OTF President participates in the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women

TORONTO, March 10, 2015 /CNW/ - "The main focus of the session is a discussion of the progress toward achieving the goals set out by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPA)," stated Rian McLaughlin, OTF President. "The BDPA was adopted in 1995 and although there has been progress, the goals are far from met. The key to this session and other parallel activities is to establish the next steps and to lobby for the processes and indicators that will achieve the BDPA."

The BDPA covers a wide range of topics which are necessary to achieving full equality of women and girls, including access to free, high-quality education, health care and reproductive rights, economic empowerment, political power, and environment and climate sustainability. 

McLaughlin joins representatives from UN member states, UN entities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world.

"I am honoured to represent Ontario's public education teachers in the discussions to move us toward gender equality and greater empowerment of women," concluded McLaughlin.

The Ontario Teachers' Federation is the advocate for the teaching profession in Ontario and for its 160,000 teachers.  OTF members are full-time, part-time and occasional teachers in all the publicly funded  schools in the province—elementary, secondary, public, Catholic and francophone.

SOURCE Ontario Teachers' Federation

Rian McLaughlin, OTF President, 416.873.3874, www.otffeo.on.ca