Ghamari celebrates International Women’s Day at Danby’s

Carleton MPP Goldie Ghamari hosted a breakfast to celebrate International Women’s Day in the Carleton riding Sunday.

The breakfast was held at Danby’s in Richmond.

“There are so many amazing women in the riding,” said Ghamari. “One of the reasons we decided to host it at Danby’s is because Deborah, the owner, is a woman. It’s just a nice way to support women in the community.”

More than 100 people attended the event, coming from communities and areas across the riding from Stittsville to Metcalfe.

Ghamari said the breakfast was a great way to celebrate International Women’s Day. Being a woman in politics, she has had to overcome obstacles along her career path. 

“If you look for barriers, you will find them,” Ghamari said. “Before I was a politician, I was a lawyer specializing in international trade law. Not many women are trade lawyers. For me, it was more about focusing on my experience, my knowledge and my expertise. Even in politics I did the same thing. These are my skills, these are my qualifications, this is what I bring to the table.”

Ghamari said that being a woman did come up when she campaigned in the last provincial election.

“There were a couple of times when I was door knocking at the home of a Liberal or NDP supporter, and without knowing anything about me they would say they were never going to vote for me, but it was so great to see a woman of colour running,” Ghamari said. “I would just ask them why it mattered if I was a woman or a woman of colour. That’s totally irrelevant. I am running on my skills and qualifications.”

“The barriers are there, but you have to ask yourself if you are going to focus on them, or ignore them,” she said. “They shouldn’t stop you.”

Ghamari said it’s important for women to set an example for younger women and girls.

“We are all role models for the next generation of women,” Ghamari said. “When I was thinking about politics, Margaret Thatcher was a role model for me. I thought she was phenomenal. I bought the biography about her, and she was one of my biggest role models. When I was a lawyer, seeing women as supreme court judges or judges at the court of appeals level was very inspiring.”