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Hashtag goals.

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What was the first thing 
that came to

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mind when you heard me 
say this?

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Was it Kylie Jenner's lips?

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Eyebrows on fleek?

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Or did you just ask 
yourself

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Why'd she just say

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hashtag goals then pause?

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Who gave her the mike?

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What is she doing?

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But did you ever stop and think

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what really are my goals?

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and how can I achieve them?

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Well for many of us

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graduating

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maybe just passing english 
[indiscernible]

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at this point

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going to university

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getting that dream job

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may have been 
the first thing

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that came to mind

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when you heard me say

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hashtag goals.

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But how often do you consider the barriers

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that make achieving these goals

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way more difficult

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and the fact that some of these barriers

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only apply to you

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because of your gender.

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Well, there's a term called

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the Glass Ceiling or 
the Glass wall

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or the Glass Barrier, 
whatever you

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want to call it

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it's a term used to describe

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that unseen barrier that prevents you from

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achieving your goals just because of your

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gender regardless of any qualifications

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or achievements you may have.

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So whether that's trying to get a certain

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position at work

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or the wage gap between 
men and women

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for equal work or even just

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gender stereotyping people on their

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work roles and abilities.

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But I can tell you first-hand

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how discouraging

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facing a wall like this can be to

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girls trying to achieve their goals.

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I'd like to compare this

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to walking up a flight of stairs

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and at every level you're blocked

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by a transparent wall.

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You can see beyond this wall

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because your goal is set

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to get to the very top of the stairs

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but you just can't get past it.

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Well how do you do that?

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Well let me share a situation that

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actually happened to me.

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A wall I once faced

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was being discriminated against

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because of my gender.

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So last year my school academy and I

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said we'd do a bunch of projects

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around Edmonton

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we'd go and present

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at different establishments

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to young female students

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how girls and boys are portrayed

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in media

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how damaging this image can be.

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So we'd go out in our academy uniform

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and we'd do these presentations

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but between one of the presentations

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three of my classmates and me

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were pulled to the side and asked to leave

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the establishment we were presenting at

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because our uniform academy skirts

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didn't respect their dress code.

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Mind you, they respected our

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dress code which was past the fingertips.

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I was blocked from achieving my

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goal that day.

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This was the first instance 
where I really

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saw how young girls can be

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prevented from achieving their goals

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just because of their gender.

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Instead of teaching young girls about

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being discriminated against because of

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their gender

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which is what I was doing with my academy

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I was actually experiencing it.

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I was made to feel guilty

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for doing something

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or in this case wearing something

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that was completely appropriate.

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My Glass Wall was in front of me

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and I felt pretty terrible.

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I felt afraid to wear my uniform again

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even if it was something

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that I was proud to wear

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because to me

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my uniform symbolises

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being a part of change

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and having a voice

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and feeling empowered

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yet

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I felt none of those things.

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But how did I get back to 
feeling all

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those things again?

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Well I was fortunate enough

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to have my friends and teachers

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that were there on the spot and after

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when that happened

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to help support me

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and acknowledge that it wasn't my fault

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and that I was ok

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and this all really made sense to me

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because my Glass Wall was shattered

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with the help of other people

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because a Glass Ceiling

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is something that needs teamwork

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but as cliché as it sounds

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the glory in life is that

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you learn from your past experiences

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and you have no regrets

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but when you see that Glass Ceiling

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that Glass Wall

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that barrier in front of you

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and you wonder how on earth

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you're gonna break through it

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take a look at the broken 
pieces of glass

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on the ground around you and behind you

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and let those broken pieces of glass

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give you the strength

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to break through that barrier

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in front of you

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because you've realised

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you've already done it before

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and you can do it again

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and the good thing about these kinds of

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barriers is that they become 
easier to break

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when you realise there are other people

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trying to break it with you.

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When we realise we're all trying to break

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the exact same glass

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and this is why we need to start

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working together now.

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Because by working together now

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we make this process easier

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for generations to come

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just like generations

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that have passed before us

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like our mothers

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even inspiring women like Malala

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who fought for change just so that girls

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can have an education.

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These women fought together to make the

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struggle easier for us

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by fighting for our right to vote

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by taking most of the hits

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and punches in the workplace

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just so we can experience

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less discrimination.

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They have shown us that we need to instill

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leadership among young girls now

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because when we give them these

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amazing leadership skills

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and we teach them to work together

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and to be aware of gender issues

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both male and female

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and to instill self-worth

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we give them the ability to break through

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any Glass Ceiling

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any barrier they face

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and this will allow them

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and give them the ability

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to achieve their goals.

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So I'm going to leave you

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with one question

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What does hashtag goals mean to you?

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Thank you.