Daughters of the Vote.

• Position: Roundtable - Discussion

On March 8, 2017, coinciding with International Women's Day, 338 young women between 18 and 23 filled every seat in the House of Commons. Marking the 100th anniversary of some women receiving the right to vote in federal elections, Equal Voice's highly successful Daughters of the Vote (DOTV) program drew positive attention from media around Canada and the world. As DOTV delegates reveal in this illuminating roundtable discussion, the inspiration they drew from each other and the women parliamentarians they met on the journey to Ottawa and during their week in the capital will have far-reaching effects as they share what they've learned with their communities and apply it in their own future endeavours.

CPR: What have you taken away from this experience as young women who may have had an interest in politics but perhaps had little or no experience with parliamentary politics or partisan politics?

Brielle Beardy: I took away the amazingly positive feeling of support among the delegates. We know that's not really the state of things currently in parliament where there is a lot of heckling, talking over one another and undermining each other. Also, as someone who is both transgender and Indigenous and just fighting for basic human rights, I went in thinking I would have to be very forward in order to be heard, but Equal Voice really helped to create an environment where I felt comfortable and respected. As young women spoke in the house and brought forward issues that were important in our communities, we listened to each other and supported one another. To me it just reinforced that we need to bring more women, more marginalized voices, into parliament because politics needs to be more inclusive. We need to reclaim that space.

Justice Betty: I'd like to echo Brielle's point. The 338 young women who came together in Ottawa were some of the most positive, inspiring, and accomplished young women I have ever met. Although, the support we showed each other may not be reflective of what currently happens in parliament, I think having all these young women full of idealism together in one place can actually create an environment where we can plan to make the changes we want to see. Hopefully, after this planning stage, we can go out into the world and try to implement these ideas together.

Alana Robert: I think my biggest takeaway was seeing and speaking to such strong, intelligent, independent women already representing us in parliament, I was able to visualize myself in the future taking a similar position. That's one of the most important and inspiring things we can have as young women--these role models. Seeing them holding these positions allows us to see ourselves, hopefully not that far into the future, sitting at the decision-making table ourselves.

Lavin Mapinge: I took away the importance of working as a team and listening to other people's voices, and also, the need to create those spaces in our own communities. I also took away the idea that we need to carry on the light and to continue to build on the foundation that has been paved for us by the generation of women that has come before us. We need to lay down a brick to keep paving the way for those behind us. We need to be accountable for this great experience that has been put on our shoulders.

Srosh Hassan: I'll take away the messages we heard from women parliamentarians regarding what they said they wished they could tell their younger selves. We heard from women parliamentarians about what it took to campaign, how long it took some of them to realize that other people wanted to support them, and how long it took them to say yes to the idea of running. That stuck with me. A lot of times you think you have to get a degree first, or you have to be older to serve in parliament. Seeing these young women who are doing so much already shows that you can be passionate about issues, do work in your community to foster change, and that change is possible at any age. You don't need to be significantly older or have professional experience to see that there's something wrong and that you want to do something about it.

Jacqueline Keena: I'd like to echo what my fellow Daughters have said, and add that I was impressed to see the support for encouraging more women to become involved in politics across the political spectrum. There wasn't a person who was against it although there may be different ideas of how to go about it.

CPR: Within your age group, is...