Canada Needs More Women In Government, Strong Public Policy Voice

While there is great cause to celebrate 80 years since the Persons’ Case, and the Honourary Senator title bestowed this week upon the Famous Five, the celebration merely covers up the crude reality in current Canadian public life: We are not making progress in female representation and any steps forward are followed by two steps back.

Where is the consistently strong, powerful female public policy voice?

Although women constitute more than 50 per cent of the population, at most women have held less than half of that percentage in governing bodies in this country. Any progress made in the last 30 years has since dropped or stalled. Apart from Kim Campbell’s few months in office, we have never had a female prime minister. Indeed, female party leaders of any description have been rare on the federal stage, notwithstanding Elizabeth May who failed to win a seat in 2008 and whose Green party holds no seats in Parliament.

At present, only 22 per cent of provincial legislators are women. Perhaps more tellingly, only two women over the past 142 years have served as provincial premiers – Rita Johnston for seven months as Premier of British Columbia and Catherine Callbeck for three years in the early 1990s as Premier of Prince Edward Island. Note that rarely do women elected to political leadership positions hold their positions long.

The rest of the world is making strides, and we need only look south of the border to be embarrassed by our lack of progress. United States President Barack Obama agrees that women’s interests, dreams and policy preferences need representation, enough to create the Executive Council for Women and Girls that includes all cabinet heads as well as key administration heads. Its purpose is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in matters of public policy.

Elected American women can be confident they are a powerful political force, with the likes of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking woman in the line of succession and a legislative powerhouse. Both are routinely named among the most powerful women in the world. Additionally, there are five female senior cabinet secretaries sitting at the President’s leadership table.

Canadians, of course, are not without bragging rights. We can be justifiably proud of our Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Beverly McLaughlin and with four women on a bench of nine, and honour Michaëlle Jean for her highly visible role as our almost head of state. However, putting so much focus on five women of past being awarded honorary seats at the table really glosses over the situation and the lack of action. Women are legitimately asking, “Are we there yet?” and should not for a moment accept the status quo as an acceptable destination.

Now some might question such a conclusion coming from a man, but here I would argue that public life in Canada, and for that matter any sector, needs to draw from as deep and broad a talent pool as possible, and here we are selling ourselves short. We need a talent pool with a greater diversity of perspectives, interests and aspirations, whether male, female, black, white, gay, small town or big city.

A friend shared a story about the conversation between a woman in England and her young son while Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. When she asked her son what he aspired to do when he grew up, he said he aspired to be a Member of Parliament. When asked why not Prime Minister, the son replied: “Can a man be Prime Minister?” Unless women see themselves occupying high positions, their aspirations to those positions may not feel legitimate.

Agnes McPhail, the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons, said, “Canadians can be radical, but they must be radical in their own peculiar way, and this way must be in harmony with our national traditions and ideals.” Perhaps now is time for a little less harmony. Perhaps it is time to redefine our national traditions and ideals. While congratulations are owed to our five Honourary Senators, and much has been accomplished in the 80 years since Persons’ Day, perhaps another 80 years from now we will be a society where everyone sees themselves reflected in the highest corridors of power, with aspirations never capped. That would truly be cause for celebration.

Topics: Canada, Famous Five, female public policy voice, female representation, Governance, government, leadership, Persons Case, Persons' Day, politics, public policy, Women, women in government

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