Nancy Ruth

A Celebration of Women™

is elated to Celebrate the Life of a Canadian pioneer of Women for Women … rising up for all women, has spoken exhaustively about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and on a myriad of issues concerning women’s rights, poverty, politics and economics.

WOMAN of ACTION™

Nancy Ruth

Nancy Ruth, CM (born January 6, 1942) is a Canadian Senator from Ontario. She was appointed to the Senate by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Prime Minister Paul Martin, on March 24, 2005. While initially appointed as a Progressive Conservative, on March 28, 2006 she joined the Conservative caucus. She is Canada’s first openly lesbian senator.

She was born Nancy Ruth (Rowell) Jackman, and is the sister of former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Hal Jackman, the daughter of former Member of Parliament Harry Jackman and the granddaughter of former MP and Ontario Liberal Party leader Newton Rowell.

She changed her name in the mid-1990s; she does not use “Ruth” as a last name, instead using both her names as given names with no last name, and therefore prefers to be known as “Senator Nancy Ruth” instead of “Senator Ruth.” She is alphabetized under “N,” not “R“, on the Senate website.

Nancy Ruth was born in Toronto, Ontario, and is an alumna of Branksome Hall. Before being appointed to the Senate, Nancy Ruth was a social activist and philanthropist. She founded several women’s organizations in Canada, including the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, the Canadian Women’s Foundation and a women’s studies chair at Mount Saint Vincent University. She has also been a noted benefactor of hospitals and art galleries throughout Canada, and was named a member of the Order of Canada in 1994.

A native of Toronto, Ms. Nancy Ruth holds a Master of Arts degree in the Applied Behavioural Sciences from Whitworth College, was granted a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from York University in 1969 and has obtained a number of diplomas in Theology.

Ms. Nancy Ruth has won a series of prestigious awards, both on the national and international scene, obtaining the South African Women for Women Friendship Award in 2004; the Government of Ontario’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Human Rights in 1998; and Membership in the Order of Canada in 1994. She has also received several honorary doctorate degrees from esteemed institutions across Canada.

Throughout her working life, she has played an active role in various religious, professional, political, educational and non-profit organizations in Canada, Britain and the United States.

She has also been instrumental in co-founding organizations that work for women’s social change in Canada like LEAF (The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund), the Canadian Women’s Foundation, www.coolwomen.ca, Toronto’s The Linden School, The Women’s Future Fund and the Charter of Rights Coalition.

She has long battled for women’s constitutional rights and thus opposed the Charlottetown Accord in 1992.

She is also a vocal opponent of pornography.

Her support for tougher child pornography laws made her a controversial figure amongst other gay rights activists, who saw the legislation as dangerously ambiguous in its definitions and broad in scope.

Girls as young as 11 ‘expect’ to have to perform sex acts on rows of boys for up to two hours at a time in parts of London, a shocking report has warned.

Child abuse is rife across Britain with many of the depraved sex attacks being carried out by youngsters who have had their minds warped by online porn, a government expert said yesterday.

Deputy Children’s Commissioner Sue Berelowitz said there ‘isn’t a town, village or hamlet in which children are not being sexually exploited’.

And she said easy access to ‘extreme’ internet porn was to blame as it ‘affected children’s thresholds of what they think is normal’.

Rewording Canadian national anthem

In 2010, Nancy Ruth took credit for the Throne Speech’s including a proposal to study changing the line of “O Canada” from “all thy sons command” to “thou dost in us command“, the original wording. Intense public backlash caused the Prime Minister’s Office to announce the issue had been dropped from consideration.

Comments to women’s equality rights groups

Nancy Ruth sparked controversy on May 3, 2010, with comments she made during a meeting with women’s equality rights groups on Parliament Hill. The groups were among many who had leveled criticisms at the Conservative government for maintaining their refusal to include funding for abortions in their maternal health plan for the G8, even after finally agreeing to include family planning measures such as contraception. Nancy Ruth fired back at the groups, telling them, “We’ve got five weeks or whatever left until the G8 starts. Shut the fuck up on this issue,” she said. “If you push it, there’ll be more backlash. This is now a political football. This is not about women’s health in this country”. Nancy Ruth also said, “Canada is still a country with free and accessible abortion. Leave it there. Don’t make this an election issue.”

The next day the Conservative government cut funding to 11 women’s groups, some of which support abortion as part of the G8 maternal health initiative

In 1986, there was no umbrella organization in Canada designed for people who were interested in advancing Women’s Equality.

But in March of that year, two grade school chums – Nancy Ruth Jackman and Susan Woods – would have a conversation that not only changed that fact, but also start a chain of events that, decades later, has improved the lives of thousands of women and girls across Canada.

Several years earlier, Nancy Ruth and Rosemary Brown, a feminist politician from British Columbia, had discussed the lack of a mechanism for women to target their charitable giving towards helping other women and changing the systems that created inequality. They agreed that such an instrument had to be created. They knew social change could be advanced by giving grants to grassroots community organizations that were in the position to grab opportunities and move upward and onward.

Nancy Ruth knew from a survey conducted by LEAF (Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund) that only 2% of charitable donations from corporations and foundations were going to services for women and girls. This fact prompted her to become a ‘feminist’ philanthropist.

So on that sunny March day, as Nancy Ruth and Susan dragged some dusty lawn chairs from the garage and sat in the driveway eating lunch and chatting about the possibilities, it was no surprise their conversation soon focused on women, power, equality and money.

They wondered:

1] What would it take to bring about substantive equality for women and girls in Canada?
2] What would it take to stop family violence and violence against women?
3] What would it take to move women out of poverty?
4] What would it take for women and girls to fully embrace their power?

Nancy Ruth and Susan were feminists who understood systemic change.

Together, they were a potent combination of management skills and money. By the time the meal was over, Susan had accepted a contract with The NaRuth Foundation to create an instrument especially designed to advance women’s philanthropy.

A few weeks later, after brainstorming with colleagues, Nancy Ruth and Susan issued an infamous invitation: “Come to a meeting to talk about stamping out sexism in Canada, forever.”

Intrigued, women from the LEAF and YWCA networks came to a boardroom at the Tory law firm. The group began to meet regularly, and gradually developed a concept for a new charitable foundation in Canada focused on women and girls. They organized discussions with women across the country, inviting them to help shape the goals, values and grants of the proposed foundation.

After a lot of brainstorming and hard work, the Canadian Women’s Foundation was created. The Founding Mothers chose that name because it sounded old and established, even though the organization was brand new!

In 1991, the Canadian Women’s Foundation was officially launched. The NaRuth Foundation donated $50,000 to help get the fledgling organization off the ground and conduct fundraising. That first year, the Foundation awarded $40,000 in grants to women’s organizations.

Julie White, who had participated in that first meeting and who was in charge of Levi Strauss’ corporate giving in Canada, became the Foundation’s first Board president and was instrumental in advancing its agenda.

A few years later, the Foundation received an additional $500,000 from Nancy Ruth.

This generous gift was designed to match all donations made during the first five years of operation.

Nancy’s mother, Mary, also gave $500,000.

Since 1991, the Canadian Women’s Foundation has invested over $40 million in charitable support to over 1,200 community programs and to every woman’s shelter across Canada.

Top 20 Reasons to Take Action

In 2011, a celebration of our 20^th Anniversary, listed the Top 20 reasons why you should Take Action now to stop the violence, end poverty, and empower girls.

You know helping women move out of violence and poverty creates a ripple effect. The benefits flow to their children, their neighborhood, our economy—to everyone.

You are appalled that every six days in Canada, on average, a woman is murdered by her husband or boyfriend.

You believe tapping into women’s strengths—listening, collaboration, and emotional intelligence—creates better solutions to economic and social problems.

You want to help poor children. The best way is to help their mother move out of poverty. In Canada, more than one million women are struggling to raise children on their own—these families are among the poorest in the country.

You are passionate about social change, too.

You love it that, every year, over 30,000 women and girls directly benefit from our programs.

You trust your money will be wisely invested. All of our funding decisions are made by trained volunteers who scrutinize grant proposals, visit organizations that apply for funding, ask a lot of questions, then choose the best ones.

You want to help women and girls who are most at risk, and who live in urban and rural communities with the fewest community resources.

You agree with Rosemary Brown*, who famously said: “Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it.”

You are proud one of the top ten women’s foundations in the world is right here in Canada.

You feel confident because our work is guided by a wide range of experts. We consult with everyone from grassroots leaders to business people, from university professors to women and girls themselves.

You know a girl who hates her body.

You prefer solutions that are based on facts rather than anger or fear. Our strategies are based on best practices, the latest research, and advice from community experts.

You want proof your money makes a difference. We evaluate all of our programs and publish the results.

You’re impressed that we don’t depend on government funding. Almost all of our support comes from people and businesses that believe in our mission. Plus, we leverage every dollar through corporate partnerships.

You love the idea of women joining together to help other women.

You agree with our approach to give women and girls a “hand-up,” not a “hand-out.”

You don’t consider women and girls to be a “special interest” group—they are over half of Canada’s population. When you improve their economic and social equality, we all benefit.

You think positive, so you’re glad we take an “asset-based” approach. We invest in programs that help women learn to appreciate and build on their strengths, rather than fixate on their limitations.

You want to make a long-term difference. We’re working to change the systems that cause the problems in the first place.

New PSA campaign from the Canadian Women’s Foundation shines a light on the issues facing women and girls in Canada

Our new PSA campaign is bringing attention to the issues facing women and girls in Canada. The campaign, entitled “It’s A Girl”, launched July 2012 in print, outdoor, TV and digital. It takes the happy moments of having a baby girl and juxtaposes it against the sobering reality of abuse and poverty facing Women and Girls in Canada.

Created by DDB Canada’s Toronto Office, the campaign features images or scenes typically associated with the impending arrival of a newborn baby girl: balloons, a baby shower and a congratulations card and then the shocking statement …

– “She has a 50% chance of being sexually or physically abused in her lifetime.”

The “It’s A Girl” broadcast creative for the Canadian Women’s Foundation was created pro bono by DDB Canada and Suneeva in collaboration and with generous support from the following production and media partners: 567vfx, Alter Ego, Fade to Black Casting, Relish and RMW.

The campaign is supported by partner Rogers Media, who has generously donated significant space on Citytv, in print publications Chatelaine, LOULOU, and Today’s Parent, and online at its female-oriented digital sites. The ads will also run in outdoor with donated media in NewAd, Pattison, OneStop, Clear Channel, Lamar and StreetScene media. A special greeting card insert is also featured in select issues of the August edition of Chatelaine.

IN HER OWN WORDS: “My name is Nancy Ruth, and I am one of Ontario’s 24 Senators. I am honored and privileged to take on the responsibility as a senator for Ontario, women, girls, and Canada. I was born in Toronto, and hold a B.A. in Political Science, and an M.A. in Applied Behavioral Sciences, as well as a diploma in Theology.

Throughout my life, I have been active in various religious, professional, political, educational and non-profit organizations in Canada, Britain and the United States of America. I am also an advocate of social change for Women and Girls in Canada.

I have co-founded many organizations to this end (including the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, the Canadian Women’s Foundation, Toronto’s The Linden School, section15.ca, the Women’s Future Fund and the Charter of Rights Coalition).

My passion lies within a myriad of issues concerning Women’s Rights, poverty, politics and economics.”

These passions include…

The powerful vision of equality for the powerless, excluded and disadvantaged that is in our Charter of Rights & Freedoms;

A commitment to non-violence & fair trade; and,

A desire to protect the environment.

Senator Nancy Ruth

Apart from being an appointed Senator, I take on a lot of other fun, interesting positions.

Did you know that…

I’m a United Church Minister by training!

I’m an activist! I’m an outspoken critic of poverty.

I’m a defender of peace, women’s and girl’s rights, water and the environment!

I’m an advocate of Canada’s constitutional equality rights in public policy and institutions!

I’m a supporter of organizations devoted to civil, legal, economic, political and cultural rights for women and girls in all their diversity, and…

I am a woman who loves to dance, go to the theatre, kayak, and clown around!

SPEAKS – 2012 – READ MORE

As a businesswoman, I have been involved with residential land development and environmental products and WTN TV.

As a politician, I ran in Ontario for the Progressive Conservatives in 1990 and 1993. In 1988 I ran for a federal nomination and lost, but I was appointed to The Senate in 2005.

In 1993, I was an international observer from Canada during the United Nations-supervised elections in Cambodia.

I have lived and worked in England, Indonesia, The Netherlands, USA, British Columbia and in Toronto since 1978.

Since my appointment:

My office has worked with the Ad Hoc Committee of Canadian Women on the constitution in Ottawa, February 14 and 15, 2006.

I am currently a member of the Senate National Finance Committee. I am a member of the Parliamentary Friends of Burma, and other parliamentary groups. I am vice-chair of the Canada-UK Inter-Parliamentary Association.

I am working on changing the national anthem from “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command”.

I raise issues like gender-based analysis and women, peace, and security everywhere I go.

I spoke at the Canadian Voice of Women, on ways in which the Senate can be used in their work promoting peace.

I spoke at Bishop Strachan Girls’ School about rape by acquaintances.

I spoke at the Business Women Entrepreneurs Network about the life of a senator.

I spoke in Picton, Ontario, about activism and violence.

I spoke, in the context of Women’s Studies and Law at the University of Carleton, about legal reform in defense of social interests.

I spoke to the sympathists of West Coast Leaf in Victoria and Nanaimo, in the context of the Person’s Case, about women and law. (Speech available in PDF format).

I spoke in Bloomfield, Ontario, about the Person’s Case and the Senate.

I gave graduation speeches at The Linden School and at Fern Hill School.

Taking Action in Canada

A Ban Righ Centre initiative has led the City of Kingston to proclaim October as “National Women’s History Month.”

“We drafted the proclamation and asked city council to endorse it in order to highlight the contributions women make and how that work is sometimes unrecognized or unacknowledged,” says Carole Morrison, Director, Ban Righ Centre. “The proclamation also talks about the knowledge and skills women share with their families and communities.”

Senator Nancy Ruth – Kingston Mayor Mark Gerretsen will visit campus and read the proclamation on Persons Day (October 18), the anniversary of the 1929 court decision that recognized women as persons under the law.

Canadian Senator Nancy Ruth and retired Senator Lois Wilson will then speak on the topic of “What Stories Shall We Tell our Grandkids?”

“Storytelling is a huge part of the history and legacy of this place,” says Lisa Webb, a student advisor at the Ban Righ Centre. “There are remarkable stories about the people who created the centre, those who have been supported at the centre, and the relationships that have developed as a result.”

For Ms Morrison, National Women’s History Month represents a collective celebration, which will be on display October 20 when five male choirs hold a fundraising performance for the Ban Righ Centre.

“The concert is a wonderful way of saying that this month is not just about women seeking recognition, but it is about valuing the roles women play and have played in society, and wanting to celebrate them together,” she says. “It is fantastic that these men want to demonstrate support for women’s education.”

A Red Tory, Nancy Ruth campaigned for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario on two occasions in the early 1990s, when she was known as Nancy Jackman. The first was in the 1990 provincial election, when she lost to New Democratic Party candidate Zanana Akande by fewer than 1,000 votes in the riding of St. Andrew—St. Patrick. On April 1, 1993, she lost to Liberal Tim Murphy by over 2,000 votes in a by-election held in St. George—St. David.

Nancy Ruth crossed party lines to endorse Kathleen Wynne in her bid to win the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in 2013; Ruth donated $10,000 to the Liberal MPP’s campaign.

Nancy Ruth (Jackman) – The Philanthropist

One of Nancy’s early donations was a gift of $5,000 to the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, which brought her to the attention of leading feminist activists. She became a fervent activist and helped change the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 15, covering equality rights.

That these rights required testing in law, Nancy and her mother contributed $1 million to establish LEAF, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, for lawyers to challenge cases of discrimination against women in the courts. She also donated $600,000 to establish the Canadian Women’s Foundation, an organization that works on systemic change to bring about equality to women and girls, a prime focus of Nancy’s philanthropy. She has donated more than $5 million to this cause.

This book, Women Who Give Away Millions, Portraits of Canadian Philanthropists honors 14 Canadian Women who have collectively donated close to one billion dollars to the country’s social, scientific and cultural institutions. The amounts of their individual donations range from $1 million to $500 million, funding that enhances the lives of people they will never know by supporting a wide-ranging causes – a breast cancer clinic, university scholarships, museums, family violence research and an international piano competition, among them.

Help Build Nerve Centre – WOMEN of ACTION™ against #humantrafficking girls! #DONATE TEN DOLLARS http://bit.ly/130qP4Q #CelebrationHouse

A Celebration of Women™

welcomes this pioneering feminist powerhouse into our Alumni with open arms, looking forward to celebrating her further creations of positive change for all Women and Girls, united.

Brava Nancy!