A century of women MPs, but gender parity still major issue

December 2021 marks a historic milestone in Canada’s Parliament, the 100th anniversary of the first woman MP being elected. But since Agnes Macphail’s campaign victory on Dec. 6, 1921, only 374 women have been voted into federal public office in Canada. In the 2021 federal election, 103 women MPs won a seat in the House of Commons, hitting the 30 per cent mark for the first time. That’s an important milestone but still far shy of gender parity. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of women MPs in Canada have been and remain white, straight, cisgender women. Women with other identities such as race, sexual orientation, disability, and socio-economic factors have been historically marginalized and face heightened barriers to running for office. These barriers include racism, homophobia, ableism and others—alongside misogyny. Gender-diverse candidates face transphobia and other forms of prejudice, and these are also compounded by other elements of identity. On the campaign trail, discrimination is a common occurrence for women and gender-diverse candidates vying for office. In the run-up to the 2021 federal election, women candidates experienced online trolling, sexist comments, threats, and vandalism to campaign signage. These aggressions were often more extreme or frequent when targeting racialized women running for office. Many gender-diverse candidates received invasive questions and attacks alongside other expressions of discrimination. The awareness of these realities are often why many women and gender-diverse candidates choose not to run for office in the first place. The ramifications of these realities are clear. Women are underrepresented in federal political office. Canada has never elected an openly non-binary or transgender MP. Racial diversity in political representation continues to lag behind Canada’s population. By a substantive margin, white, straight, cisgender men remain disproportionately visible in the House of Commons. The nominations process is an important contributing factor. Federal political parties need to do more to encourage women and gender-diverse candidates to run and readily support those who do. This is especially critical for equity-deserving candidates. Parties must put forward rosters of candidates which are truly reflective of Canada’s diversity and position women and gender-diverse candidates in ridings where they can realistically succeed. We know that political parties have a long way to go. A recent report from CBC/Radio-Canada shows that white men who ran for federal office in 2015 and 2019 not only received more financial support from their party but were also more frequently nominated in winnable ridings compared to women. This was true even in cases where white men were not incumbents. Political parties are also more inclined to nominate candidates with access to financial resources. Men earn more on average than women and “racialized women, Indigenous women, and women with disabilities experience an even larger pay gap.” Men are also more likely to donate to political candidates who are men. Even once elected, the challenges do not end there for women MPs. Canadian political institutions were made by men for men and it is evident that the vestiges of this design are still standing. Many women MPs have cited instances of harassment and sexist behaviour in the House of Commons. There remain inadequate provisions for elected officials who are parents, which have greater implications for women than men. These political systems are also inherently colonial. We need to grapple with what that means for Indigenous candidates who are elected and work in these spaces. This means seriously considering what changes need to be made to address how Canada’s history of colonialism shapes its politics. The 100th anniversary of women’s participation in federal politics is a chance to reflect on how we can reach full gender parity and other forms of diversity in Canadian politics. Political parties need to nominate women in winnable ridings. Parliament needs to improve its policies and procedures around parental leave. We need to eliminate sexual harassment from politics. These are just a few of the steps required. On Dec. 7, Equal Voice commemorated 100 years of women MPs on Parliament Hill. Join us as we continue the journey towards gender parity. Eleanor Fast is the executive director of Equal Voice. Kim Kelly, MD, is the chair of Equal Voice’s board of directors and the organization’s Alberta director. Equal Voice is a multi-partisan organization dedicated to electing and supporting women at all levels of political office. The Hill Times