Even at the municipal level, women continue to search for an equal political voice, says Canada’s Minister of Status of Women.
Women represent only a bit more than 15 per cent of municipal coucillors, and Patty Hajdu said women face numerous obstacles when working in politics.
Women appear to avoid politics because of the ongoing stereotype that their gender makes them more suitable for life at home, whether it be taking care of children or aging parents.
“Municipal politics is like having a part-time job and for some municipal politician’s, depending on the committee work, it could be another 20-30 hours a week,” Hajdu said.
Money is another barrier, which is more prevalent at the municipal level because there is no party support.
Often municipal elections are fundraised and candidates may put their own money toward their campaign. With a gender wage gap at about 20 per cent, Hajdu argues women will typically have a more uphill battle against these financial obstacles.
“I mean women earn less,” Hajdu said. “They often have less capacity to self-fund in that way.”
When a would-be female politician does get beyond the challenges of time and money, new hardships may arise that are unique to their gender. One such gender-exclusive challenge comes from social media, which often features a hostile environment for women.
“We need to look at ways communities can support women to run,” Hajdu said. “We have been drawing on some research that suggests that women are empowered when they are encouraged to run by their peers, by their colleagues and support systems.”
Hajdu added that while she has faced pressure from some male politicians, her experiences overall have been overwhelmingly positive.
Today’s political landscape is certainly an improvement from previous generations. Hajdu said the government is seeing more women at the table, with about 17 per cent on municipal councils across the country.
Seventeen percent, however, is 33 per cent away from what the Minister would like to see.
At-large Coun. Rebecca Johnson agrees.
She believes barriers have progressed to some degree, but feels women are not represented at the level they should be.
Three years ago Johnson created an organization designed to help encourage women to become involved in politics at all levels of government.
The councilor strongly believes this group is part of the solution as it “helps educate women, provides mentorships and individual financial donations.”
“I think there are more women who are willing to step up now. Women are not staying home, women have careers now and services are there for them, I don’t know if that was there before,” Johnson said.
As the youngest and newest female member of the City of Thunder Bay’s municipal council, Northwood representative Shelby Ch’ng said she sometimes feels like people may respond differently because of her gender.
She doesn’t, however, let that bother her.
“I just plow through it and I keep on going.”
Ch’ng doesn’t believe her gender has had any great impact on her recent rise in municipal politics. In fact, she credits a support network that includes a number of men she believed helped establish her politically.
“To have those men on my side, it was really meaningful and it really helped propel my campaign forward,” Ch’ng said.
Ch’ng added there needs to be more female representatives on council. Three out of 13 means there’s more work to do.
