Your Voice, Your Way

By Pam Hadder

Social media - can you imagine a day without it? Have you thought about how much social media has changed the way we interact and communicate? The impact has been massive and global, crossing cultures and borders - all within a very short period of time!


Yes, there have been well-documented ups and downs and pros and cons in the fast forward evolution of the social media scene's fab four: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. But social media is here to stay, and positive feedback has far out-weighed the negative.

Hot on the heels of these new media icons, many other online apps and services have arisen - some have been of the "flash in the pan" variety, but others are gathering steam to rival the social media big guns. There is no doubt that the growth of social media and related products and services is nowhere near the saturation point; like the famed Energizer Bunny, it just keeps going and going -and growing! Interestingly, the fastest growing demographic in the Facebook community is currently the age 55+group - some see this as a seal of legitimacy or rite of passage; like a nod of approval from an older, wiser mentor.

Good or bad, necessary or trendy, the majority of us have welcomed one or more social media applications into our lives. Many of us keep in touch with friends, family on Facebook, or follow our favourite celebrities and topics on Twitter. Even if social media has not seeped into your personal lifestyle, you likely have had to acquaint yourself with it to some extent in order to be up-to-date in the workplace - because you know that being out of touch in our technically-fuelled world is a shortcut to professional obsolescence!

But what is the greatest impact of social media? Whether you love it or hate it, social media has enabled each of us to have our say, and to express ourselves when, where and how we choose. Sometimes the voice is part of a carefully planned and executed business campaign, or in support of a cause. Sometimes it is simply random self expression, or connecting with like minds. Sometimes inane, sometimes profound, sometimes enlightening, sometimes disheartening or disturbing - social media is your voice, your way, in the moment.

We are in a time of immediacy - we think it, we create it and we share it almost instantaneously. Choose your actions and words wisely - they now have far greater potential to become a very big deal.

The Invisible Minority - 100 Year Anniversary

By Pam Hadder

Have equal opportunity programs in Canada outlived their value? Did they indeed ever have any true value? "The purpose of the Employment Equity Act is to ensure that federally regulated employers provide equal opportunities for employment to the four designated groups: women, Aboriginal peoples; persons with disabilities; and members of visible minorities." We've all heard the (very politically incorrect) jokes from those dismissed from government job recruits: "Now if only I were a bilingual, Asian-Aboriginal woman... with a limp"!

March 8, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, and looking back, at the past 93 years since Canadian women were first allowed to vote federally, the progress toward gender equality was been appallingly slow. It wasn't until 1982 that a woman sat in the Supreme Court of Canada, and the first Canadian Premier was not elected until 1991 (Rita Johnson, British Columbia).

Canadian women work longer hours for less pay than their male counterparts, and where families with children are involved, women manage the lion's share of the domestic chores. According to Statistics Canada, 73% of women with children under the age of 16 years are working full-time outside of the home. This is a figure that has skyrocketed in the past 20 years.

So there is no doubt of the financial contribution of women in Canada. On the up-side, the Canadian government is always diligent in collecting the same percentages of income tax from women as from their male counterparts! (Tax equality = gender equality?) Seems to me that the progress of women in Canada is a highly selective process, and that my XX chromosomal makeup is a serious deterrent.

Why are Canadian women seen as less valuable, less capable, less worthy? Our environment is littered with advertising and marketing that devalues the contributions of women; and most often if I mention this - even to other women - they look at me like I'm some raving loony from an alternate universe. Many women do not recognize what is inappropriate and that they should feel indignant and offended. Maybe both genders have become desensitized.

So, how shall I "celebrate" 100 years of women's progress? Shall I do a hundred of something? Call me crazy, but absolutely nothing comes to mind to celebrate. I just know that I am an equally-taxed, white female minority -- highly engaged, honourable and capable...and, it appears, quite invisible.