Host Kailey Armstrong talks all about advocacy, specifically skills advocacy, with Andrea Cox, manager of Government Relations at YW Calgary. How do we stand up for ourselves and use our voices effectively? Andrea defines advocacy in this context as “helping people find their voice,” which can translate into women finding how to convey what they need from any audience member. Andrea has a wealth of experience in this area, and she shares key pieces of advice and guidance from her own journey and what she’s observed along the way.
One of the ways in which women are faced with everyday advocacy is in salary negotiation or work benefits discussions. In negotiating, we all have priorities, and one of the things Andrea points to is learning to decide what lands in the Venn diagram of our interests and organizational interests. Andrea and Kailey discuss the language that has the most impact in advocacy, the power of narrowing down our messaging into a one-minute pitch, and having a solution prepared in advance so the audience member has something to say yes to. Andrea shares personal success stories, highlights how we can use our voices to advocate for others, and explains the need for us to believe in our own messaging to avoid sowing doubt in our audience's minds.
About Andrea Cox:
Andrea Cox is responsible for furthering cooperative and collaborative relationships between YW Calgary and government partners at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. She represents YW Calgary’s interests when working on joint advocacy with other non-profit organizations with aligned goals.
Andrea has over 8 years of advocacy, policy, and government relations experience, having worked in progressively senior roles within the Government of Alberta focused on intergovernmental and international relations. Prior to working with YW Calgary, Andrea was Manager of Federal and State Relations in the Government of Alberta’s office in Washington, DC, where she built extensive networks with government, private and non-profit stakeholders to advance Alberta’s trade interests with the United States.
Andrea holds a Master of Global Affairs from the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University, majoring in Political Science. Andrea is passionate about utilizing her skill set to advocate for policies and projects that further gender equity.
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