Luncheon offered by the Ambassador of Canada to Slovenia and Discussion
on the Role Women Play in Art, Culture and Civil Society

Ljubljana, Slovenia, Thursday, October 22, 2009

I would like to thank Canada’s ambassador to Slovenia, Pierre Guimond, for giving us this opportunity to discuss the role that women play in advancing art, culture and Canadian and Slovenian societies.

I don’t think there is ever enough discussion about women. About our battles. About our victories. About the power we have to influence the world and our willingness to change it for the better.

But I do think that we should be each other’s sisters, allies, role models and sources of inspiration, regardless of the borders that separate us, regardless of our differences.

Everywhere I go, across Canada and around the world, carrying out the duties of head of State as governor general, I see that there are many pitfalls on the path towards equality for women, and that the same pitfalls can be found in every city, region and country.

Women are still paid less than men for equal work, even when they have higher levels of education.

It is women who are still underrepresented within decision-making bodies.

It is women who still work more unpaid hours.

It is women who are still most likely to live in poverty.

And it is women who are still at greatest risk of being attacked, behind closed doors at home or in the street.

I know this also because I was once a journalist and witnessed these realities, particularly the trafficking of women, a phenomenon that is on the rise around the world.

And I know this because I helped establish a network of shelters for battered women, and because I worked with these women for nearly 10 years.

The governor general that I am today is more convinced than ever that the battles fought by women to ensure that their rights are respected are an affirmation of human dignity and a sure path to freedom.

I have to say, the women—in Canada, in Slovenia and elsewhere—who fought to end the cycle of violence and oppression, who challenged conventions, who broke through social barriers, who dared to instigate progress in their societies: all these women have been great sources of inspiration to me.

I have always been touched by women’s spirit of resistance, our resilience, which has helped us, even in the most trying of times, to continue to think, to speak out, to act and to fight throughout history.

That is certainly the case for many women artists around the world who dared, and continue to dare, to create out in the open.

Despite all the difficult constraints and prejudices, women’s names have pierced the silence of history.

These artists pick up their pens and brushes, get up on stage, and reflect the world in their images: in short, they have the daring and the talent it takes to tell the whole world who they are and what they think.

By continually conquering their inner freedom, they help us to understand that things do not have to stay the same. That it is possible to change the world, to open it up to new voices, and that women’s voices have equal weight.

I truly believe that the development of our societies depends on the daily efforts made by women and on their unending search for opportunities, for themselves, for their children and for their communities.

It is in that same spirit that I have come here today. To know what those opportunities are. What challenges are you facing? What are your realities? What are your dreams for the future, for yourselves, for Slovenia and for all of humanity?

I am anxious to hear what you have to say and to share your message of hope and freedom when I return to Canada.