INUVIK - When it comes to gaining leadership positions in the North, women and men are still not on an equal playing field.

That's why a group of Inuvik women are backing a national training course which aims to give women the skills to become leaders in their communities.

From left, Wendy Smith, Grace Blake, Mary Simon and Margaret Gordon at the launch of the Coady Institute's Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program in Ottawa last month. - photo courtesy of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

The Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program is a three-month community placement run by the Coady International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University scheduled to begin in May 2011. It's partly funded by Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil, and is finding lots of support in Inuvik as the program begins accepting applications this month.

Grace Blake and Wendy Smith, who work for the Mackenzie Gas Project's Inuvik office, make no secret of the fact they want to see at least one NWT aboriginal woman among the 15 chosen for next spring's program.

Though many women currently hold prestigious positions in Inuvik, "we still don't have a woman MLA here," said Blake, adding IRC chair Nellie Cournoyea served as the territory's first female premier.

"There is a movement by women in major roles - managers, supervisors - I see that happening. But, say in the smaller communities, I think there's a need to broaden the scope of learning to an international level."

One of the major barriers women still face locally, territorially, and nationally is adequate access to daycare programs.

Margaret Gordon, a career development officer for the Gwich'in Tribal Council, said women often tell her a lack of childcare is one of the biggest challenges to holding a good job and moving up in the community.

"The day of the women staying home and taking care of children is over. They want to get out there and they want to be part of that change," Gordon said. "We have a lot of women in our region that care about their community and its well-being and its economic growth. Those women need to get trained more so that they can continue their work."

In many NWT communities where youth outnumber adults, most women are young mothers, some who lack education or training.

Mary Simon, president of the national Inuit organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, had to ask other women in her community for help looking after her children while she was at work and, later on in her career, successfully fought for equal pay in an elected position.

"It was really difficult," she said.

"It is very important that we have a balance between men and women in all of our organizations and I think it's important to recognize that in this day and age, those barriers still exist for women. Not as much as say 25 or 30 years ago when I first started.

"But they still exist and I think we need to openly discuss those issues so that more women get involved."

Women's perspectives are still often overlooked in leadership positions, Simon said.

"Right now, women in the North - as a general statement - tend to work a lot at the community level. It's not that they're not working and it's not that they're not making an impact. It's that they're not really focusing on the leadership level," she said.

"Men and women think differently - it's just the way we are. It would really benefit communities if there were more women (in leadership) because women have more ability, I think, to address issues that are affecting the family."

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