Women in Politics

By Amber, Tierra, & Waishan

Authors• Ann Wicks• Certified Professional Accountant• Bachelor of Arts in Political Science• Caleton University

• Raylene Lang-Dion•Masters Degree in Political Science

Summary• In 2006 only 5.7% of the worlds 191 nations were led by

women• Overview of the challenges women face while seeking

elected office• People view women in politics as “unnatural”• Policies that are in place around the world

We Will Discuss…1. Why Women Don’t Participate in Politics2. Why It Is Important To Elect Women3. Why It Is Time For New Regulations

Why Women Don’t Participate In Politics

• Although women play important roles in community and informal organizations, their representation in public office remains considerably lower than that of men

• Sexismhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orq106sacxY

• Party recruiters acknowledge a preference for masculine traits

Canada’s electoral system makes it difficult

• “First-past-the-post” System• Candidate with most votes wins a seat in the house of

commons• Can encourage tactical voting• Do not need majority to win• Ridings can be represented by a single MP (could have

less than 50% of votes)

Perceived outlook of women• Nagging tone• When Barack Obama speaks, men hear “take off for the future”.• When Hilary Clinton speaks, men hear “take out the garbage”.

• Attire• “Dumpy pantsuit”• “bee-hind looks like a tree-trunk in those boxy, double-breasted nightmare

pantsuits”• Appearance• Relationships• Portrayal of women in the media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEoWSaM61NI

Psychological Barriers

• Low self-esteem• Lack of assertive power; feeling isolated• Struggle against fraternity that exists in politics between men (men’s

club)

Why is it important to elect more women?

Role Models For Girls…make them possible!

• seeing women in politics tell young girls what they can be; “young girls can’t be what they can’t see”

• girls internalize feeling of incompetence in leadership, feeling can even be internalized misogyny (men lead, women follow)

• perpetual cycle of “gendered” leadership roles

• the general opinion that women are not fit to be leaders will prevent them from developing potential even if they are talented leaders

True Representative Democracy

• women make up more than half the population

• currently, small minority of female legislators represent 52% of population

Women Focus On Different Issues• historically, the myth that women have unvarying political interests

excluded them from political participation (elective offices)• Males claimed they understood women’s needs, which were determined by

“reproductive capacity”• “no need to have women articulate their own interests, join in political

debates about laws pertaining to them, or exercise power directly”

• studies show female politicians focus more on gender equality, reproductive rights, civil rights, senior care, children’s welfare, healthcare

Women Focus On Different Issues

• example is shown by D.L. Dodson’s research that the Women’s Health Initiative (1991) was passed only due to women in Congress fighting for it

• before the program, most of medical research on heart disease was done on men, despite women being twice as susceptible to heart disease

“Because we represent half the population, I have always felt the special concern and the unique responsibility to single out those issues that are so important and critical to the future of women and to make changes, because their voices cannot be heard otherwise.”

– Senator Olympia Snowe

Women Have Different Governing Styles

• studies reveal that women have different ways of governing• study at Purdue University on state legislature committee chairs reveals that

“women are generally more cooperative and emphasize consensus-building while men are more aggressive”

• creating a new equal gender ratio will yield a more effective and balanced system that has more options in making decisions, forming solutions, and creating policies

To be clear…It isn’t the gendered psychological profile or biological differences that will make women great candidates, but their experience as women.

To foresee different problems, create different solutions, have different perspectives, prioritize different issues…these are reasons enough to make room for more diverse leaders. Canada needs more voices.

It Is The Root Of A Systemic ProblemThis situation of lack of women’s representation can be seen as both a result of, and a contributor to, perpetual gender inequality in any issue you can think of.

Let’s do an activity to illustrate how the system is currently set up.

Why It Is Time For New Regulations

Let’s take a closer look at types of regulations that have been implemented around the world…

Proportional Representation Systems

•Multi member district instead of single member • Number of seats is based proportional to the amount of

support from their voters

Example: 10-member district and a party wins 50% of the vote, they win 5 seats• Better representation• Fewer wasted votes

Candidate Quotas

•Must have a minimum number of candidates that are women

• Options:• Legal Candidate Quotas• Laid down in the constitution that forces all political

parties to obey

• Voluntary Candidate Quotas

Reserved Seats

• Set aside a certain number of seats for women• Sometimes only temporary measure until barriers are

removed

• Example:• Rwanda – 30% of all seats• Tanzanie – 20% of all seats and allocated to the political parties in

proportion to the number of seats won in an election

Gender Neutral Quotas

• 60/40 Rule• There is to be no more than 60% of one gender and no

less than 40% of one gender

• Ex: Sweden

Analysis of Quotas:

• In 2005:•More than 40 countries introduced legal quotas•More than 50 other countries voluntarily

introduced quotas

Pros:

• Helps compensate for any barriers• Everyone has a right to equal representation• Gives opportunity to both sides to representation

Cons:

• Some may argue that elections should be about ideas and platforms • Not social categories

• Can create conflict

Country Present System

YearIntroduced

Percentage of Women in Parliament

Argentina 30% Rule 1991 34.1%

Belgium 33% Rule 1994 35.3%

Rwanda 30% Rule 2003 48.8%

Uganda 56 Seats 1995 & 1989 24.7%

A Brighter Future For Canadian PoliticsShortly after the Liberal victory of the 2015 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kept his promise to Canadians in bringing gender parity to the Cabinet, selecting 30 candidates made up of exactly 50% men and women.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydz7g7KyTCM