| Only 20.7 per cent of Canada’s elected MPs are women and our country ranks 42nd in the world when comparing the percentage of women elected to national legislatures.
In Alberta, only 13 out of 83 MLAs are women, for a total of 15.7 per cent.
The Calgary Local Council of Women is holding a forum on women in politics on Thursday, March 23 to examine why there are still so few women in the political sphere.
Francis Wright, co-chair of Equal Voice, a non-profit group that’s trying to increase the number of women elected to all levels of government, and a speaker at the event, describes Canada’s international ranking as "shameful."
Wright says Canada’s current first past the post electoral system hasn’t worked well for women, and Equal Voice is pushing the federal government to look into other electoral systems that provide more equal representation, including proportional representation.
"It makes voting much more meaningful for the citizens as well as the elected officials when it is more representational," says Wright. "We’re advocating that (our electoral system) needs to be seriously reviewed and changed because at this rate, we’re not going to elect women and we’re not going to elect aboriginals and we’re not going to elect other key groups that are not in Parliament."
Melanee Thomas, a masters student at the University of Lethbridge who is researching young women and politics, will also be speaking at the forum. She says her research is showing a large gap between the sexes. Young men are much more likely to be knowledgeable and interested in politics than young women.
"There’s a socialization element. Girls are socialized to think politics aren’t for them," says Thomas.
Thomas says she believes the decline of the women’s movement is also a factor in the low representation of women in politics.
"A lot of women, because they’re not politically active and aware, they don’t know what they don’t have, but at some point they’re going to realize we don’t actually have what we think we have or what we’re entitled to," she says. "I fear we’re going to have this moment where we’re going to have backslides and things are going to get worse before they get better."
"I know a lot of young women think we don’t need feminism. There’s nothing for us to gain…. The battle for equal rights isn’t over but the youngest generation doesn’t actually know it."
Wright says sexist treatment in the provincial legislature or Parliament may also be a factor in women not getting involved in politics.
"Certainly some of the comments that we heard last year that followed Belinda Stronach’s crossing of the floor would discourage any male or female from considering political life," says Wright.
Stronach, formerly a Conservative MP, crossed the floor to become a Liberal MP.
"Certainly we can advocate as citizens that the language be changed, be more moderate, be more respectful. But the biggest change comes when there are more women in Parliament," says Wright.
She adds that women still often have more childcare responsibilities and have to look after elderly family members, which can make it difficult to find the time to enter into politics.
Wright says political parties have to make more of an effort to encourage and support women candidates so the parties become more representative of the population. She says the NDP has a better reputation than the Liberals and Conservatives when it comes to promoting women candidates.
Thomas says under-representation of women in politics leads to women’s concerns and issues not getting the attention they deserve from politicians –– and that needs to change.
"Because they haven’t been present, their interests aren’t necessarily being represented," she says.
The forum on women and electoral reform will take place at the McDougall Centre (455 6 St. S.W.) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on March 23. |
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