Scholar, social worker, mentor, community leader, and now a Canadian senator: there鈥檚 no shortage of different ways to introduce Wanda Thomas Bernard.
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鈥淪he鈥檚 very modest, so she always gives me a head shake when I mention all of her titles and her honours,鈥� said Dal President Richard Florizone in his introductory remarks at last week鈥檚 on-campus event featuring an in-depth conversation with Dr. Bernard in celebration of International Women鈥檚 Week.
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But the long-time Dal professor鈥檚 modesty belies a lifetime of personal and professional achievements stretching back to her childhood. At age 12, Dr. Bernard and her older sister stepped up to help their mother raise a house full of younger siblings after their father died suddenly in a tragic car accident.
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It was the kind of life-changing experience that thrust a young Dr. Bernard into adulthood far ahead of schedule 鈥� but also one that also left her better equipped to face the challenges life has thrown at her since..
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Friday鈥檚 event, organized by Dr. Florizone鈥檚 office, took the form of a conversation, with Social Work student Danielle Hodges and History and Contemporary Studies student Jennifer Hall asking Dr. Bernard a series of questions linked to broader themes of women鈥檚 rights and gender equity.
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Dr. Bernard captivated students, faculty, and staff in attendance with her stories and wisdom during the hour-long discussion tackling a range of subjects from the barriers facing woman in leadership positions to how to get more women involved in public life.
Encouraging women
鈥淔inding ways to encourage people is so vitally important,鈥� said Dr. Bernard in response to a question on the latter topic, 鈥渁nd finding ways to encourage women is especially important because not many of us have that kind of encouragement.鈥�
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She said one of the reasons applied for the job of director of the School of Social Work more than 15 years ago was because she鈥檇 heard through a colleague that the dean at the time thought she鈥檇 be a great fit for the job. She said it鈥檚 unlikely she would have seriously considered applying for the position, which she subsequently held for a decade, if she hadn鈥檛 known that.
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鈥淪he had a vision for me when I didn鈥檛 for myself,鈥� said Dr. Bernard. 鈥淚 thank those people who believed in me when I couldn鈥檛 believe in me.鈥�
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It鈥檚 a role Dr. Bernard has often played herself as a professor and mentor to others in the classroom and in the community.
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At the event, Dr. Bernard encouraged young women to be bold about finding mentors, and follow up if they find someone they want to connect with 鈥� even if they are shy like she once was.
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鈥淭he only thing worse than feeling fear is not doing something because you feel the fear,鈥� she said, noting she still has fear about certain things but doesn鈥檛 allow it to hold her back.
Keeping the fight alive
That鈥檚 clear to anyone who takes a look back at Dr. Bernard career, which has included 25 years as a Social Work professor at Dal. She said women have made many gains in achieving more equality in leadership positions during this time, but quoted former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in calling 鈥渢he rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century.鈥�
鈥淲e got to a place where we thought we won the gender war,鈥� said Dr. Bernard. 鈥淟et me say now: we haven鈥檛, and I think people know that we haven鈥檛,鈥� noting that schools don鈥檛 teach enough about women鈥檚 rights anymore.
Even now, even after all her success and her appointment last fall to the Senate of Canada, Dr. Bernard says she still faces discrimination on the basis of her gender and race. (She explained how she nearly missed a flight to Ottawa recently for her weekly Senate meetings when an airline worker gave her a hard time about showing her Senate ID to get onto the plane.)听 听
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Rather than getting discouraged by such encounters, Dr. Bernard said she strives to channel her anger in a positive direction.
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鈥淭he things that make me angry are actually the things that fuel my passion for social justice, fuel my passion to continue in the fight, reinvigorate me at times when I feel like I can鈥檛 do one more day of whatever it is.鈥�
You can watch the full discussion on . 听