Organizers turning Women’s March from dwindling once-a-year event to relentless movement

The march, which partially began as a response to the “shocking” inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, has now spiralled into a yearly movement with local chapters in cities across the world committed to bringing women’s issues to the forefront.

But now in its third year, attendance is dwindling. Organizers are trying to redefine the movement’s identity and be more thoughtful about supporting communities of colour and LGBTQ rights. Their hope is that by doing so, they’ll turn the march from a one-day-a-year event into an active movement that tackles problems plaguing women and marginalized groups on a local level.

Kirman picked this year’s slogan for the march in Alberta’s capital with momentum in mind: “We can’t stop, we won’t stop, we will not go back.”

Edmonton’s inaugural Women’s March in 2017 saw 4,000 attendees, according to Kirman. That number dwindled to 1,000 in 2018, and Kirman anticipates fewer attendees this time around.

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In Calgary, attendance is much higher — 10,000 in the march’s first year and 7,500 in its second — but the city is not immune to the decline.

“That first visible show of attendance that we saw was reactive,” said Maki Motapanyane, a Women’s and Gender Studies professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

But despite dwindling numbers, Motapanyane said the Women’s March continues to have higher participation rates compared to other rallies, and the passion is still burning.

“The work has continued,” she said. “But it’s just not as visible.”

The evolution of the Women’s March as a movement is also considered a reason for lower attendance, at least in Calgary, according to Adora Nwofor, a founding organizer of the city’s Women’s March. What initially was a blanket outcry at the inequality women face in different spheres has shifted to include issues that face transgender women and women of colour, forcing tough conversations about the nature of feminism and who it represents.

Ultimately, Nwofor said, “the people who feel like, ‘I need my voice to be heard,’ will show up.”

An evolution of thought and purpose is not unique to the Women’s March movement, Motapanyane said, and is a common thread between feminist movements throughout history.

“You very often have the development of these broad agenda items, and then you’ll see a lot of internal critiques of those (items),” she said, adding it is both healthy and predictable.

In part through these internal critiques, the movement has been effective in sparking conversations about women’s issues and ways in which they can be tackled more publicly than before.

“People are asking questions about their local communities, how else can we better the conditions of life for these people,” Motapanyane said.

Both Kirman and Nwofor have dedicated the Women’s March in their cities to addressing issues that affect local women and marginalized communities. This includes building awareness on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, a national crisis that has a long history in Alberta, as well as tackling issues of female representation in politics and their treatment in the public sphere.

For Nwofor, the representation of women of colour in Calgary politics is particularly concerning. According to the 2016 census, visible minorities make up 33 per cent of Calgary’s population, yet those numbers are not reflected in city council or Calgary representatives in the provincial and federal government, Nwofor said.

“That’s a problem,” she said. “How do we ever have our needs met? Who speaks for us?”

In Edmonton, this year’s march is also placing particular emphasis on addressing the growing rise of right-wing hate-speech groups that Kirman said have become increasingly more visible in the city as of late. This includes groups like the Soldiers of Odin and members of Canada’s yellow vest movement who delve into anti-globalism, nationalism and xenophobia. Both have been present at recent rallies across the city.

“Any group that wants to or tries to oppress another group is something that we need to speak out on,” Kirman said, adding that women have historically been at the forefront of broad social issues and movements, not just ones that dive exclusively into women’s issues.

The goal for both groups is to ultimately keep the momentum of the Women’s March going beyond one day a year. In Calgary, Nwofor said Women’s March organizers have been active in the community year-round, with the creation of a feminist festival and a spinoff group called Ask Her, which promotes the involvement of women in Calgary politics.

Motapanyane said it’s important for the Women’s March to continue its work locally to ensure its effectiveness as a social movement and for activists to connect with different sectors in their city beyond non-profits to ensure their voices are being heard and change is being applied.

But the work begins by bringing people together, Nwofor said, and the Women’s March has created “a feeling of camaraderie” among those fighting for similar causes.

“At the very least, we have to show up and make some noise,” Nwofor said.