Is there such a thing as a women's agenda in parliament?

• Author: Driedger, Myrna
• Position: Essay

At most CPA conferences at least one topic on the agenda deals with women in politics. This article considers some strategies needed to get more women elected but says women must go beyond the idea of a separate women's agenda.

The subject of women in politics is a critical area of importance which has evolved since the day women were granted the right to vote. In Canada my province of Manitoba was the first in our country to grant women the right to vote in 1916. It was a hard fought battle. At the forefront was a woman by the name of Nellie McClung. She was a feisty woman who challenged the Premier of the day who felt that a woman's role was to stay at home and fetch their man his slippers when he came home after a hard day's work.

I do not personally believe that a women's agenda in parliaments or legislatures is helpful for reasons which I will explain but we need a number of strategies that encourage and help get more women into politics. All we have to do is look at the number of elected women serving in our legislatures and parliaments. They tell the story.

In our Canadian Parliament, only 24% of the elected parliamentarians are women. In 2007 in Manitoba we hit the magical number of over 30% of elected parliamentarians being women. In the 2011 election, however, it fell to 27%. We lost ground!

The under representation of women in the Canadian political system is no different than many other countries. There are different ways to look at why there are not more women in politics. It is easy to blame the system for holding women back--and that is part of the problem--but we also need to ask: Why are not more women running in the first place?

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nurse or a teacher. I ended up being a nurse. Those were pretty much the only careers I saw to be available to me growing up in a small village in rural Canada. Today, little girls can dream of many different things they want to be. And, politics is not even remotely on their radar! One of the strategies we need to address is how to reach out to young girls and encourage them to dream that politics is a place where they have much to offer.

What are some of the barriers women face that keep them from running? The public, I find, in Canada anyway, is becoming more and more disengaged from politics. Many do not pay attention to it, do not think it affects them, are cynical towards politics and politicians, and do not hold politicians in high regard. Many do...