BUILT BY HER
Nita McCown, President of the Zonta Club of Toronto, on the Power of Participation
March 17th, 2026 by lavinia ricca
In attending her first meeting of the Zonta Club of Toronto, Nita found herself struck by her company. She was surrounded by professional women who had been pioneers in their fields - the first dietician at a Toronto hospital, a paediatric pharmacist at The Hospital for Sick Children, a mathematician, and a geneticist. “I felt wholly out of my depth,” she recalls, but kept coming back. Since then, she has “never regretted it.”
Decades later, Nita now serves as president of the Zonta Club of Toronto. She is quick to point out she has held many roles along the way: secretary, treasurer, area director, and now delegate to the Zonta Canada Caucus. “As part of Zonta, we encourage people to take on roles”, she remarks, highlighting that leadership, for her, is not just about titles - it’s about taking your turn.
Founded as the first international branch of Zonta after the original American clubs, the Toronto chapter has long been committed to advancing the status of women globally. Zonta International holds ECOSOC accreditation with the United Nations, a designation shared by only a small fraction of NGOs worldwide. This status allows collaboration with UN agencies such as UNICEF and UNIFEM, ensuring Zonta’s international service projects build upon existing infrastructure rather than “reinventing the wheel,” as Nita puts it.
Throughout Nita’s time at Zonta, the club has undergone a transformation, going from a “well-kept secret” to an increasingly visible voice in the community.
When in-person events became impossible during the COVID-19 pandemic, members began hosting public webinars on topics such as violence against women and human trafficking. This pivot - despite being born as a necessity - became an unexpected success.
A recent webinar during the 16 Days of Activism, for example, focused on intimate partner violence and femicide’s impact on Toronto’s shelter system. Participants tuned in from as far away as Australia, and other Zonta clubs even downloaded the materials for their own programming.
In expanding its visibility, the club has now been able to develop partnerships with many organizations, from grassroots initiatives to established charities. This year, during the 16 Days campaign, Zonta Toronto joined other community groups to host a dinner and presentation for 150 women - primarily immigrant women in a low-income neighborhood - addressing digital trafficking and online safety.
One partnership Nita is particularly excited about is with Aura Freedom, led by executive director Marissa Kokkoros. Known nationally for its work combating gender-based violence and human trafficking, Aura Freedom brings policy expertise and together with the Zonta Club of Toronto, they are supporting advocacy efforts around proposed federal legislation aimed at strengthening protections against femicide.
For Nita, this shift toward advocacy marks an important evolution. “We’ve always done service work,” she explains. “But now we really want to do the advocacy work as well.” Building partnerships - whether this be with groups like White Ribbon, which engages men and boys in ending gender-based violence, or with local women’s clinics - allows the club to amplify its impact.
Yet when asked what advice she would give to students, her answer is strikingly simple: “participate”.
Universities offer countless clubs and initiatives, she says, and leadership does not require being the loudest voice in the room. “That quiet person in the back is probably absorbing everything. There is no job that’s too small.”
Later, it becomes clear that Nita’s philosophy of inclusion is reflected in her understanding of gender equity. “Equity implies that people get and give based on their own abilities,” she emphasises. By recognising different strengths and circumstances, she suggests, we can make a collective effort to allocate opportunity - not necessarily outcomes - fairly, according to both talent and need.