Rosemary Speirs is a former newspaper columnist and author who worked in the 1980s with the Committee for 94, which aimed to get half the House for women by 1994 but dissolved in discouragement shortly thereafter. In 2001, Rosemary and a small team of like-minded women founded Equal Voice, a national volunteer organization to "create an atmosphere in which more women would be elected to all levels of government in Canada". She holds a Ph.D in history from the University of Toronto, and authored "Out of the Blue", a history of Ontario politics in modern times.

Rosemary has been awarded the Governor-General's award and the YWCA Women of Distinction award for her activist work advancing the cause of Canadian women. She sits on EV's Board as Founding Chair.