Youth champion gender equality at International Women's Day march in Guelph
Amid the drumming and chants from a megaphone, a group of young Guelph residents quietly stood in a crowd in Market Square making an even louder statement about International Women's Day with their signs.
Grade six student Emily Gyuran held up one reading "No more gender stereotypes."
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Break the Bias.” It’s something Gyuran and her friends believe is possible.
"It's really great to have people who are young believing that when they grow up," said Gyuran.
At the march in Guelph, the group celebrated advances in gender equality. But advocates recognize more needs to be done to include all genders.
"Women still aren't earning equal pay, still don't have access to the same rights as men do," said Jensen Williams, a public educator at Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. "It's also trans, non-binary, and two-spirit folks who are impacted negatively."
Over in Waterloo Region, women business leaders agree companies must to better.
"Women are still very under-represented on boards, in business, in executive positions," Louis Norris, CFO and COO of SSIMWAVE Inc., told CTV News. "They're the ones that can really drive success, and create a work environment that people want to be part of."
Meanwhile, Karen Redman, the chair of Waterloo Region, hopes the next regional council has more diversity and women.
However, today she is celebrating key roles they've played to help the community combat COVID-19.
"What the pandemic exposed is how many incredibly competent female leaders we have," said Redman.
Back in Guelph, Gyuran and the group she is with are thankful for the role models who organized the march.
"It makes me feel really happy that a lot of other people feel this way and have the bravery to come and talk to our whole community about this," Gyuran said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Memphis authorities release video in Tyre Nichols' death
Memphis authorities released more than an hour of footage Friday of the violent beating of Tyre Nichols in which officers held the Black motorist down and struck him repeatedly as he screamed for his mother.

WHO decision on COVID-19 emergency won't affect Canada's response: Tam
The World Health Organization will announce Monday whether it thinks COVID-19 still represents a global health emergency but Canada's top doctor says regardless of what the international body decides, Canada's response to the coronavirus will not change.
Lifelong Toronto Maple Leafs fan fulfils dream of seeing first game, passes away next day
Mike Davy always dreamed of going to a Toronto Maple Leafs game, and once it finally happened, he passed away the night after.
Canadian university faculty getting older, more female compared to 50 years ago: StatCan
Canadian university professors are mostly older and increasingly more female compared to 50 years ago, a new report from Statistics Canada has found.
Video shows struggle for hammer during Pelosi attack
Video released publicly Friday shows the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi struggling with his assailant for control of a hammer moments before he was struck in the head during a brutal attack in the couple's San Francisco home last year.
Remembering the horrors of the Holocaust 78 years after liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
In an emotional and powerful speech at an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Ottawa, a survivor stressed the importance of remembering the millions of victims murdered by the Nazis during the Second World War and underscored the need to stand up against anti-semitism and hate.
Canadian study suggests we may be underestimating children’s memory capabilities
New research from York University suggests that we may be underestimating what kids are capable of when it comes to their memories.
Running Room Canada website hit with data breach; some passwords, credit card info accessed
An outside group may have accessed the online personal information of some Running Room customers in Canada over the last several months, the retailer says.
Pamela Anderson defends Tim Allen after flashing allegation
Pamela Anderson is addressing discussion about a story regarding her 'Home Improvement' co-star Tim Allen that is part of her new memoir, 'Love Pamela.'