Justin Trudeau Joins University of Waterloo as Champion for UN Women HeForShe

WATERLOO, ON--(Marketwired - March 16, 2016) - Canada's Prime Minister was announced today as an official Champion for the UN Women's HeForShe movement, a global effort to engage men and boys as catalysts for change towards the achievement for gender equality.

The Prime Minister joins as the second official Canadian representative in the HeForShe effort. UN Women announced the University of Waterloo as a HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 champion in May 2015.

Professor Diana Parry is available to talk to media about the HeForShe initiative globally, and the work undertaken in Waterloo to achieve long-term, sustainable gender equity.

"Leaders like Justin Trudeau and Feridun Hamdullahpur from the University of Waterloo are showing all Canadians how vital it is that we achieve gender equity," said Professor Parry. "There is a wealth of evidence that shows that national productivity and economic growth is improved when the balance of genders in the workforce is more equal, and we need this kind of visible leadership to galvanize all parts of our nation to this challenge."

As part of the HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 framework, Waterloo committed to:

• boost female student participation in STEM experiences and academic careers to build the pipeline of future female leaders in traditionally male dominated disciplines;
• enhance female faculty representation to improve the campus environment today and drive towards parity in the future; and
• attract and advance female leaders into senior academic and administrative university positions.

Since the launch of the program, Waterloo also unveiled a new scholarship for 24 outstanding female students a total of $288,000, recently announced $80,000 to support eight new grants for faculty members to research and investigate gender equality, and held an ideathon for female entrepreneurs to seed and grow their innovations.

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