Hamilton non-profit creates spaces for Black girls in STEM and beyond | Canada Voices

“It was just so magical, it gave me a feeling of hope.”

That’s how 16-year-old Opeyemi Adetutu looks back on attending the fourth annual You Go Girl! Awards, presented by the non-profit organization Sisters in Sync.

Held on International Day of the Girl, Oct. 11, the gala event celebrated Black girls aged six to 21 from Hamilton, Toronto and the GTA who have exhibited remarkable talent, shown exceptional leadership, made significant contributions to their community, and more.

“There’s not enough spaces that are just for girls,” says Joëlle Kabisoso, the founder and executive director of Sisters in Sync.

“It’s become my mission to make people aware and really encourage them to make the necessary investment, with scholarships, access to mentors and different resources, that will impact the future of these young girls.”

A science-oriented student who loves psychology and math, Adetutu was the recipient of this year’s Trailblazer Award.

As a member of Black E.S.T.E.E.M., an advocacy and community empowerment group in the GTA, and chair of the Black Royalty Advisory Board, she’s helping pave the way for girls aged 10 and up in her community by building initiatives, creating culturally relevant learning spaces and addressing systemic barriers in STEM. Despite progress, Black women remain critically under-represented in STEM fields. A 2021 report by Statistics Canada found that women account for just 23 per cent of all STEM graduates, with Black women comprising an even smaller fraction of this group. Barriers such as systemic biases, lack of representation and limited access to mentorship continue to deter Black women from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

“Becoming a leader has shown me that I can do anything when I put my mind to it,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how I look and it doesn’t matter if people don’t like me, because, honestly, there’s always going to be someone that doesn’t like you.”

Being recognized for her efforts has been a confidence boost, she says.

Ultimately, Adetutu hopes to inspire other young Black girls to have the courage to take risks and explore anything that sparks their interest.

“Do things for yourself and don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone, because if you’re always in [it], you will never really know your true potential and what you can achieve,” she says. Her future goals include pre-med studies and becoming an OBGYN.

“It’s not a secret that a lot of Black women are ignored when it comes to medical help, specifically with childbirth and reproductive issues,” she says. “My dream is to run my own clinic. When it comes to your body, you need to feel safe, and that you can trust your health care professional.”

For Sisters in Sync founder Kabisoso, the You Go Girl! Awards are just one way she has been creating safe spaces through her organization since 2018.

Kabisoso initially launched the organization as a prom-focused community. It was founded from a place of personal pain: When she was 17 and about to graduate high school, Kabisoso survived a racially motivated sexual assault by five perpetrators, only to have the case against them dismissed by police.

“I thought, what can I do for another young girl that might be in the same position as me, that might have gone through something so traumatic that she’s not telling people?” recalls Kabisoso, of the pop-up shop where she gave away free dresses, “I thought it was just going to be once a year.”

The event, however, was an instant success. Overwhelming community demand and interest prompted her to build a larger platform to share her story. The organization now runs multiple programs and initiatives that advocate for equitable access to justice and services for Black girls and young women in Hamilton and creates space for participants to exist, connect, share and support one another.

In addition to retreats and cohorts that tap into explorations of mental health, self-esteem and resilience, Kabisoso is seeking to facilitate broader change.

She’s recently taken a seat on a local first-of-its-kind hate crime case review team.

“In Hamilton, over the last couple of years, we’ve had some of the highest rates of hate crimes in the whole country,” she says. “And the numbers of disclosure are really low, so we don’t truly know how many people are experiencing hate incidents.”

This fall, Sisters in Sync received funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario to launch We’ve Got You Sis, a program in partnership with KnowledgeFlow Cyber Security Foundation and Victim Support and Services of Hamilton.

The initiative uses a multidisciplinary approach to encourage Black girls and women who have experienced sexual assault, discrimination, or hate incidents to disclose their experiences. By focusing on self-esteem, emotional intelligence, resilience and self-advocacy training, the program aims to empower survivors to access support and break the stigma surrounding disclosure.

“The goal is to encourage Black women and girls to disclose, because there are no stats or studies specifically on our experiences of gender-based violence here in Canada,” says Kabisoso. “We would walk them through the process and help them decide if they want to go through the police, mediation or if they just need individual support.”

Having recently added a Governor General’s Award to her list of national accolades, Kabisoso knows firsthand how empowering and transformational reclaiming one’s narrative can be.

“Prior to what happened in 2013, I couldn’t have imagined that this would have been my story. I really thought I was alone in this, just another woman that’s been traumatized and victimized, and has no answers or support,” she says.

While currently setting up a new headquarters as a future community hub and piloting a program through local high schools, Kabisoso is also determined to expand Sisters in Sync throughout the province, the country and internationally.

Her message to anyone who has gone through a similar experience is, when you’re ready and capable, tell your story.

“You never know what could come out of it,” she says. “I swore up and down I would die with this. In sharing this, it’s allowing there to be research done on the experiences of Black women. Speak up whenever you can, and just know that when you do, there will always be a group of people supporting you.”