US embassy cable - 04MONTREAL410

UNCLAS MONTREAL 000410 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/IWI, IO/SHA and DRL/PHD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KWMN, SOCI, PREL, CSW, Women, ICAO 
SUBJECT:   International Women's Day - Event at ICAO in 
Montreal 
 
REF: State 047117 
 
1.   Summary:  On Monday, March 8, Consul General (CG) 
Bernadette Allen joined Lieutenant Governor Lise Thibault 
and Transport Canada Assistant Deputy Minister for Policy 
Kristine Burr in addressing the International Civil Aviation 
Organization (ICAO) ambassadors, delegates and staff and 
other invited guests at the celebration of International 
Women's Day.    Lt. Gov. Thibault is the highest ranking 
woman dignitary in Quebec and the first woman ever to hold 
her office.  Both CG Allen and Thibault highlighted steps 
needed to further improve the advancement of women.  ICAO 
Secretary General Cherif and ICAO Council President Kotaite 
 
SIPDIS 
also gave brief remarks.  Vice Consul Heidi Arola, post's 
Federal Women's Program Coordinator, accompanied the CG and 
served as notetaker for the event.  End summary. 
 
2. CG Allen's Comments:  Speaking to an audience of a few 
hundred ICAO delegates and staff members, CG Allen's remarks 
drew on her experiences as an African-American woman and 
daughter of a single mother as well as the inspiration she 
has received from various women role models. And, given the 
ICAO audience, Allen made special mention of the 
achievements of women aviators and astronauts, including 
Amelia Earhart, Canadian pilot Deanna Brasseur, Russian 
cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, Canadian astronaut Julie 
Payette, and Americans Mae Jamison, and Kalpana Chawla. 
She specifically highlighted the accomplishments of Bessie 
Coleman, the first licensed Black woman pilot who moved to 
France and  earned her pilot's license in 1921.   Allen 
emphasized that access to education is the key to opening 
political and economic doors for women and noted that 
education reduces the risks that women and girls face, such 
as sexual exploitation, HIV-AIDS, infant mortality, and 
poverty. 
 
3. Though the program moderator, ICAO Recruitment Officer 
Diana Wall, stated in introductory remarks that  56 percent 
of  ICAO staff members are women, Secretary General Cherif 
ruefully pointed out that most of the positions held by 
women are administrative/clerical and that women hold only 
one-fourth of the "professional" positions in ICAO.  Lt. 
Gov. Thibault spoke of the struggles that women face today, 
trying to balance their home lives and professional lives. 
She noted that while it used to be only men who had heart 
attacks in their 50s, more and more women are meeting the 
same fate.  She emphasized that women need to start changing 
their speech patterns; instead of saying "my children, my 
laundry, my house." they need to say "our children, our 
laundry, our house."  According to Thibault, women "cannot 
do and be everything,"  they need assistance in order to 
maintain their dignity, values, and souls. 
 
4.  The ICAO Staff Association presented carnations to all 
women who attended the event and sponsored a champagne 
reception afterwards.  Many well-wishers complimented the 
CG's remarks and expressed appreciation for U.S. 
participation. 
ALLEN