We Are All. Women.
For International Women’s Day, we wanted to celebrate all women’s strengths, personalities, and diversity. We sat down with eight Canadian women to spark a conversation surrounding their journey. Below, get a sneak peek of the women we proudly featured and stay tuned for the full video to come.
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Marie-Joëlle Parent is a multimedia journalist, columnist, host and author, based in the U.S. since 2009. As a Quebecor Media correspondent in New York for six years, she’s covered numerous events in the United States and elsewhere, such as the re-election of Barack Obama, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center, Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s wedding, the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscars. She has conducted several major interviews with personalities such as Tony Bennett, Johnny Hallyday, Candace Bushnell and Alicia Keys.
In March 2015, Marie-Joëlle launched her guide, 300 Reasons To Love New York, the first in an evolving series which she authors. Marie-Joëlle also participates in several television and radio programs as an author and journalist. Among other things, she can be heard on Radio-Canada and read in La Presse. She is currently based in San Francisco.
What is your favourite virtue?
Empathy.
What are your favourite qualities in a woman?
Confidence.
What you appreciate the most about your friends?
That they’re judgement-free.
What is your favourite pastime?
Travelling and discovering new cities.
What is your idea of happiness?
A house on the beach.
Joëlle Paquette is never far from the world of fashion. With an education in fashion design and fine arts, she fuels her creativity through the many hats she wears, whether as a lifestyle journalist, blogger or stylist. In addition to writing for several popular Quebec fashion publications, Joëlle also runs a blog, Very Joëlle, a destination dedicated to local discoveries, from here or elsewhere, always shared with a touch of humour.
What is your favourite virtue?
Curiosity.
What do you appreciate the most about your friends?
All my closest friends have two things in common: we can laugh like crazy over a bottle of wine, but we can also cry on each other’s shoulders when things are aren’t going so well.
What is your main fault?
I so badly want to do well all the time that when I am criticized, I tend to become very emotional.
What is your idea of happiness?
To do well for myself so that I can by a beach house in Maine one day and spend weeks there in the summer with my boyfriend, sisters and parents. We’ve gone every year since I was a kid and it would be wonderful to keep the tradition going.
Where would you love to live?
Denmark or Japan. Don’t ask me to choose!
Who are your favourite poets?
Leonard Cohen.
Grece Ghanem describes herself as a passionate, creative, curious and kind person. She has over 25 years of experience as a personal trainer, a Master’s degree in microbiology and is now, at 53 years old, pursuing a new career path as a fashion influencer and model.
For her, style is a form of art where she can get away with expressing herself. She believes that clothing is what helps to give us strength when we feel our worst. Her personal style is an effortless mix of high and low, vintage and contemporary, feminine and masculine.
What are your favourite qualities in a man?
Intellect, generosity, humour, charisma, and autonomy.
What do you appreciate the most about your friends?
Their honesty.
What is your main fault?
Sensitivity.
Where would you love to live?
Portofino, Italy.
What is your favourite colour and flower?
White and an Orchid.
Assa Cisse is a Mali native, whose personal style blog, My Curves and Curls, was launched in 2012. As a stylish lady, Assa loves looking great, travelling and spending time with her husband and her two little boys.
Her blog is an outlet to share her personal style, hair and beauty tips, along with fantastic thrift finds and shopping deals. My Curves and Curls is much more than just a style platform, it is a space that celebrates women of all shapes and sizes. Plus, it is full of smiles, as Assa believes this the best way to feel beautiful and stay happy.
What is your favourite virtue?
Wisdom.
What is your most prominent characteristic?
Following my gut instinct. Every time I go against it, I learn a hard lesson.
What do you appreciate the most about your friends?
Their ability to always be there to listen.
What is your main fault?
My indecisiveness. Sometimes I can’t choose between black and white.
What is your favourite pastime?
Playing dress up.
What is your idea of happiness?
Being able to do what I love and being around the people I love.
Christine Cho’s calling to a career in beauty started many years before her professional makeup training at George Brown College. As she completed her bachelor’s degree in English Literature at the University of Toronto, Christine continued to train and develop her techniques in the beauty industry while learning an appreciation for all forms of art.
She currently provides customized makeup, hairstyling, and consulting services for clients spanning from celebrities to executives and major brands, and her work has been featured in editorial spreads, advertisements, and shows locally and abroad.
She appears regularly to provide beauty advice on national TV shows such as Steven & Chris Show, CityLine and Breakfast Television. Christine is currently a resident beauty expert and makeup artist on CTV’s The Marilyn Denis Show.
What is your favourite virtue?
Kindness.
What do you appreciate the most about your friends?
Loyalty and support through good and bad times.
What is your main fault?
Being critical of others and myself.
If not yourself, who would you be?
Oprah, Anthony Bourdain, Beyonce, or a really spoiled cat.
Where would you love to live?
Maui, Hawaii.
Ali de Bold is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of ChickAdvisor.com, a trusted product review website. Launched in 2006, the site was Canada’s first product review community and was the brain-child of Ali and her husband, Alex de Bold. The couple launched the company from their living room, without any external funding, and have since turned it into a community-based institution. Today, ChickAdvisor is thriving with hundreds of thousands of members across Canada and multi-millions in revenue. Ali is a third generation entrepreneur and a graduate of Ryerson’s Radio and Television Arts program. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.
What is your main fault?
I’m to pick just one?
What is your idea of happiness?
Being on the beach with my kids.
What is your idea of misery?
Canadian winters!
If not yourself, who would you be?
I’ve never wanted to be anyone else.
Where would you love to live?
California, by the beach.
Who is your favourite fictional hero?
I’m more likely to root for the underdog.
Who is your favourite fictional heroine?
Wonder Woman, obviously.
Bree is the Vancouver based style blogger behind The Urban Umbrella. Her love of fashion and beauty started in her teens, but it wasn’t until her 20s that she launched The Urban Umbrella to document her beauty and fashion favourites. On The Urban Umbrella, you will find useful style guides, helpful beauty hacks, and honest reviews as Bree always strives to share content which will help readers feel more confident and encourage them to embrace their unique style and beauty.
What do you appreciate the most about your friends?
I feel very lucky to have the friendships I have. We all accept one another’s faults, we are able to joke and understand one another. We aren’t afraid of being silly or quirky around one another and that’s something I really value.
Where would you love to live?
I love where I live currently and this will always be home to me. But, I would love to live elsewhere for a few months at a time: France, Italy, New Zealand—everywhere!
What is your dream job?
I love what I do currently. I enjoy being creative and working on projects.
What is your idea of happiness?
My idea of happiness is a beautiful summer evening spent with friends and family. They bring me so much joy and, well, I just love summer.
Marie has always had a passion for following her heart, which is how her blog, Marie’s Bazaar, came to life She is driven by helping and influencing women to be the best version of themselves through fashion and positivity. Since a very young age, she has loved connecting with people, and having her own platform where she can exchange with an audience from around the world has allowed her to grow and enjoy life in ways that have exceeded her expectations.
What is your favourite virtue?
Forgiveness.
What are your favourite qualities in a man?
A sense of humour, generosity, and kindness.
What are your favourite qualities in a woman?
Humbleness, passion, and confidence.
What is your main fault?
Stubbornness.
What is your idea of happiness?
Good food and good company.
ok now show me a baby boomer
some one born before 1962
did you forget about those of us who are still alive
Hi Joanne,
We invite you to discover our most recent campaign We.Are.All.Women. We wanted to celebrate all women’s strengths, personalities, and diversity.
You can meet Grece Ghanem, our 53 years old influencer who took part in the project.
You can find the video on our Facebook page and you can read our blog post here : http://blog.reitmans.com/?p=1754.
-A
I love it !! Diversity, women, all colors and shapes and ages are represented. I do not know why but woman in wheelchairs are never on these beautiful pictures. Some of us are good customers and are very photogenic. Maybe in the future ??