Gender-Based Analysis, Law, and Economic Rights, October 22-23, 2010, Queen’s University (Ontario, Canada) Feminist Legal Studies Queen’s Conference
Long before the 2008 global economic crisis occurred, women in large economies began to see the promise of equality eroding. ‘Economic crisis’ policies have done nothing to reverse that trend. For example, a decade ago, the US and Canada were ranked 3rd and 1st on the UN gender-related development index; by 2009, they had already fallen to 19th and 4th, respectively, and are ranked much lower on newer equality-specific indexes. Similar patterns can be seen in the UK and many European countries.
At the same time, countries such as South Africa continue to demonstrate that ‘feminism works’ as they accelerate their movement toward increase sex equality. For women in such countries, the question is still ‘when will women achieve equality?’ But for growing numbers of women, the question is becoming ‘will women ever achieve equality?’
This workshop will examine current developments affecting the status of women with particular regard to the gender impact of legal, economic, and equality rights. What roles do race, immigration status, Aboriginal heritage, education, family composition, and other factors play in shaping women’s search for equality? Can specific roadblocks to the attainment of further equality be identified? Are there better policies that governments can enact? What roles have neoliberal, neoconservative, and economic ‘crisis’ politics played? Can international obligations such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and domestic commitments to gender-based analysis of all policies, practices, and laws counter such politics? And how are emerging environmental, security, and regulatory issues affecting women as compared with men?
Date and location:
This conference will be held at Queen’s University Faculty of Law, Kingston, Ont., room 001, on Saturday October 23, 2010, with an informal discussion on the evening of October 22, 2010.
Registration now open:
This conference is open to anyone interested in equality and women’s issues, including students, faculty, members of community organizations, workers, policy analysts, managers and administrators, government employees, and professionals.
Please register in advance with Megan Hamilton at megan.hamilton@queensu.ca. There are no registration fees for students, those on low incomes, or voluntary workers. However, those who can afford it are asked to contribute up to $30. Ms. Hamilton can provide information on special hotel conference rates for those coming from out of town, and program details.
Confirmed speakers:
Women and Equality — Gender-based Analysis, Law, and Economic Rights
Sex Equality in the Twenty-First Century
Sonia Lawrence, professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, and director, Institute of Feminist Legal Studies (York) — ‘Sex Equality and the Canadian Charter of Rights’
Kate McInturff, executive director, Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) — ‘Reality Check: Discrimination in the 21st Century’
Beth Atcheson, cofounder, Charter of Rights Education Fund and Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) — ‘A Personal Look at the Politics of Equality’
Ecofeminism and Environmental Policy Analysis
Heather McLeod-Kilmurray, professor, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law —‘Reimagining Canadian Environmental Law through the Lens of Ecofeminism’
Nathalie Chalifour, professor, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law —‘Gender-Based Environmental Policy Analysis – A Matter of Equality’
Sex Discrimination in Taxes, Spending, and Budgetary Policies
Valeria Seigelshifer, coordinator, Gender Budgeting Project, Adva Centre, Tel Aviv —‘Examining Budgets under a Gender-Responsive Lens: The Example of Israel’
Yael Hasson, coordinator, Women’s Budget Forum, Adva Centre, Tel Aviv, and doctoral candidate, Sociology Department, University of Haifa — ‘Why Women Lose from Tax Cuts’
Maria Wersig, visiting scholar, Pace University School of Law, and doctoral candidate, Frie Universität, Berlin — ‘LGBT Equality and Family Taxation in Germany – Impact of EU Law and Policy’
Kristin Skinner, doctoral candidate, Department of Political Science, York University —‘Guaranteed Income and Gender-Based Analysis: Challenges and Opportunities’
Women, Children, and Family Law: Whose Equality?
Pamela Cross, Legal Director, Luke’s Place Support and Resource Centre for Women and Children, and policy consultant, National Association of Women and the Law — ‘Women’s Economic Inequality in Family Law’
Marcia Zug, professor, University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbus SC —‘Deportation of Immigrant Mothers and “Best Interests” of the Child’
Whose Images? What for? The Making of ‘Women’ in Politics, Medicine, Religion
Patricia Peppin, professor, Queen’s University Faculty of Law, and director of the law program, School of Medicine — ‘Drug Imagery and Legal Imaginary: Assessing the Power of Advertising’
Ekaterina Yahyaoui Krivenko, lecturer, University of Montreal — ‘The Religious “Other” as Enemy and Visions of Gender Equality: What do we Hide when we ban Veiling?’
Equality Redux: Olympic Women and the Upcoming PanAm Games
Laura Robinson, equality activist and Olympic competitor —‘Women, Human Rights, and the Olympics – The IOC Did Not Make Canada Discriminate’
Erin Durant, Queen’s University Faculty of Law ‘11; summer associate Borden Ladner — ‘Where is the Money for Women in Sports? What Sex Discrimination means for Women and Communities’
