tion speech or annual meeting resolution. We celebrated our progress over the year, supported each other through challenges or setbacks, and became stronger as a collective and as individuals. From this strengthening of self, I have
continued more confidently on my personal leadership path both with my local executive and beyond the union. I am proud to follow in the footsteps of past participants who have taken what they have learned and continued to grow into leadership positions that call to them. I am already an invested member of my local executive, like countless other L4T grads, but what else does my future hold? Past L4T graduates have taken on lo-
cal presidencies, won provincial executive positions, become ETFO staff, moved into administrative positions within their school boards, and found non-education spaces where they have been able to flourish as lead- ers, professionally and personally. Because of my time in L4T, I know that I am capable of following any and all paths that feel right for me – and I know that I have a network of sisters who will support and champion me, no matter how near or far away our journeys take us. And more than this, I am more conscious
of the societal bias that tells us not to view women who are Indigenous, racialized, queer, or disabled as the leaders they are and/ or could be, and I am committed to elevating the voices and experiences of those around me who are smashing societal expectations. Looking ahead, my hope is that the Lead-
ETFO collects and tracks demographic information and the Equity and Women’s Ser- vices area collates much of the data to do with the participation of women members. The overall number of women members has remained the same since ETFO’s incep- tion (with about 80%-82% of members identifying as women.) When the Leaders for Tomorrow program began in 2004/5, there was a concerted effort to encourage more women who had intersecting identities (we now use the terms racialized, members with a disability, 2SLGBTQ+, or Indigenous) to move into leadership positions. Anecdotally, there has been a shift, though women seeking out leadership opportunities since 2004 has remained consistent. One area where there has been a significant shift is in collec- tive bargaining. In 2004, only 44% of Chief Negotiators in locals identified as women, whereas there were 81% Chief Negotiators who identified as women in 2024.
ers for Tomorrow program remains a prior- ity for ETFO for at least another 20 years. Bringing together a diverse group of women and building community takes focused effort and time; it cannot be rushed. Te time that facilitators and participants have in this pro- gram really allows women to explore their own identities, address pre-conceptions of what leadership looks – and feels – like, role- play hypothetical scenarios we might not yet have the confidence to face in the real world, and sit in on and learning about operations at meetings such as Representative Council. All of these opportunities have been key to my learning journey. Do you have an L4T impact story to
share? I hope you will share your experi- ence with your local members and encour- age them to apply for this program in its 21st year! n
Maranda Dumas is a member of the Lakehead Occasional Teacher Local.
ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ FEDERATION OF ONTARIO 15
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