Natalie Mehra’s Powerful Message on Women’s Rights, Economic Justice, and the Fight Ahead

At the Cornwall & District Labour Council’s International Women’s Day 2025 dinner, Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, delivered a speech that wasn’t just insightful—it was a call to action. A room full of women listened intently as she laid out, in no uncertain terms, just how deeply women’s rights are under attack—not just in the U.S., but right here in Canada.

Mehra didn’t hold back. She described what’s happening south of the border: 28 states restricting abortion access, 14 banning it entirely, and 22 million women now living in places where reproductive healthcare is out of reach. But she made it clear that this isn’t just about abortion rights. This is about a broader rollback of hard-won progress—from pay equity to workplace protections to economic security for women. It’s all connected, and it’s all being systematically dismantled.

Women Still Aren’t Equal—And It’s By Design

If you thought we’d come a long way in Canada, Mehra laid out the numbers that tell a different story. Women still earn less than men, with racialized and Indigenous women experiencing even larger pay gaps. 65% of management jobs still go to men, and even when women do climb the corporate ladder, female executives still earn 56% less than their male counterparts. The situation is even worse for low-income women—60% of minimum-wage workers are female, and 21% of women-led households are food insecure, compared to 16% of male-led homes.

But why? It’s not because the money isn’t there. Mehra pointed out that we are living in one of the wealthiest times in history. The problem isn’t a lack of resources—it’s that the wealth is being hoarded by the few at the expense of the many.

She traced much of this inequality back to neoliberalism—a term that gets thrown around a lot but essentially boils down to: privatization, deregulation, and putting corporate profits above people’s basic needs. Governments have gutted public services, allowed wages to stagnate, and handed over control of essential resources to private companies. It’s no accident that the economic gains of the last 40 years have overwhelmingly gone to the top 20% while the middle and working classes have either stagnated or fallen further behind.

Empathy, Strength, and the Call to Fight Back

Despite the heavy subject matter, Mehra didn’t just drop a reality check and leave us in despair. She was deeply empathetic, passionate, and unwavering in her belief in women’s strength. She sees us, she understands the struggles we face, and she knows we have the power to change things.

She reminded us that women have always led the way in fighting for justice. We’ve done it before, and we will do it again. She pointed to a new generation of women who are growing up with a stronger sense of feminism, equality, and justice than ever before. These young women aren’t buying into the lie that “this is just how things are.” They are ready to fight for something better.

And they’ll need to. Because we’re entering a new era of political and economic power struggles, where women’s rights, democracy, and even basic human decency are being tested. Mehra stressed that we cannot afford to be silent, compliant, or afraid. Change doesn’t come from hoping things get better—it comes from demanding better.

Canada Needs to Stand for More Than Corporate Profits

Mehra also touched on Canadian sovereignty. To her, true sovereignty isn’t just about keeping out foreign influence—it’s about standing up for people over corporate power. It’s about ensuring that our country’s wealth benefits all of us, not just the ultra-rich. It’s about building a country that values public health care, fairness, diversity, and economic justice.

And that starts with us.

Her final words stuck with me:

“Tyranny requires your fear, your compliance, and your silence. Democracy requires your courage.”

This is not the time to sit back and hope things get better. It’s time for women to rise up once again, stand together, and refuse to let our rights be stripped away. The fight for equality isn’t over—but with voices like Natalie Mehra’s leading the charge, we know that it’s a fight we can win.