Meet a Changemaker, Karen Carter, Q&A on Gender Equality

By Drew Henson for SEAM

“The gender equality question for me is this interesting & a challenging one, as a Black woman I enter a space around equality from a race as well as gender standpoint. Often I lead with race because I have brothers, uncles, nephews, my father. The black male identity is often constructed as public enemy #1 in a lot of cities globally and definitely at times in Toronto. So the gender equality conversation for me is always one about how do elements like race, sexual identity and other intersectional factors come into the discussion.

It’s interesting, we’re in the process of doing work around some screenings around Claire Prieto-Fuller’s contribution to Canadian cinema. I remember talking to her, as she recollected memories from the ’90s where the feminist narrative was constructed to strip away every element of one’s identity, apart from their sexuality. The first challenge for gender parity is to address how complex, intersectional, and thus messy, identity is around gender. What does that space look like when all women are able to contribute their voices to what they perceive equity should look like?

The consciousness of including men is that you can’t achieve equality without them being part of the conversations. Most racialized women come to the table with that strength of thinking about their gender as well as their community because of those layered intersectional elements. Our voice at that table means, we’re already thinking of pulling our men into the conversation. It has to be men taking their own leadership roles, being allies, and being at the table so we as human beings craft space going forward for the next generation that is more equitable for everybody.”