DR. SHUBHA SANDILL
Your choice for better change.
ABOUT ME
RECENT ACTIVITIES
Enjoyed being a panelist at Equal Voice's GTA Campaign School in Burlington in August 2022, where I shared my federal & provincial nomination and campaign experiences, and also highlighted some of the challenges of political runs.
​
It was great to hear from Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, and fantastic seeing many campaign managers, candidates, and some of the Equal Voice Daughters of Vote delegates.
It was so great to be a guest speaker at Prof. Martha Jackman’s “Law Reform/Réforme du droit” upper year seminar at University of Ottawa Faculty of Law in November 2021. I had the chance to have some interesting conversations with these future lawyers on the topic of “Running for Elected Office”! The discussions ranged from civic engagement through local grassroots and riding associations, to putting your name on the ballot, the nomination process, fundraising, the power of door-knocking, team-building, social media campaigns, and of course, intersectionality in politics.
​
My own quest for Socio-legal/Policy Reforms began by seeing how academic research rarely gets transformed into laws & policies and recognizing the need to bridge the gap between academia, legislators & politics. I’m so delighted to see a course that provides tools and pathways to legislative reforms. Looking forward to seeing these vibrant young individuals engaging in the law reform process in the future by running for office or engaging in advocacy work through CSOs.
A great way to wrap up my term at Ontario Women's Liberal Commission (OWLC) by moderating this excellent panel at the Ontario Liberal Party/OWLC Annual General Meeting in October 2021. The panel, "A Conversation with Women MPPs" consisted of these powerhouse women politicians: MPP Kathleen Wynne, MPP Mitzie Hunter, MPP Amanda Simard & MPP Lucille Collard! The discussion included insights on campaigns during COVID-19, teambuilding, fundraising, safety & more. Thankful to OLP Leader Steven Del Duca & OLP VP Jackie Choquette for joining us!
2022 started with the exciting news that my last publication "Law, Equality & Entrepreneurship with a Gendered Lense” has been selected by IGI Global’s executive editorial board to be featured in their ‘Research Anthology on Feminist Studies and Gender Perceptions’. More information can be found here.
It definitely boosted my enthusiasm to work on my upcoming edited book project on Global Gender Justice - details coming soon.
As the Founding President of the Hamilton Region Women's Liberal Association (HRWLA), it was my pleasure to organize our 1-Year Anniversary Event in February 2021 with a candid discussion on "Youth, education and mental health in the era of COVID-19" in collaboration with Ontario Women's Liberal Commission and our HRWLA Youth Team! Our panelists/guest speakers included Former Premier - MPP Kathleen Wynne, MPP Mitzie Hunter. We had an insightful conversation about the resounding impacts of the pandemic on youth and how to overcome these challenges.
​
The event was a great success with many people registered from across Ontario. We had attendees joining us from Ottawa, Nepean, Belleville, Milton, Mississauga, Halton Hills, Waterloo, Cambridge, Kitchener, St. Catherines, Niagara Falls & London regions.
I was honoured to have the opportunity to moderate a fireside chat with the Keynote Speaker Dr. Jean Augustine for the second day of Equal Voice's Daughters of Vote (DOV) Summit on March 7th, 2021. It was an insightful conversation with a true trailblazer who broke barriers and brought many legislative reforms through her insurmountable work as an MP and continues to inspire through her ongoing contributions & mentorship! To see my conversation with Hon. Jean Augustine, click on the video below.
As the National Board Director for Equal Voice Canada, I was thrilled to welcome 338 inspiring young women & gender diverse leaders from across Canada to EV’s 3rd Edition of Daughters of the Vote summit March 6-8th along with my board colleagues and EV Staff. These 338 young vibrant leaders from each federal riding took their MP’s seats in a virtual parliament on International Women's Day. With over 55 MPs & MPPs as our panelists and speakers, the summit wrapped up with speeches from Hon. Kim Campbell, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all four national party leaders.
​
It was a productive leadership summit that included an ‘Inclusive Politics Panel’ followed by a selection of many sessions for our Equal Voice DOV Delegates ranging from ‘Canada's Feminist Foreign Policy,’ ‘Realities of Rural Politics’, ‘Political Engagement from the LGBTQI2S Community Perspective’, ‘Civic Engagement at the Intersections’ to ‘A Dialogue on Reconciliation’ plus ‘Working in Politics’ panel/workshops and much more.
Thrilled to share that my nomination story has been featured in a recently released book “Women on the Ballot: Pathways to Political Power” alongside many trailblazing women in Canadian politics. This book features 95 prominent Canadian politicians, from former Prime Minister Hon. Kim Campbell to Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. I was excited to organize and host a launch event at Hamilton City Hall in partnership with the Mayor's Office.
On September 23rd, 2019, Hon. Sheila Copps & Hamilton’s Mayor Fred Eisenberger joined me and Women on the Ballot author Betsy McGregor for an important conversation with a group of powerhouse Hamilton women including YWCA CEO Denise Christopherson, Hamilton City manager Janette Smith, Mayor’s Chief Of Staff Drina Omazic, former MPP Judy Marsales, long term Hamilton political activist Terry Banham and many more, to discuss the challenges women face once they decide to step up and run for office.
Details can be found here.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
In May 2020, Equal Voice Canada launched “Virtual Coffee Break Series” with women politicians across Canada - and I was thrilled to moderate the very first event in this series on Friday May 22nd with MP Lindsay Mathyssen! To me, the best part about being on Equal Voice National Board is the opportunity to meet incredible women in politics from coast to coast and across party lines, and learn about their inspirational journeys! It was a candid conversation with a glimpse into what it’s like to govern amidst this pandemic‬, the challenges elected officials are facing, long-term impacts of the pandemic on our political systems, and how to stay politically engaged in the age of social distancing. Thankful to Equal Voice for this important initiative and to MP Lindsay Mathyssen for a very informative chat - touching upon so many diverse topics!
I feel hounoured to be part of this powerful project amplifying women’s voices & leadership in academia. Glad to contribute my chapter on “Law, Equality and Entrepreneurship Through a Gendered Lens: Bridging the Gap Between Academia, Legislature and Politics” for this global collection, alongside 11 incredibly talented women academics from Australia to Canada! Released in April 2020, this book is edited by two remarkable academics and inspiring friends, Dr. Taima Moeke-Pickering - Professor in the School of Indigenous Relations at Laurentian University & Dr. Sheila Cote-Meek - Inaugural VP, Equity, People & Culture at York University. This outstanding collection raises issues of pay parity, equal representation on committees, increased leadership positions, stories of resilience, and mentorship espousing changes at all levels in academia.
​
On May 15th, 2020, I had the opportunity to be the guest speaker at Equal Voice's Nova Scotia Chapter digital launch event alongside Equal Voice's Executive Director, Eleanor Fast. My conversations centered around opportunities and challenges for women in politics with a focus on gender and intersectionality.
On November 5th, 2020, I had the opportunity to be a panelist at Equal Voice Canada's National Campaign School and share my motivation towards the civic & political engagement, experiences through the nomination process and the challenges, with a very passionate group of participants from coast to coast! I also really enjoyed listening to my fellow panelists Lia Renaud & Yvette Ashiri and interacting with the participants all the way from Yukon to Nova Scotia in the breakout session, while learning about their motivation & passion towards politics and civic leadership!
