::VERONICA FUNK::
  • Journal
  • Portfolio
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Portraits >
      • Woman's Work
      • Extraordinary Women
      • The Grandmothers
      • Wunderland
      • Nasty Women
      • Heroes
      • Ahead of Their Time
    • 52 WEEKS >
      • Wildlife
      • Wildflowers
      • Storytellers
      • Gratitude
    • Fashion Plates
    • Sacred Vessel
    • Simple Pleasures
    • Altered Books
    • Free Art Resources
  • Galleries
  • eCourses
  • Login
    • Painting Animals
    • Painting Art Journals
    • Painting Backgrounds
    • Painting Bees
    • Painting Canoes
    • Painting CityScapes
    • Painting Flowers
    • Painting Hearts & Houses
    • Painting Landscapes
    • Painting Portraits
  • Contact

Extraordinary Women: Jyoti Gondek

11/1/2021

 
Picture
We have normalized now the idea of women and people of colour being in senior leadership positions.

​~ Jyoti Gondek

Jyoti Gondek's feet may be planted in Calgary, but a piece of her heart will always belong to Manitoba.

Gondek made history on Monday night, when she was elected as the first female mayor of the city.
But the road she followed to Calgary city council has taken her many places — including formative years in southern Manitoba.

Gondek's family immigrated to Canada from the United Kingdom in the 1970s, when she was just four years old. Her parents had moved to the U.K. from the Punjab region in India.

"It's funny — my parents, when we were living in England, felt that we had more opportunity in Canada, so they looked a map and said, 'You know, Winnipeg looks really central,' and it is," Gondek said in an interview with CBC Manitoba following her election victory this week.

"It was really cold, so when we moved there it was a bit of a shock to the system, but let me tell you, it was great times."

The Calgary city councillor turned mayor-elect says she had a typical upbringing in the Prairies, living in and attending schools in Winnipeg, Neepawa, Portage La Prairie and Brandon. Her first job after completing her university studies was as a policy analyst for women's shelters with the Manitoba government.

Gondek moved to Calgary from Manitoba in 1997, after her husband, Todd, accepted a job offer in the Alberta city. She and her husband still have family in Manitoba and have travelled back east to visit.
Loved ones in Manitoba cheered her from afar on election night, she says.

"I have cousins there [in Winnipeg]. They have been texting with my mom and phoning her and cheering me on from the sidelines," she said. "My husband's parents are there. It's just a lot of family that is still back in Manitoba.… It's an incredibly supportive bunch."

Winnipeg realtor Gurpreet Kaur says Gondek's election win in Calgary is a big step not only for women, but also for the Sikh and Punjab communities. Kaur says she's proud to see someone who represents her community become the leader of a major Canadian city. "It's gonna be a big, huge step for other women as well. They can also see themselves in her shoes one day, and it's giving them … another boost."

Jasmine Brar, who has political aspirations of her own — which included a run for the Progressive Conservatives in Burrows during the 2019 provincial election — says this is a proud moment for many immigrants who came to Canada for new opportunities.  

"I also truly feel like we are more than capable to take a seat at the leadership level," Brar said. "We are very proud of her.… A woman like Jyoti is an inspiration."

Gondek says her win, and the mayoral win in Edmonton for Amarjeet Sohi — a Sikh immigrant from India — have been a long time coming, and that Canada can build from the momentum of the historic victories.

"We have normalized now the idea of women and people of colour being in senior leadership positions," she said. "I am happy that the population sees itself reflected in its local government."

​~ Marjorie Dowhos, CBC News

Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Journal
  • Portfolio
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Portraits >
      • Woman's Work
      • Extraordinary Women
      • The Grandmothers
      • Wunderland
      • Nasty Women
      • Heroes
      • Ahead of Their Time
    • 52 WEEKS >
      • Wildlife
      • Wildflowers
      • Storytellers
      • Gratitude
    • Fashion Plates
    • Sacred Vessel
    • Simple Pleasures
    • Altered Books
    • Free Art Resources
  • Galleries
  • eCourses
  • Login
    • Painting Animals
    • Painting Art Journals
    • Painting Backgrounds
    • Painting Bees
    • Painting Canoes
    • Painting CityScapes
    • Painting Flowers
    • Painting Hearts & Houses
    • Painting Landscapes
    • Painting Portraits
  • Contact