletics is opening their Women’s only swim in March for staff and faculty to attend for free. No membership is required. Staff should enter through Client Services to register for their free swim pass. Everyone should enter the pool through the changerooms. Locks are available to rent for $1 or you may bring your own lock. Bags are not permitted on deck and all belongings should be secured in a locked locker.
  Wednesdays, March 6, 13, 20 and 27, 3:05 to 3:50 p.m., (Red Pool, Athletics Centre) 

• “NRG Zone” Women’s Only Hours

  NRG Members have access to ‘NRG Zone’ – Athletics and Recreation’s new small-scale, sensory reduced studio in the Guelph Gryphons Athletic Centre Fitness Centre Gym. This includes daily women’s only hours.