Bonita Zarrillo

Continuously empowering women is a personal goal of mine both in my public and private life. As part of my public work as an elected municipal politician, and in my private work as a member of the Soroptimists of the Americas, I work to raise the profile of needs of women and girls of diverse ages, socio-economic, and cultural backgrounds. I am pleased to see that women are becoming more visible in elected roles across all levels of government yet the numbers in Canada still need work. More women in government ensures that their needs within communities are better understand and there is a better chance to overcome the barriers. I am excited about the opportunities for more transformation at the city level, including additional advocacy for female bureaucrats – chips make chunks” is one of my favourite sayings and I would like to be one of the ‘chips’ in ensuring more women influence the quality of life and decision making processes in local government.