Public Service Pride Week 2021: Intersectionality
August 23-27
Dear CAPE community,
Join us to mark Public Service Pride Week!
Pride Week is a time of celebration, action, and reflection. Every year, the Pride movement invites all of us to consider our role in supporting the advancement of diversity and inclusion for LGBTQ2+ communities by taking concrete, positive action and showing our support.
This year’s Pride Week marks the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ2+ rights protests in Canada, which took place in Vancouver and Ottawa in 1971. Known as the “We Demand Rally”, this protest is considered a game-changing advocacy event for the advancement of LGBTQ2+ rights in Canada.
Tremendous progress has been made over the years to create a more inclusive, positive, and safe work experience for members of the LGBTQ2+ community within the Federal Public Service. However, CAPE recognizes that the fight for equality is not over and that we need to continue working with the government to address systemic inequities and strengthen the protection against harassment and discrimination.
The focus of this year’s Pride Week is Intersectionality, which articulates the notion that the social repercussions of individual’s identities can “build on one another to affect a person’s life experiences. Intersecting identities create many unique barriers that are invisible to those unaffected which impact these individuals’ overall health, social and economic outcomes.”
Intersectionality brings us back to a core unifying principle, which is that the protection of human rights needs to extend to everyone, equally. Let’s keep that in the forefront of our minds as we celebrate this week.
Happy Pride Week everyone!
Greg
PUBLIC SERVICE PRIDE WEEK CALENDAR & KITS
Please check out Events - Public Service Pride for events organized by public servants.
>> CAPE JOINS THE CELEBRATIONS!
CAPE President, Greg Phillips, will address the community on August 27 at 1:16 p.m. ET as part of the virtual event Leaving No One Behind: How can we create equitable opportunities for folks in the LGBTQ2+ communities? - Public Service Pride, which will be held on August 27 at 1:00 pm ET.
Click here to access the program.
This special event will share tools on creating equitable opportunities for LGBTQ2+ communities and addressing systemic inequities to enhance fairness and help create positive and meaningful change.
The event will also feature: Elder Laureen Blu Waters, CLC VP Larry Rousseau, Todd Ross, and Lucas Silveira. The event is organized by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). You are invited to hear about new/emerging needs and solutions from LGBTQ2+ leaders and learn how you can help make a difference.
>> GET YOUR FREE PRIDE KIT!
CAPE, PSAC, and PIPSC are sponsoring FREE small Pride kits for any public service employee. If you would like one, please email the organizers directly today with your name and full mailing address and let them know that you are a CAPE member.
To receive a pride kit, please contact Jeremy Dias: Jeremy.Dias@carleton.ca
***Limited availability: Please note that the quantity is limited and that the pride kits will be available on a first-come/first-served basis.
Contact the organizers today!
