TORONTO — Sophie Gregoire Trudeau will open the trading day at the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday to mark International Day of the Girl.
She is collaborating with three charitable organizations — G(irls)20, Plan International Canada and FitSpirit — to illustrate how important it is for girls to have equal opportunities to boys.
Farah Mohamed, the CEO of G(irls)20, said it's important for people to realize that investing time and resources into girls pays off.
Mohamed said G(irls)20 "literally invests in girls and women around the world," by training, mentoring and advocating for them.
She said the organization also helps girls launch their own social profit initiatives.
The organization frames women's and girl's equality differently from other organizations, using financial language. Mohamed says girls are themselves resource in which businesses and governments should invest, noting that they have a high return on investment.
Mohamed says when women earn a salary, they tend to put most of the money they make back into the community, which in turn raises the GDP.
She adds that using this type of language breaks through to people who are more business-minded. "We started out advocating to G20 leaders," she said, "and they're all about the GDP."
Mohamed says it's natural to involve Gregoire Trudeau — who she describes as a "champion for girls and young women" — in the effort.
Gregoire Trudeau has previously worked with Plan Canada as an ambassador for the organization's Because I Am A Girl initiative, and has spoken fairly regularly about issues of gender equality since her husband became Prime Minister.
After opening the TSX, Gregoire Trudeau will lead a discussion with Canadian girls, "showing that girls and women belong in the seats of classrooms, boardrooms, trading floors, Senate, courtrooms, press rooms and corner offices," says a Plan International Canada news release.
