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New group focuses on support, empowerment of women

Iris Collective stepping up to fill a need for 52 per cent of the local population by fostering connections and generating collaboration

Women of all ages, beliefs, and backgrounds filled The Local on Saturday to celebrate the launch of the Iris Collective, a new grassroots group focused on connecting women in the Stratford community.

“Probably two years ago, myself and Jo-Dee Burbach heard rumblings in the community from women in the community who were feeling isolated especially after the pandemic,” said co-founder Dr. Cranla Warren. “I remember reading that 52 percent of the population in Stratford and the surrounding area are women, and I’m like where are they all? So we wanted to figure out how do we bring women together in a way that is very empowering, educational, and that really fosters connection and collaboration so we started the Iris Collective.”

Organizers planned and budgeted for 100 people to attend, and they were quite happy with the turnout from the community. 

“We had no idea how many people would show up,” said Warren. “I am really happy to see that some young girls are here participating because whatever we do here as a collective is really building for their future.” 

The event on Saturday encouraged women to connect with those they didn’t know by taking on a series of icebreaker activities like flipping over an iris and answering the question underneath to get to know someone better. The group of attendees came to the event to gather and grow, and organizers believe the different backgrounds that attended was very important to the event. 

“We brought people together with different perspectives and viewpoints, and we led them through activities that got them talking, learning and connecting with each other,” said Warren. 

Organizers opened the floor to participants to allow the conversations to naturally happen, and it allowed the women in attendance to tell them what the group can do to best serve the women in the area. While lots of strides have been made in accepting women into high paying jobs, sports, and even politics, it's not lost on organizers that more work needs to be done. 

“If you look at something like the gender pay gap. Women still only make 80 cents approximately to every dollar that a man makes and that's a concern,” said Warren. “There is a real glaring inequity there, 50 per cent of the global population are women but only 25 per cent of senior leadership seats are held by women, so we still have a ways to go, and women have a lot to offer. So the Iris Collective is looking at how we support women to build their self-confidence and the strength and the self-belief to step forward and believe in themselves, and maybe try something new, like running for council.”

You can find Iris Collective on social media for more information.



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