UNTIL ALL OF US HAVE MADE IT, NONE OF US HAVE MADE IT

By SHAGORIKA EASWAR

Andrea Gunraj has spent over two decades working not just in gender justice but in the intersectionality of issues that impact people of all genders and all identities.

As Vice President Public Engagement at the Canadian Women’s Foundation, she says she works to make everything better for everyone.

“Gender justice is such a big, beautiful goal that everyone can have different entry points. I love breaking down our vision for gender justice to manageable steps.”

The Canadian Women’s Foundation is Canada’s public foundation for gender equality. It is a national leader in the movement and works to achieve systemic change through funding, research, advocacy, and knowledge sharing.

Gunraj sees her role as being part of the Foundation’s mandate to support women, girls, and gender-diverse people to move out of violence, out of poverty, and into confidence and leadership.

“I work to help people get on board with our vision from a feminist framework. Whether it be through giving of their time, money, interest, advocacy or involvement in a wide variety of ways.  At home, at work, in the neighbourhood or in the larger community. ”

Before coming to the Foundation, she was with METRAC, an organization which promotes the rights of women and children to live free from violence and the threat of violence.

She is often quoted in the media on the impact of the pandemic on women. On how they were disproportionately affected in the workplace, how intimate partner violence escalated during the pandemic when women had no escape during the lockdowns. 

Now that we are emerging from the pandemic, Gunraj says what became clear during the pandemic was that thirty years of progress could be reversed or severely impacted by a crisis.

“There’s work to be done at a systemic level if our social structures are to withstand future shocks. These could be in the form of another pandemic, political upheaval, climate crisis... any number of things can leave sections of our society vulnerable. I look at it in terms of structural changes. What can we do to move the needle?”

She cites three key areas. The absence of affordable childcare, low-paying jobs and gender-based violence.

“The problem is that our economy is built on the idea that women should take care of the kids and the elderly and do it all for free,” says Gunraj. “That needs to change. We should ensure that women’s free hours are not taken up by unpaid work. We also saw how poorly compensated essential workers are. And they tend to be women, racialized women, people with disabilities, people who face multiple barriers. They’ve been underpaid for so long. We need to move beyond thanking them. It’s not only women, of course, but they tend to be the big piece.”

Gunraj presents stark statistics on femicide. Approximately every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner.

There are other forms of gender-based violence with a staggering one in two women experiencing some form of abuse. Women, girls, and Two Spirit, trans and non-binary people are at highest risk. It can take physical and emotional forms, such as name-calling, hitting, pushing, blocking, stalking/criminal harassment, rape, sexual assault, control, and manipulation. There’s the tragedy of the missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“These are crisis numbers, and they go to show, again, that we don’t have the supports in place. We need to shock-proof our communities so we can support vulnerable populations when the next crisis hits.

“At the Foundation, we are looking at policies, practices and culture-change approaches. We must lower the base rate of violence. There’s no reason why we can’t reach our goals. The federal government has announced a gender-based action plan and while time will tell how effective it is, there’s hope that a lot of good will emerge from this.

“I have seen a shift, improvement, in the over twenty years I’ve worked in this field. But it’s a complicated story, it’s not progress always in a forward direction. It’s a story of gains and losses. We see positive movement in some areas, reversal in others. But we don’t serve ourselves right if we focus on lost ground. Emergencies will continue to throw us off track, but we must not get discouraged. Remember the work of so many women who have been at the forefront of change.”

Seeing some doing better and some not so well propels Gunraj forward. We set up our homes, our societies, our governments, we can create change, she believes.

She says she loves and is inspired by this quote from Rosemary Brown, one of the founding mothers of the Foundation: Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it.

“I do feel powerless at times, I start asking questions like who am I? What can I do? But then I remind myself that I do have a sphere of influence – my friends, my family. And I have a vote, I can make a difference. In Canada, we have some say. Not all the say, but it’s an important tool.”

She tells everyone to ask their local representatives what their policies are towards these vital issues. To vote for them if they like the answer, and then to hold them accountable. Influence policymaking.

Her parents came to Canada from Guyana at the end of the 70s through a combination of choice and opportunity. They had family here from both sides, and Canada had just opened doors to people from the English-speaking Caribbean.

They were highly educated and came with skills and experience, but had to start over. Her father was a banker in Guyana, and though it wasn’t easy, was able to get back into the field. It was harder for her mother, a teacher.

“She also had health issues and that goes to gender inequity there, too. However, I think there were more pathways back then for immigrants to quickly advance in their careers. Now you hear of people struggling for years and that creates long-term setbacks in so many areas of people’s lives.”

Born and raised in Toronto, Gunraj says she feels blessed to call the city home.

She describes the area she grew up in, Rexdale in northwest Toronto, as a wonderful, caring community. It had its challenges, but has gained an unfair reputation, feels Gunraj.

“It was a very community-focused, community-minded place. Many of my friends and family continue to live there and I go there every week!”

She also recalls the not-so-nice parts. Incidents of racism playing out at school and in the neighbourhood, of feeling that she didn’t belong. A teacher told her she’d make a good wife.

“But my experience was not unique. It was the 80s. Another teacher had a student removed from his class because he had questions about To Kill A Mockingbird though he was engaging with the text in a deeper way than any of us were. So it was a period of seeing ourselves reflected in some ways, and not in other ways.”

Seeing the wrongs and wanting to change things is what drove her to this field and is reflected in her work today.

Her family, while incredibly supportive of her passion, was also very much the typical immigrant family, wanting the children to do well, to be financially stable. So yes, there was the “have a Plan B,” talk but though her parents might have wished to see her as a high-earning lawyer or physician, they understood.

“We’re a faith-based family with strong values and they saw the good in community work and helping women. I also pointed out that I am terrible with numbers, so perhaps not cut for a corporate career!”

Gunraj is also a published author. The Disappearance of Seetha and The Lost Sister were published to critical and public acclaim and she has the draft of her next novel ready.

“I can’t stop writing. It’s a real outlet. I could only process the pandemic through my writing.”

She’s also working on a nonfiction writing project, on how small changes in our lives can help make a big difference in society. With a particular focus on the lives of settlers on this land, on immigrants, who can help uphold the rights of Indigenous people, be allies in anti-Black racism.

Her husband David Hunter is a Director at Deloitte Canada.

“He knows a lot of stuff I don’t know!” she says with a laugh.

Asked if she influences his thinking on issues that matter to her, Gunraj says yes, in the best possible manner.

“We influence each other. That, to me, is the sign of a good partnership.”

Those who seek her guidance on finding success in Canada learn that it’s okay to be different, to feel that they don’t fit in, that they should believe that they are beautiful, wonderful and special.

That they should seek out the hidden heroes, ordinary people doing great things.

“We tend to look for the shiny pennies – nothing wrong in that, but those fighting for social justice are often women, often working quietly behind the scenes. Take direction from them. Their loss would be devastating. Give them credit and try to do likewise.”

In the Canada of tomorrow, Gunraj would like to see no need for organizations that focus on gender justice.

“But we don’t have that ideal world, so I’d love to see young people of all genders given pathways to flourish. The next generation asks the right questions, they have the social media platforms to get the word out. They are involved in MeToo, BelieveAllWomen, Black Lives Matter, Every Child Matters movements. They are active and open. I think of young girls like Autumn Peltier, the Anishinaabe Indigenous rights advocate who is just 17 and I feel a surge of hope. She’s pushing for clean water in all communities in Canada. It’s up to us to open up spaces for them as they’ll be living in the legacy we create.”

• Grant’s is proud to present this series about people who are making a difference in the community. Represented by PMA Canada (www.pmacanada.com).