By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Beaconsfield local Linda Sestock, known throughout the West Island for her far reach in community service, has graduated from local initiatives to international efforts as she was invited to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

As a longstanding member of the Montreal Lakeshore University Women’s Club, Sestock moved on to become president of the club for a time and is currently the vice president and deputy president of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) which includes six clubs in Quebec. She was invited along with a delegation of 20 CFUW women from across Canada to New York for the UN Commission on the Status of Women 68 (UNCSW68).

From March 11-22, Sestock will join forces with policy makers, government officials and activists from around the world to weigh in on proposed changes to improve the lives of women worldwide. “My mom came from a family of nine. She left school at age 14 and worked as a bell operator. Thanks to her mother’s efforts, Sestock became the first woman in her family to attend university. “I want to help other women have equal opportunity. Women represent fifty per cent of the population yet we are still fighting for basic things.”

The mission of the UNCSW68 is to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with gender perspective.

Sestock advocates that the improvement of women’s conditions contributes to the overall health of a society. “Better conditions for women, means better conditions for the community.” n