Rae Bourassa (Payette) (she/her)

@spncrd Being a single-parent mom with a disability and two higher-needs neurodiverse kids, in entry-level management - yes. The GC consistently proves to me that they don't actually want my skillset, despite my track record of improving every team I've been on. It's pretty sad.

A single parent couldn't make those timelines work, or wouldn't have been able to put their best foot forward. And statistically, they'd more likely to be a women, and more likely to not be white. Doesn't sound like a great way to build a diverse team does it?

I recently interviewed for a management job deeper inside government - partly to get back in the habit of going through the process. The only slot offered was on a Monday morning at 9 a.m. 🧵

Wings raebourassa.wordpress.com/2021/03/20/win…

@thomkearney It's too boring to be useful to citizens, too. Just because it's easy, or comfortable, to release, doesn't mean that that meets the need.

A small lifting of depression raebourassa.wordpress.com/2021/02/20/a-s…

Winter poem raebourassa.wordpress.com/2021/02/14/win…

I'm waking up. It's been a long, long stretch of depression, and loneliness, and loss. Deeper than deep. But I think I'm waking up now. Turns out that here I was, thinking that my foundation was what was weak. Or… instagram.com/p/CEw7jgqlNX8/…

I spend a lot of time paddling on the Ottawa River, and at countless lakes while camping in Eastern Ontario. These days, I also spend a lot of time at home staring at a screen, trying to work-while-parenting. This radio show today combined the two very different spaces, for me.

Listening to this brought back memories. But it also made me think, in this new Covid context, how and why the work of #OneTeamGov matters. It's about being more humane. Unconferences are a more participatory method of knowledge exchange - making government govern differently.

@IFiniq Oh, I needed to hear this today. Thank you!! Things have been overwhelming on all fronts for months (as for so many of us, I know), and I'm getting to that depleted point, and this is such a lovely reminder that I-still-got-it and will be OK. Today, I ♥️ community!

@BourassaRae You are hands down one of the most determined, fiercest people I have the privilege of knowing. You bring perspective, calm, and thoughtful additions to everything. Did I mention your artistic side is equally wonderful?!

I can't believe I got a shout-out! And some lovely inspiration, and affirmation, that the OTG spirit is alive and well.

The amount of time I spend trying not to cry, and instead find solutions that work for me is ridiculous. Why is most of the burden of finding and creating accommodations placed on the shoulders of the person needing accommodation?

@worldofabe Indeed. What jaded, mid-career public servant hasn't? But, I think the solution is a) not giving up, and b) not participating in managing expectations. We can always say "this is what we're going to do about this, for now". But we don't have to be silent about the "and then".

@BourassaRae Have you personally experienced this?

Thinking this morning about expectations. We talk about “managing expectations” which I often think means setting the bar low so we can clear it more easily. This seems like a useful psychological trick. It’s safer than, say, setting the bar high and failing. But is there a cost?

@Roguevogon I've got a small circle of phenomenal women friends, all moms, who have each been going through their own personal hells. We are TIGHT. We videocall, as a group, every 2 weeks, and we tell each other like it is. No holding back. I think we all need this.

@Roguevogon I wish I had a mom to turn to. Unfortunately, due to complex family dynamics and her mental health, not an option for me. Some of us tired moms don't have anyone to turn to. And that's pretty tiring too.

Is it really that much of a stretch to be seeing corporate management through a racism lens, and finding equivalency with the disability lens? Lived experience. It's a thing. For a reason. 7/7

And to see that including a single, disability-based voice, on behalf of all people with countless variations of disabilities, is a nice-to-have? Lovely little disclaimer for CYA purposes? Seriously? 6/?

I'm listening to this podcast this morning: podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6L… It's about the importance of lived experience in reporting fairly on issues of race. 1/?