Who We Are
Our goal is to to bring awareness and empower gender equality by balancing the economic, political, social and employment conditions for gender equality in Canada.
Empower
Gender
Equality
About Us
The Gender Equality Coalition of Ontario was founded in 2019 to work to create communities where all individuals have equal access to every opportunity, unbiased by gender. We are committed to diversity and inclusion, valuing individuals from all intersectionality’s including, genders, cultures, ages, races, orientations, locations, and abilities. Community representation is essential in the collaborative efforts towards gender justice. We believe that gender justice can only be achieved when all intersectional genders are included.

Our Mission is
Achieve Gender Justice
Our Vision is
A community where all genders equally share the burdens, responsibilities and rewards of our institutions and systems to have equal status in our society
Our Goals are
- Challenge gender related systemic barriers
- Confront sexist thinking, internalized oppression
- Practice critical self reflection
- Raise consciousness and expectations
- Identify and challenge exclusions and stereotypes
- End sexism, exploitation, and oppression in all its forms
We Value
- Equal access
- Collaboration and community engagement
- Intentional inclusion
- Active participation in positive social change


Linda Davis
Executive Director – Programming
(She/Her) feminist, equality advocate, change maker.
What Gender Justice means to me: I believe in a world where individuals have equal value regardless of their gender.

Dani Bartlett
Executive Director – Advocacy
(She/Her)
Activist, Advocate & Mom
Dani Bartlett is a tireless activist and has been fighting for the rights of others since 1994.
Dani was trained as a women’s advocate dealing with violence against women for her union. She found her voice fighting for workers rights. She was an elected Trustee, Women’s Committee Chair and Co-Chair for the Human Rights Committee.
She is Co Chair for London Coordinating Committee to End Women Abuse, a steering committee member on the Central Planning Table for the Local Employment planning council, a member of All Our Sisters steering committee and she sits on both London and District and St Thomas and District Labour Council.
Advocacy is an important part of Dani’s life, from lobbying to direct actions to creating equitable policy, she believes in fighting for Gender Equality.
Our Board of Directors

Dr. Amanda Zavitz
Leadership chair
(She/Her) Professor of Sociology, feminist, equality advocate, Marxist, change maker.
What Gender Justice means to me: What Gender Justice means to me: For me, gender justice means equality for all humanity.

M.Tracey Whiteye, BSW., MSW
Leadership Vice chair
(She/Her) Educator, Wholistic Indigenous Researcher, Wholistic Practitioner, activist and advocator. I am currently working at N’Amerind Friendship Centre as Ceremony and Transition Coordinator in Cultural based approaches to Violence Prevention.

Cindy Marks
Advocacy Chair Board Member
Engineer, Mother of 3 female engineers, advocate and mentor.
What Gender Justice means to me: representation, inclusiveness and strength.

Darius Cox
Board Youth Committee Chair
(He/Him)
What Gender Justice means to me: Confronting deep rooted inequities and inequalities within our societies to ensure everyone has access to the safety and prosperity they deserve.

Aiden Buchanan-St. Gelais
Finance Committee Chair
(He/Him/They/Them)
What Gender Justice means to me: It means a world where gender is only an expression and gender roles would be a thing from the past.

David Billson
(He/Him) Co-Founder rTraction & RHA, Husband, Father
What Gender Justice means to me: Gender Justice to me means equity. A fair and just society should value contributions from its members equally without prejudice to gender.

Alexander Pershai, Ph.D.
(They/He) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, educator, social activist, and agent of change.

Joseph Pazzano
(They/He), Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Fanshawe College), Sessional Faculty, Human Rights, (St. Paul’s University College)
What Gender Justice means to me: Gender justice is the pursuit of removing gender barriers and supporting people and communities most harmed by gender barriers. It means embedding an intersectional anti-oppression lens to every facet of our lives to break down power imbalances, inequitable access, and obstacles to full and empowered participation.

Joni Nelson
Membership Committee Chair
(She/Her) Professor, Instructional Designer, Scholar-practitioner, Equity Advocate
What Gender Justice means to me: The ability for ALL humans to enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities, protections, and sense of belonging.

Shannon Maheu
Programming Committee Chair
(She/Her) Professor of Psychology, Fanshawe College
What Gender Justice means to me: Ending the inequality that is perpetuated between men and women within the family, among the community and in the workplace. This includes ending the additional barriers in society for LGBTQ2S+, and those who identify as non-binary.

Rachel Morrison
Board Secretary
(She/Her) Humanitarian nonprofit manager, domestic abuse support practitioner, socialist, equity advocate
What Gender Justice means to me: A world where real conversations about mental health and human connection are accessible to us all, and where we are judged on our kindness and honesty over our adherence to the concepts of masculinity or femininity.

Mojdeh Cox
Advocacy Co-Chair
Mojdeh Cox is an award-winning and nationally recognized voice in the work of anti-oppression, anti-racism, human rights, justice, equity and belonging. She aims to evolve as a transformational leader rooted in human-centred approaches to organizational leadership and people management.
Communications
Jaclyn Swinkels
Lakeside Web – Webmaster & Editor
Jaclyn is the current webmaster for the Gender Equality Coalition of Ontario. She has been creating and maintaining websites for over a decade. In early 2019 she started her own web development company, Lakeside Web. This allows her to have a closer affiliation with her clients and their projects. She loves working in this industry as she has many opportunities to work with a variety of interesting organizations like the Gender Equality Coalition of Ontario.