WEBVTT 00:00:06.406 --> 00:00:07.486 Hashtag goals. 00:00:09.510 --> 00:00:11.020 What was the first thing that came to 00:00:11.020 --> 00:00:12.513 mind when you heard me say this? 00:00:13.091 --> 00:00:14.391 Was it Kylie Jenner's lips? 00:00:14.684 --> 00:00:15.847 Eyebrows on fleek? 00:00:15.847 --> 00:00:16.867 Or did you just ask yourself 00:00:16.867 --> 00:00:17.703 Why'd she just say 00:00:17.703 --> 00:00:18.529 hashtag goals then pause? 00:00:18.529 --> 00:00:19.217 Who gave her the mike? 00:00:19.217 --> 00:00:19.807 What is she doing? 00:00:20.227 --> 00:00:22.356 But did you ever stop and think 00:00:22.356 --> 00:00:24.129 what really are my goals? 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:25.699 and how can I achieve them? 00:00:25.926 --> 00:00:26.976 Well for many of us 00:00:26.976 --> 00:00:28.226 graduating 00:00:28.226 --> 00:00:29.436 maybe just passing english [indiscernible] 00:00:29.436 --> 00:00:31.216 at this point 00:00:31.976 --> 00:00:32.886 going to university 00:00:32.886 --> 00:00:33.951 getting that dream job 00:00:33.951 --> 00:00:34.853 may have been the first thing 00:00:34.853 --> 00:00:35.685 that came to mind 00:00:35.685 --> 00:00:36.758 when you heard me say 00:00:36.758 --> 00:00:37.558 hashtag goals. 00:00:38.229 --> 00:00:40.527 But how often do you consider the barriers 00:00:40.527 --> 00:00:42.017 that make achieving these goals 00:00:42.017 --> 00:00:43.521 way more difficult 00:00:43.521 --> 00:00:45.643 and the fact that some of these barriers 00:00:45.656 --> 00:00:47.256 only apply to you 00:00:47.256 --> 00:00:48.726 because of your gender. 00:00:49.958 --> 00:00:51.253 Well, there's a term called 00:00:51.253 --> 00:00:52.571 the Glass Ceiling or the Glass wall 00:00:52.571 --> 00:00:54.002 or the Glass Barrier, whatever you 00:00:54.002 --> 00:00:54.802 want to call it 00:00:54.915 --> 00:00:56.381 it's a term used to describe 00:00:56.381 --> 00:00:59.211 that unseen barrier that prevents you from 00:00:59.217 --> 00:01:01.174 achieving your goals just because of your 00:01:01.174 --> 00:01:03.344 gender regardless of any qualifications 00:01:03.344 --> 00:01:05.209 or achievements you may have. 00:01:05.796 --> 00:01:06.728 So whether that's trying to get a certain 00:01:06.728 --> 00:01:08.438 position at work 00:01:08.438 --> 00:01:10.135 or the wage gap between men and women 00:01:10.135 --> 00:01:11.475 for equal work or even just 00:01:11.483 --> 00:01:13.491 gender stereotyping people on their 00:01:13.491 --> 00:01:14.341 work roles and abilities. 00:01:15.534 --> 00:01:16.665 But I can tell you first-hand 00:01:16.665 --> 00:01:17.665 how discouraging 00:01:17.665 --> 00:01:20.865 facing a wall like this can be to 00:01:21.167 --> 00:01:23.097 girls trying to achieve their goals. 00:01:23.736 --> 00:01:25.056 I'd like to compare this 00:01:25.056 --> 00:01:26.730 to walking up a flight of stairs 00:01:26.740 --> 00:01:28.404 and at every level you're blocked 00:01:28.404 --> 00:01:30.114 by a transparent wall. 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:31.625 You can see beyond this wall 00:01:31.625 --> 00:01:33.026 because your goal is set 00:01:33.026 --> 00:01:34.796 to get to the very top of the stairs 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.379 but you just can't get past it. 00:01:36.990 --> 00:01:38.410 Well how do you do that? 00:01:38.410 --> 00:01:40.224 Well let me share a situation that 00:01:40.224 --> 00:01:41.484 actually happened to me. 00:01:42.108 --> 00:01:43.248 A wall I once faced 00:01:43.282 --> 00:01:44.958 was being discriminated against 00:01:44.958 --> 00:01:46.728 because of my gender. 00:01:47.318 --> 00:01:49.438 So last year my school academy and I 00:01:49.452 --> 00:01:50.689 said we'd do a bunch of projects 00:01:50.689 --> 00:01:51.927 around Edmonton 00:01:51.927 --> 00:01:52.896 we'd go and present 00:01:52.896 --> 00:01:54.325 at different establishments 00:01:54.325 --> 00:01:55.525 to young female students 00:01:55.530 --> 00:01:57.410 how girls and boys are portrayed 00:01:57.410 --> 00:01:58.290 in media 00:01:58.290 --> 00:02:00.148 how damaging this image can be. 00:02:00.148 --> 00:02:02.378 So we'd go out in our academy uniform 00:02:02.378 --> 00:02:04.258 and we'd do these presentations 00:02:04.258 --> 00:02:05.678 but between one of the presentations 00:02:05.678 --> 00:02:07.148 three of my classmates and me 00:02:07.166 --> 00:02:09.226 were pulled to the side and asked to leave 00:02:09.226 --> 00:02:11.586 the establishment we were presenting at 00:02:11.586 --> 00:02:14.403 because our uniform academy skirts 00:02:14.467 --> 00:02:16.797 didn't respect their dress code. 00:02:16.808 --> 00:02:18.163 Mind you, they respected our 00:02:18.163 --> 00:02:20.263 dress code which was past the fingertips. 00:02:21.266 --> 00:02:23.342 I was blocked from achieving my 00:02:23.342 --> 00:02:24.002 goal that day. 00:02:25.185 --> 00:02:26.555 This was the first instance where I really 00:02:26.555 --> 00:02:27.942 saw how young girls can be 00:02:27.942 --> 00:02:30.052 prevented from achieving their goals 00:02:30.063 --> 00:02:31.913 just because of their gender. 00:02:32.726 --> 00:02:34.747 Instead of teaching young girls about 00:02:34.747 --> 00:02:36.777 being discriminated against because of 00:02:36.784 --> 00:02:37.554 their gender 00:02:37.554 --> 00:02:39.504 which is what I was doing with my academy 00:02:39.565 --> 00:02:41.995 I was actually experiencing it. 00:02:42.608 --> 00:02:44.085 I was made to feel guilty 00:02:44.085 --> 00:02:45.191 for doing something 00:02:45.191 --> 00:02:46.807 or in this case wearing something 00:02:46.807 --> 00:02:48.734 that was completely appropriate. 00:02:49.596 --> 00:02:51.492 My Glass Wall was in front of me 00:02:51.522 --> 00:02:53.122 and I felt pretty terrible. 00:02:53.982 --> 00:02:56.402 I felt afraid to wear my uniform again 00:02:56.403 --> 00:02:57.889 even if it was something 00:02:57.889 --> 00:02:59.161 that I was proud to wear 00:02:59.161 --> 00:02:59.873 because to me 00:02:59.881 --> 00:03:01.203 my uniform symbolises 00:03:01.203 --> 00:03:02.506 being a part of change 00:03:02.524 --> 00:03:03.524 and having a voice 00:03:03.524 --> 00:03:04.939 and feeling empowered 00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:05.569 yet 00:03:05.569 --> 00:03:07.163 I felt none of those things. 00:03:07.953 --> 00:03:09.010 But how did I get back to feeling all 00:03:09.010 --> 00:03:10.210 those things again? 00:03:10.716 --> 00:03:12.026 Well I was fortunate enough 00:03:12.026 --> 00:03:13.966 to have my friends and teachers 00:03:13.966 --> 00:03:15.898 that were there on the spot and after 00:03:15.898 --> 00:03:17.577 when that happened 00:03:17.577 --> 00:03:18.501 to help support me 00:03:18.501 --> 00:03:21.011 and acknowledge that it wasn't my fault 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:22.048 and that I was ok 00:03:22.048 --> 00:03:26.568 and this all really made sense to me 00:03:26.568 --> 00:03:28.361 because my Glass Wall was shattered 00:03:28.361 --> 00:03:30.830 with the help of other people 00:03:30.830 --> 00:03:33.180 because a Glass Ceiling 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:36.115 is something that needs teamwork 00:03:36.115 --> 00:03:37.537 but as cliché as it sounds 00:03:37.537 --> 00:03:39.256 the glory in life is that 00:03:39.256 --> 00:03:41.193 you learn from your past experiences 00:03:41.193 --> 00:03:42.813 and you have no regrets 00:03:42.813 --> 00:03:44.826 but when you see that Glass Ceiling 00:03:44.826 --> 00:03:45.771 that Glass Wall 00:03:45.771 --> 00:03:47.109 that barrier in front of you 00:03:47.109 --> 00:03:48.854 and you wonder how on earth 00:03:48.854 --> 00:03:50.714 you're gonna break through it 00:03:50.756 --> 00:03:52.415 take a look at the broken pieces of glass 00:03:52.415 --> 00:03:54.766 on the ground around you and behind you 00:03:54.786 --> 00:03:56.749 and let those broken pieces of glass 00:03:56.749 --> 00:03:58.071 give you the strength 00:03:58.071 --> 00:03:59.449 to break through that barrier 00:03:59.449 --> 00:04:00.472 in front of you 00:04:00.472 --> 00:04:01.584 because you've realised 00:04:01.584 --> 00:04:03.146 you've already done it before 00:04:03.146 --> 00:04:04.736 and you can do it again 00:04:04.743 --> 00:04:06.926 and the good thing about these kinds of 00:04:06.926 --> 00:04:09.196 barriers is that they become easier to break 00:04:09.210 --> 00:04:11.292 when you realise there are other people 00:04:11.292 --> 00:04:12.822 trying to break it with you. 00:04:12.972 --> 00:04:15.232 When we realise we're all trying to break 00:04:15.499 --> 00:04:17.479 the exact same glass 00:04:17.549 --> 00:04:19.107 and this is why we need to start 00:04:19.107 --> 00:04:20.457 working together now. 00:04:20.557 --> 00:04:22.617 Because by working together now 00:04:22.665 --> 00:04:24.242 we make this process easier 00:04:24.242 --> 00:04:25.802 for generations to come 00:04:25.802 --> 00:04:26.836 just like generations 00:04:26.836 --> 00:04:28.236 that have passed before us 00:04:28.246 --> 00:04:29.216 like our mothers 00:04:29.222 --> 00:04:31.722 even inspiring women like Malala 00:04:31.731 --> 00:04:33.975 who fought for change just so that girls 00:04:33.975 --> 00:04:36.325 can have an education. 00:04:36.345 --> 00:04:39.579 These women fought together to make the 00:04:39.579 --> 00:04:41.479 struggle easier for us 00:04:41.479 --> 00:04:43.290 by fighting for our right to vote 00:04:43.310 --> 00:04:44.310 by taking most of the hits 00:04:44.310 --> 00:04:46.125 and punches in the workplace 00:04:46.135 --> 00:04:47.645 just so we can experience 00:04:47.654 --> 00:04:48.694 less discrimination. 00:04:49.679 --> 00:04:51.884 They have shown us that we need to instill 00:04:51.884 --> 00:04:54.854 leadership among young girls now 00:04:54.863 --> 00:04:56.404 because when we give them these 00:04:56.404 --> 00:04:57.840 amazing leadership skills 00:04:57.840 --> 00:05:00.210 and we teach them to work together 00:05:00.224 --> 00:05:01.786 and to be aware of gender issues 00:05:01.786 --> 00:05:02.746 both male and female 00:05:02.756 --> 00:05:05.446 and to instill self-worth 00:05:05.453 --> 00:05:07.710 we give them the ability to break through 00:05:07.710 --> 00:05:09.052 any Glass Ceiling 00:05:09.052 --> 00:05:10.512 any barrier they face 00:05:11.402 --> 00:05:13.283 and this will allow them 00:05:13.283 --> 00:05:14.813 and give them the ability 00:05:14.813 --> 00:05:16.403 to achieve their goals. 00:05:16.603 --> 00:05:18.073 So I'm going to leave you 00:05:18.093 --> 00:05:19.223 with one question 00:05:19.866 --> 00:05:22.066 What does hashtag goals mean to you? 00:05:22.085 --> 00:05:22.955 Thank you.