Last fall鈥檚 We for She event in Vancouver had such an impact on KSS Grade 12 student Caitlin Kingsmill that she figured there should be a similar event in 91大黄鸭.

So, with the help of her friend Juliet Watts, a fellow Grade 12 student at the and president of the the KSS Global Awareness Club, the pair have spearheaded We for She 91大黄鸭, a gathering of 250 students from the Central Okanagan鈥檚 five high schools, planned for April 13.

The one-day gathering will look at the issue of gender inequality, but unlike the Vancouver version, which was aimed at adults and brought together hundreds of female business leaders and young women from across the province, the local event will include male students.

鈥淲e going to look at the lack of gender equality in the work place and the unconscious bias that鈥檚 all around,鈥� said Kingsmill. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to inspire people to want to change that.鈥�

Watts said when Kingsmill came to her with the idea of a 91大黄鸭 forum, she was struck by a statistic her friend heard at the We for She event in Vancouver. It was reported there that are now more CEOs called John than there are female CEOs.

鈥淭hat stuck with me,鈥� she said.

Kingsmill and Watts were in Victoria on Wednesday, International Women鈥檚 Day, to speak about their plans for the 91大黄鸭 event with Premier Christy Clark, who announced a second provincial We for She event will be held in Vancouver this fall and a new mentorship program for young women was being started province-wide.

The two local students were accompanied to Victoria by Stephanie Baziuk of the 91大黄鸭 Chamber of Commerce and Danielle Hofer of the Women鈥檚 Enterprise Centre, both of whom are acting as mentors for the Kingsmill and Watts and helping them with the organization of the We for She 91大黄鸭 event.

Baziuk said this is the first time the chamber has worked with high school students and hopefully not the last.

Kingsmill, said she went to the We for She event in Vancouver last fall with her mom,who works for the Women鈥檚 Enterprise Centre in 91大黄鸭. The centre, set up by the federal government in the 1980s, helps women secure funding and provides support to start businesses.

She said what she heard in Vancouver made her think and that lead to the idea of gathering 50 Grade 11 and 12 students from the area鈥檚 high school to come together and hear speakers and participate in workshops aimed at addressing the issue of gender inequality in a number of different forms in the workplace. Current statistics show that women, on average, earn 83 per cent of what men earn for work of similar value.

Watts said the Global Awareness Club at the school has never organized an event as large as the We for She 91大黄鸭 gathering but she hopes it will have an impact on her peers.

She said it is important to raise awareness of the issue with youth in order to prompt change.

Principals from the five schools鈥擪SS, Rutland Secondary, Okanagan Mission Secondary in 91大黄鸭, Mt. Boucherie Secondary in West 91大黄鸭 and George Elliot Secondary in Lake Country鈥� have already met to be briefed on the plans for the event and any student interested in attending can get more information from their school鈥檚 administration.

The larger provincial event We for She brought together more than 1,500 people in the fall to advance gender equality, give students and young women a greater understanding of their career options and potential, expand their confidence in what they can achieve and give them a chance to meet dynamic and successful role models.

As part of her announcement, Clark said the government will provide $132,000 towards the creation of a mentorship pilot project. Members of the Premier鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Economic Council in partnership with the Women鈥檚 Enterprise Centre, Junior Achievement and the WEB alliance, will deliver the program throughout the province.

鈥淥n this International Women鈥檚 Day, it鈥檚 important to celebrate and recognize successful women,鈥� said Clark.

鈥淵oung women and girls need to see others succeeding in fields that traditionally have been dominated by men. The We for She conference and the new mentorship pilot program will help more women acquire the skills and knowledge they need to maximize their potential.鈥�