Barb MacQuarrie knew she wanted to dedicate her life to helping others as soon as she graduated high school.
“I had the opportunity to travel to Senegal, in West Africa,” she said. “While I was there, I quickly realized the huge inequalities that exist in this world, and knew immediately I wanted to be a part of trying to change that.”
Since that time, MacQuarrie – a researcher with the Faculty of Education and community director of the Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children – has spent more than 30 years working to find solutions to inequalities by tirelessly advocating and working in the fields of poverty, violence against women, human rights and social justice.
On Tuesday, her years of dedication and compassion were recognized with an appointment to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest official honour. The Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, appointed MacQuarrie, and 25 other appointees, at a ceremony at Queen’s Park.
Created in 1986, the Order of Ontario recognizes any current or former long-time resident of Ontario who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field benefiting people of Ontario, or anywhere in the world.
“When I found out, I was a little bit shocked,” admitted MacQuarrie. “I’m honoured and humbled to have received such a high commendation, although I don’t do any of this vitally important work alone – this award belongs to my colleagues, community partners and my family.”
MacQuarrie’s career in advocacy has spanned international borders, advocating for civilians who were threatened by military violence in war-torn regions of the world. In Canada, she has spearheaded a number of provincial and national initiatives to raise awareness about domestic violence and violence against children.
MacQuarrie has also helped pave the way for education and policy changes in the Canadian workforce by leading a recent study on the effects of domestic violence in the workplace – the largest of its kind in Canada.
“We found that more than one third of workers across the country have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime, and for more than half of those affected, the violence followed them to work,” said MacQuarrie.
Thanks to that study, labour unions and governments at local, provincial and national levels are now reassessing the need to educate not only managers and human resources professionals, but entire workplaces in order to recognize and respond to domestic violence.
As MacQuarrie stood at Tuesday’s ceremony in Toronto, her thoughts drifted back to Senegal.
“After that trip I was never able to see the world the same way,” she said. “When we are born with privileges or as we earn them on our way through life, we have a responsibility to use that power to work for a more just world. And that’s what I’ve tried to do with my career”