December 4, 2018

Women have been angry for decades, centuries even. And yet, they are often encouraged to suppress their anger, to hide it behind a smiling, kind, feminine demeanor. FIQ and FIQP union reps at the Women’s Network on November 14 and 15, 2018, discussed anger and how it can become a mobilizing force. During the two-day Network, they deepened their reflection on this emotion and women’s mobilization at various workshops and conferences.

“As female healthcare professionals, far too often we are the ones who suffer the consequences of the bad decisions made by the government and employers. The Network on anger and mobilization brought inspiration and hope to everyone. For example, TV and radio host Pénélope McQuade’s conference provided insight into ways of channelling our anger into mobilization,” explained Nancy Bédard, President and Joint Political Officer for the Status of Women Sector at the FIQ.

“We also explored ways of dealing with difficult situations and arguments that cause us to freeze, as women, even though we are perfectly capable of handling them,” added Shirley Dorismond, Vice-President and Joint Political Officer for the Status of Women Sector at the FIQ.

The Network participants also attended workshops on how to develop mobilization tools from a feminist perspective, the pros and cons of social media and the importance of feminist reasoning.