Thursday, April 28, 2011

Women in the 41st Canadian Parliament

I'm preparing my wikipedia submission now. "Women represent only 22% of Canadian Members of Parliament. That's right, we rank 47th in the world. The UN insists that women must fill 30% of parliamentary positions for a chance at getting their voices heard on national issues. In January 2007, a national public awareness campaign aimed to create gender sensitive courses in at least two provinces and raise awareness of gender biased media, both to address issues of women running for office. This research was funded by Status of Women Canada - oh yeah, that funding was slashed."

So that's not quite how wikipedia would relay the info, but you get the drift. With the Conservatives leading the polls coming into the final days of Elxn41, women face facts that the democratic deficit will continue, making for continued ugliness in question period and parliamentary commitments that make participating in family life impossible.

Here's what things look like by party *(thanks Equal Voice: Electing More Women in Canada):


Candidates Nominated and Elected by  Political Parties – 2006 Election 
Political Party 
Total Candidates 
Male Candidates 
Female Candidates 
%  Female Candidates 
Nominated 
Elected 
Nominated 
Elected 
Nominated 
Elected 
Nominated 
Elected 
Bloc Québécois 
75 
51 
52 
34 
23 
17 
30.6% 
33% 
Conservatives 
308 
125 
270 
111 
38 
14 
12.3% 
11% 
Liberals 
308 
101 
229 
80 
79 
21 
25.6% 
21% 
NDP 
308 
29 
200 
17 
108 
12 
35% 
41% 
Green Party 
308 
0 
236 
0 
72 
0 
23% 
0

The graph reflects one glimmer of hope: when women run, they win. Nominating 12% is no way to achieve representation. When it comes to justice, Canada has been a world leader on issues ranging from forest and environmental management to accessibility for folks living with dis/abilities. We embarrass ourselves with our poor record on women's political participation. This makes me turn inward and wonder why I don't consider running. The ruthlessness of partisan politics is certainly part of it. Lack of women role models is another.
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2 comments:

  1. Brother DanielApril 28, 2011 at 2:36 PM

    Are conservative US preachers raising money to support the Conservative party in Canadian elections? Tell me it isn't so!! Amanda, it's not just women who need to be told to vote for anyone but Harper!!

    My friend Marie, driving from Sherbrooke to Ottawa in the later evening several times has heard evangelical radio stations on which the preachers were asking their followers for financial contributions to stop Canada from going liberal because the liberal party is humanist, feminist, socialist, abortionist and gay-friendly - i.e., satanic! OMG don't tell me Harper is being funded by American preachers!! This is too much!!

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  2. Amanda WatsonApril 29, 2011 at 2:39 PM

    Dan --

    Of course I realize that it's not just women who "need to be told" to vote for anyone but Harper! I despise what the Conservatives are doing to this culture and to all sorts of bodies on this and other islands of the world. My point here is simply that women need to be represented in formal politics in order for parliamentary reform to even begin, and the longer we live under Harper's dictatorship, the more difficult that will be to reach.

    As for the evangelical radio... damn. I guess I should've figured this inevitable... but, as you say, THIS IS TOO MUCH!!

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