newsworthy

For Immediate Release

ODA/HARPER-TARGETED INITIATIVE DRAWS OVERWHELMING ATTENTION:

Popularity of website prompts major expansion

HALIFAX/OTTAWA, November 9, 2006 – In just one month on-line, a new website in support of women’s equality has logged over 10,000 hits.

Launched to rally support for Status of Women Canada (SWC) and related issues, statusreport.ca aims a spotlight on what Bev Oda, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, and their commitments to women’s equality in Canada.

“We knew there was a need for a site like this, but frankly, the response has been overwhelming,” says Audra Williams, co-founder of statusreport.ca, “Oda and Harper best pay attention, because interest in the SWC matter doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. From what we see, it’s only mounting.”

Co-founder Pam Kapoor says the popularity of the site has confirmed the existence of wide-spread desire for good information about the state of the SWC agency, “Visitors are clamoring for more up-to-the-minute details about what’s happening. They are especially eager for ways to express support for SWC through concrete action.”

Site statistics suggest visitors come from right across Canada, indicating a strong grassroots interest in the future of SWC and the fight for women’s equality. Says Kapoor, “Clearly, people disagree with the backwards direction Oda and Harper are taking where women’s equality is concerned, and they want to do something about it.”

To meet the high demand for dynamic and relevant content, Williams and Kapoor are marking the one month anniversary of statusreport.ca by announcing a schedule for website updates.

Every Monday, a new “action” idea will be featured. On Wednesdays, new content will be added to the site in the form of research, analysis, or original articles. Each FRIDAY, Williams and Kapoor will post a “weekly wrap”, a blog-type summary of goings-on related to statusreport.ca and to SWC. Fridays will also feature a provocative “Question of the Week”, intended to stimulate discussion and dialogue among people across Canada about matters relevant to this issue.

New items at statusreport.ca this week include:

• an announcement of the sudden 24 hours notice for groups to request to appear before the parliamentary committee on the status of women at hearings regarding the cuts and changes to SWC
• “REAL-ity Check”, the first in an ongoing series of original articles regarding opposition to SWC and women’s equality
• a renewed call for photos depicting messages to Oda and Harper

“As long as there is this huge an appetite for a source like ours, we’re going to do whatever it takes to keep it fresh and useful,” says Kapoor.

Statusreport.ca was created to house objective information about SWC, along with tools and motivation for people to lobby the federal government to revisit changes made to the agency's funding and objectives.

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Audra Williams and Pam Kapoor are communications consultants based in Halifax and Gatineau, respectively.

Statusreport.ca is non-partisan, unaffiliated with any women’s organization or political party. Williams and Kapoor, with an ad-hoc group of creative women, are dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of SWC and the role it should continue to play in the struggle for women’s full equality in Canada.

For information: media@statusreport.ca; statusreport.ca