International Women’s Day holds its radical roots in social movements for equality and justice. Reflecting this tradition of ideas and leadership, Perspectives Journal continues to bring to the forefront stories of empowered women and critical thought leadership.
In Activists Make History, a Perspectives Journal Podcast Series, host Peggy Nash brings forward frank and honest conversations with activists who begin at the grassroots level, but step up to lead movements and make history.
I’ve been a union activist, a feminist advocate, and for nearly a decade a Member of Parliament in Canada’s House of Commons
I know what it’s like to start from scratch, against the odds, in building a community campaign or running for political office.
Our lives are hugely affected by political decisions but for the underrepresented in political life, Canadian politics can seem like a “secret society” designed to shut them out.
I’m here, with a special series from Perspectives: A Canadian Journal of Political Economy and Social Democracy, to lift the curtain on these electoral mysteries and show the underdogs how we can do it. — Peggy Nash, Activists Make History
Sharing the stories of Chiara Padovani, a tenants rights organizer defending renters against landlords, Lana Payne, President of Unifor who leads the frontlines against Trump’s tariff war, and Alexa Gilmour, a first-time political candidate and newly elected Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario, Nash’s interviews show listeners what is possible who women working to build a better world. Listen to Activists Make History now on all major podcast platforms.
Through the Broadbent Institute’s Emerging Leaders Program, Perspectives Journal has published critical analysis from 2023 Emerging leader Alexandra Ages, who has looked at the social media phenomenon of trad wives, commodified beauty, and the co-optation of feminine “wellness” by far-right movements, and argues that all Canadians need decommodified reproductive healthcare. 2024 Emerging Leader Parul Kanwar’s look at how misinformation and disinformation influenced the rise of queerphobic and transphobic wedge issues during the 2023 Alberta Election.
Lastly, in honour of Canadian historian and theorist Ellen Meiksins Wood, the Broadbent Institute and Perspectives Journal host an annual lecture series that has recognized outstanding ideas from leading women in thought leadership. 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood lecturer Isabella Weber speaks to the present crisis of inflation and trade, and what we can do about it, in her elocution entitled “Profits, Inflation and Survival in an Age of Emergencies: Why We Need a New Paradigm.” You can watch, listen and read the full lecture at perspectivesjournal.ca.
If you haven’t already, subscribe to get the latest updates from Perspectives Journal and the Broadbent Institute, and consider supporting our work pushing forward to building a good society that is just and equal.