This year’s International Women’s Day – celebrated on March 8 – was focused on breaking the bias (#BreakTheBias) by imagining a gender equal world; a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. Breaking the bias starts with you and me. In Canada, women still hold less positions of power, earn less on average, and, contribute to more of the domestic duties compared to men. 

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such empowering women here at Nucleus. Here’s a few of us demonstrating this year’s #BreaktheBias pose.

 What is International Women’s Day?

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality

A leading health economics and data expert, and former professor of mine, Dr. Walter Wodchis, once conducted a study on hospital readmissions for patients. He concluded that the most significant difference between those who were readmitted versus to those who remained at home was that the ones who remained at home had daughter’s or daughter-in-law’s, which truly speaks to the powerful caregiving nature and role women play in our society.

Around the world women are less educated, chronically hungrier and have much less opportunities for careers and career advancement. What can we do to #BreaktheBias? Here are some tips from UNWomen.org.

1) Talk about it. Embrace talking to your kids about gender equality and women’s rights. By talking to your kids about equality between the sexes and what still needs to be done for us to reach a gender-equal world, you’re setting them up to lead the way for a better future for all.

2) Share the care work. From cooking and cleaning, to taking care of children and the elderly. Set the example by equally dividing all housework and childcare in your home. Involve boys in care work and household chores from an early age, along with girls!

3) Embrace diverse role models. Role models come in all shapes, sizes, genders, skin tones and cultural backgrounds. Encourage your children to embrace diversity, show them role models from different genders, ethnicities and colour.



4) Empower kids to speak out. Young people around the world are stepping up for gender equality. When we empower and educate young advocates about women’s rights, we are ensuring a better future for us all.

5) Fight stereotypes, including your own. Gender is not about biological differences between the sexes, rather, it’s a social construct—people define what it means to be a boy or a girl, and these social conditionings often expect children to conform to specific and limiting gender roles and expectations from a young age.

6) Stop the body shame. Body shaming is a learned behavior, so it’s important to lead by example. Be careful not to be critical of body image, including your own.