Author, journalist Elizabeth Renzetti to discuss latest book at MoD 

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The Small Town Big Ideas event series is set to welcome its first guest in a new season of speakers.

Author and journalist Elizabeth Renzetti will be a featured guest speaker at the Museum of Dufferin (MoD) on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m., discussing the launch of her latest book, What She Said: Conversation About Equality. 

What She Said: Conversation About Equality. The book looks at how the fight for women's rights was supposed to be settled but continues to be an ongoing issue for women, non-binary and transgender individuals. Through her writing, Renzetti draws from her own life story and years of working as a journalist at the Globe and Mail, where her columns followed the women's rights movement.

“[What She Said] is about the idea that we are nowhere near parity or equality between the genders and, in fact, in many parts of the world, women's rights are being rolled back,” explained Renzetti.

In What She Said, Renzetti explores women's rights from a wide range of areas including; the use of non-disclosure agreements to silence victims of sexual harassment and assault; the disparity of pay, wealth, and savings; imbalanced burden of care; intimate partner and domestic violence, and inadequate access to health care and reproductive justice. 

“I wanted to highlight certain areas that women and men could recognize because they touch on people's daily lives and were relevant to the lives of Canadians,” said Renzetti.

Renzetti is a former columnist for the Globe and Mail, where she wrote a popular opinion column and feature stories. In 2020 and 2023 she won the Landsberg Award for reporting on gender issues. 

Renzetti has released two books in 2024: Bury the Lead, a mystery novel co-written with Kate Hilton, and her work of non-fiction about gender equality called, What She Said: Conversation About Equality. 

Coming off the recent publication of her new book, Renzetti will be the first guest in the second season of the Small Town Big Ideas speaker series hosted by local organization, CanHist. 

Speaking with the Free Press, Renzetti noted the importance of holding conversations about gender equality, particularly in rural communities. 

“The issues facing women in terms of equality, affect them no matter where they live. We can look at the pay gap or the disparity in political leadership or the amount of violence women face,” said Renzetti. “These issues are important to women, no matter where they live.” 

While the book focuses closely on women's issues from different perspectives and scenarios, Rezetti said the conversation at her event is for everyone – including men.

“It's for your granny, your daughter, your husband and friends; I really think it's for everybody,” said Renzetti. “We've kind of been talking at each other in an echo chamber, so I really hope that this event will be a conversation. When we have civil, open-minded conversations with each other, that's where we come to understand each other and kind of recognize each other.” 

Tickets for the event cost $20 and can be purchased in-person at Booklore in Orangeville or online through the CanHist website – www.canhist.ca.