As a member of the IGC Global Board and as Ambassador I will use my position to continue to promote an organizational culture of gender equality & diversity within the Canadian Embassy. This will include taking an intersectional approach to issues faced by young women, persons of colour, LGBTI+ persons, and persons with disabilities, by undertaking an exercise to review the impact of and update our previous year’s mission-wide gender & diversity pledge. As part of this review process I will focus embassy efforts to integrate gender equality priorities, as well as offering training for staff and managers on gender-based analysis and addressing discrimination and harassment in the workplace. I will also seek insight and share best practices on intersectionality and implementing gender equality initiatives with experts and counterparts.

I will continue to use my platform as Ambassador and Permanent Representative, including through Canada’s position as a member of the ASP Bureau as well as the OPCW Executive Council, to advance gender equality in international organizations and with gender equality leaders based in The Hague. This will include (a) supporting OPCW efforts to strengthen diversity & inclusion within the Technical Secretariat, including applying a gender equality and diversity lens in the implementation of the Convention (b) supporting ICC efforts to further strengthen gender priorities and to implement the Court’s new strategy on Gender Equality and Workplace culture, (c) advancing SGBV accountability initiatives within the ICC and other Hague-based multilateral institutions, and (d) working to address gender disparities in young professionals accessing multilateral institutions through supporting #SheLeadsHere and #MenEngage initiatives.