On March 1, the United Nations recognizes Zero Discrimination Day, promoting equality before the law. The UN encourages citizens to speak out so that everyone has equal opportunity to achieve their dreams. This year the theme coincides with discrimination faced by women and girls in all their diversity.

 

Children’s Books

Oh, The Things We’re For by Innosanto Nagara

A child responds to skeptics with confidence, demonstrating passion for pressing human and environmental issues. Rhymes and colourful art reinforce the positive energy and significance of taking a stand. 

Intersection Allies by Chelsea Johnson

This book explains intersectionality -- that our identities are comprised of a multitude of parts, all of which influence our perspectives and life experiences. Some parts come with privilege and others with marginalization, and our diversity is strengthened in solidarity. 

You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith

It’s never too early to encourage children to show love and support for each other and to consider each other's well-being in their everyday actions. This book looks at connections children make with friends, classmates and families and touches on reconciliation themes. 

Our Rights: How Kids are Changing the World by Janet Wilson

This world tour introduces readers to children who have taken on the role of social activist, fighting for human rights in many countries, including Canada and the United States. It includes the full UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and tips on how to make a difference.

 

Adult Non-Fiction

I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder by Sarah Kurchak

Disability community activist and Toronto writer Sarah Kurchak reflects on the detrimental effects of pretending to be normal, and makes an impassioned call to redefine what is considered a successful life.

That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away by Lori Shenher

The lead detective brought in to make progress on a suspected serial killer case deals with gender bias against them personally as well as various forms of discrimination expressed in the team’s reluctance to investigate the crimes against the sex workers who are targeted by the serial predator.

Rebent Sinner by Ivan Coyote

Canadian spoken word performer and LGBT advocate Ivan Coyote takes on the political and the personal in these revealing stories of what it means to be trans and non-binary today, at a time in their life when they must carry the burden of heartbreaking history with them.

Haben: the Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma

Lawyer and activist Haben Girma articulates her struggles navigating an ableist world as a person with disabilities. Her personal strengths include the creativity she expresses in developing technology to equalize the playing field.

 

Adult Fiction

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Based on a true story, this novel relates the story a young woman institutionalized in a renowned mental hospital after a brief session with an unfamiliar psychiatrist in the late sixties. It offers a thoughtful foray into our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.

The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

A postapocalyptic spin on the classic "Little Red Riding Hood” about a woman who isn't as defenseless as she seems.

The Women’s War by Jenna Glass

In this feminist fantasy epic, a revolutionary spell gives women the ability to control their own fertility with consequences that rock their patriarchal society to its core.

The Girl from Blind River by Gale Massey

A young woman seeks to escape the stigmatized criminality of her family through her talent as a poker savant. 

Flowers Over the Inferno by Tutti Ilaria

A woman detective leads her investigative team and manages the onset of health problems all while coping with the pressures inherent in being a woman in a male-dominated field. 

 

Learn more about Zero Discrimination Day.