Searching for Izena

Zero women of colour or Indigenous women have ever held a seat at Edmonton City Council. Before 2021, only 21 have ever tried to break this final glass ceiling at Edmonton City Hall. In Part 4, the Searching For Izena Project travels the world, including heading to India and Kenya, to investigate why our city has never elected a women of colour or Indigenous women to council. You’ll hear directly from many of these women about the discrimination and challenges they faced, why diversity matters in politics and what they think needs to change in Edmonton to finally breakthrough this remaining barrier at City Hall. Will 2021 be the year for this historic development? We are hopeful. At least eight women of colour have already registered to run in this October’s municipal election. A special thank you to the Searching For Izena volunteers for their dogged and determined efforts producing this episode. None of this information was easily available before their hard work compiling the data and telling these women’s important stories. While the women you are about to meet in Part 4 of the Searching For Izena Project may not be in any history books, they are brave trailblazers we want you to get to know, celebrate and remember.

Guests: Dr. Syeda Hameed, Nafisa Bowen, Taz Augustine, Danisha Bhaloo-Shivji, Sandra Muchekeza and Beatrice Ghettuba

Music: Lyra Brown
Art: Deanna Bains

Searching For Izena is a year-long grassroots project organized by YWCA Edmonton, Parity YEG and several past and present Edmonton City Councillors. Thanks to our generous sponsors the Edmonton Community Foundation and Edmonton Heritage Council. Thanks also the Edmonton Public Library, Edmonton Archives, the Adams Agency, Ryan Jespersen and countless volunteers for their help bringing this project to life. For a full list of supporters and more information about the project, head to: searchingforizena.com

To the world, Edmonton’s 31 female councillors are political trailblazers. But to their families, they were simply: mom. In Part 5, you’ll meet the children and grandchildren of several past and present female councillors who served from the 1950s all the way up to 2021. At a time when women’s participation in politics is still far from the norm, you’ll find out how their mom’s high-profile and demanding job affected them. Spoiler alert: this episode is going to give you all the Mother’s Day feels. It’s a heart-warmer with lots of laughs and inspiring moments thrown in. The episode begins with an interview with the children of former Edmonton City councillor Una MacLean Evans, one of the first women in Canada – if not the first! – to have a baby while holding public office. That was in 1969! Since Una blazed that trail, only one other female Edmonton councillor (Jan Reimer) has had a baby while serving on council. However, that’s going to change later this summer. Tune in for breaking baby news at Edmonton City Hall that you won’t want to miss. We end the episode with stories submitted by several children and grandchildren about their beloved relative.

Guests: Margaret Evans, Sarah Evans, Bill Evans, Tara Mackenzie, Adam Zepp, Bethany Krukowski, Tom Field, Nick Kiniski, Corinne Butti Humeniuk, Melanie McCallum and Jane Hewes

To start this story, let’s go right to the end. In the last 100 years, only 31 women have been elected to Edmonton City Council. In Part 1 of ‘Searching For Izena’, we talk to #30 and #31 — Councillors Bev Esslinger and Sarah Hamilton. They are currently the only two female councillors out of 12 at Edmonton City Hall. You’ll learn about why they ran, what their experiences have been like, being called the C-word and why they relish talking drainage with the best of them.

In Part 1, you’ll also hear from YWCA Edmonton CEO Katherine O’Neill and Parity YEG Vice-Chair Rajah Maggay about why they are co-chairing the ‘Searching For Izena’ Project and what you can expect to learn about the history of female leadership on Edmonton City Council during this special year-long centennial project.

For more information about ‘Searching For Izena’ and how you can get involved, head to: searchingforizena.com.

Music by: Lyra Brown (lyrabrown.com)
Art by: Deanna Bains (Instagram: @deannabains)

Listener Warning: This episode contains disturbing language and descriptions of violence that are not suitable for all listeners. If you find these subjects triggering, support and resources are available at the YWCA Edmonton Crisis Information website. Please take care of yourself.

This chapter of the Searching For Izena Project is dark, ugly and, quite frankly, depressing. From the very beginning of this year-long campaign, our team of volunteers and researchers have been committed to confronting this topic head-on: the prevalence and very real problem of hate, threats and abuse directed towards women politicians. Not only do women face a never-ending stream of toxic abuse and harassment when they run for office, but also when they hold political power. It helps explain one of the reasons why so few women have served at Edmonton City Hall in the last century. It’s a long-standing problem that has existed since women first entered the political arena more than a century ago, and the message is always the same: ‘You are not worthy. You are not welcome here. Leave!’. In Part 6 called ‘Enough’, we expose some of the deeply troubling cases of abuse and threats some former women Edmonton City Councillors faced while they served (most were never made public until now), and we also issue an urgent call to action: Enough already! Let’s pull together as a community and end the vitrol, hate and abuse directed towards women politicians. This is a solvable challenge (lots of promising initiatives are already underway) and we hope this episode shines a bright light on the problem and inspires real and lasting change.
Guests: Shirley Lowe, Dr. Angelia Wagner, Lana Cuthbertson, Kasey Machin

100 years after becoming the first woman elected to Edmonton City Council, Izena Ross’ story has largely been lost to history. Thanks to a volunteer grassroots effort led by YWCA Edmonton, Parity YEG and several current and former Edmonton City Councillors, Searching For Izena: ‘Unwomanly’ Stories of Female Leadership at Edmonton City Hall, will tell the untold story of Izena and the 30 other women who’ve served Edmonton in the last century. This special nine-part podcast will bring their political journeys to life, and also teach us about the political barriers yet to be broken — even in 2021. The podcast is part of a year-long campaign, generously supported by the Edmonton Community Foundation, to commemorate the centennial of Izena’s historic win in 1921.

The first episode will be released on January 19. For more information, head to: searchingforizena.com

Music by: Lyra Brown (lyrabrown.com)

Art by: Deanna Bains (Instagram: @deannabains)