Françoise David

Françoise David is a feminist activist, social justice advocate, community organizer and radical politician. Born in 1948 in Montréal, she graduated from the Université de Montréal in 1972. She devoted twenty years working with the Québec Resource Centre for Single-parent Families and served as chair of the Fédération des femmes du Québec from 1994 to 2001. In 1995, she organized the Women’s March against Poverty, which galvanized more than 15,000 women in Québec. Five years later, David conceived and organized the World March of Women. In 2006, she founded Québec solidaire, a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party; she was elected to the Québec National Assembly in 2012, and again in 2014. Since retiring from politics in 2017, David has lent her support to numerous causes, including immigrant women’s rights, access to affordable housing, seniors’ rights, and most recently, the #MeToo movement. In 2018, she co-launched the #EtMaintenant movement against sexual violence in Québec. The recipient of numerous honours, including a Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, David was made a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec in 1999.

“It’s so complicated to be a woman. You have to show your emotions just enough—but not too much! People want you to be compassionate, empathetic and generous, but not whiny, hysterical or excessive. Tall order.”