OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014 / 19 OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014 / 19 Anyone attending a municipal conference in Ontario will easily observe that an Old Boys’ Club continues to rule the municipal realm. As a municipal organization, the physical makeup of the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA) is no exception as only two women currently sit on OGRA’s Board of Directors while there have only been two female Presidents in OGRA’s 120-year history. One of the comments the OGRA Conference Planning Committee received after the 2014 ROMA/OGRA Combined Conference was that there should be more of an effort to increase the number of women who attend the conference in future years. OGRA staff asked themselves why women continue to be vastly outnumbered by men at the annual conference and the conclusion was that it was an accurate reflection of the gender (im)balance of the municipal political sphere. This is one of the reasons why the editors of Milestones Magazine decided to include an article on female participation in municipal politics. As the October municipal elections approach, this is an issue to keep in mind. Even as equal opportunity activists have made tremendous strides towards empowering women, many barriers continue to effectively exclude women from leadership roles in both the public and private sectors. feature BY THOMAS BARAKAT Why Women Continue to be Underrepresented in the Political Sphere *e yellow cells indicate the cells that are equal to or greater than 30% Source: Federation of Canadian Municipalities 2013 - MUNICIPAL STATISTICS Elected Officials Gender Statistics*
Anyone attending a municipal conference in Ontario
will easily observe that an Old Boys’ Club continues to
rule the municipal realm. As a municipal organization, the
physical makeup of the Ontario Good Roads Association
(OGRA) is no exception as only two women currently
sit on OGRA’s Board of Directors while there have only
been two female Presidents in OGRA’s 120-year history.
One of the comments the OGRA Conference Planning
Committee received after the 2014 ROMA/OGRA Combined
Conference was that there should be more of an eff ort to
increase the number of women who attend the conference
in future years.
OGRA staff asked themselves why women continue to be
vastly outnumbered by men at the annual conference and
the conclusion was that it was an accurate refl ection of the
gender (im)balance of the municipal political sphere. This is
one of the reasons why the editors of Milestones Magazine
decided to include an article on female participation in
municipal politics. As the October municipal elections
approach, this is an issue to keep in mind.
Even as equal opportunity activists have made tremendous
strides towards empowering women, many barriers
continue to eff ectively exclude women from leadership
roles in both the public and private sectors.
feature BY THOMAS BARAKAT
Why Women Continue to be Underrepresented in the Political Sphere
*Th e yellow cells indicate the cells that are equal to or greater than 30%
Source: Federation of Canadian Municipalities
2013 - MUNICIPAL STATISTICS Elected Offi cials Gender Statistics*
20 / OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014
However, it is important to distinguish between the barriers
preventing women from seeking leadership roles in general
and the barriers which are specifi c to politics at the
municipal level. This will be discussed below.
A gap in leadership between men and women exists in
both public and private spheres, and must be discussed in
any conversation surrounding gender equality.
In 2012, Ann-Marie Slaughter, a Professor of Politics and
International Aff airs at Princeton University as well as
the former Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State
Department, wrote an article in The Atlantic entitled
“Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”.
Although this article details the diffi culties surrounding the
hardships of work-life balance for women, she explains that
the best way for improving the lot of all women, is to close
the leadership gap.
“Very few women reach leadership positions. The pool of female candidates for any top job is small, and will only grow smaller if the women who come aft er us decide to take time out, or drop out of professional competition altogether, to raise children.” - Ann-Marie Slaughter.
“Women are not making it
to the top. A hundred and
ninety heads of state; nine are
women. Of all the people in
parliament in the world, 13
percent are women. In the
corporate sector, [the share
of] women at the top—C-level
jobs, board seats—tops out
at 15, 16 percent.” - Sheryl
Sandberg
OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014 / 21
A United Nations (UN) report states that in order for
women’s issues to be fully represented, they must
comprise 30% of elected offi cials at the municipal level.
According to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’
(FCM) Women in Local Government division, women
currently represent only 25% of councillors and 15% of
mayors in Ontario, for an average of 24% – which is 6% less
than the 30% specifi ed by the UN (see Table on Page 19)
but 4% higher than the number of women in the House of
Commons (20.8%).
At the provincial level, fi ve of Canada’s ten provinces had
a female Premier less than one year ago. In Ontario, 2 of
the 3 provincial party leaders are female. Some will use
these facts to argue that female political representation
has already come of age and that it is a non-issue. Such
claims are false, as the issue of female participation is often
placed on the backburner while “real” issues such as the
economy and the debt/defi cit continue to dominate the
headlines. Even though the battle for true gender equality
continues to be fought, it does not generate the same
type of headlines and interest that it once did. Those born
in the past 30 years are likely unaware of the struggle their
mothers and grandmothers endured other than what is
printed in history textbooks.
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO ELECT WOMEN TO PUBLIC OFFICE?
There are two main reasons:
1. To have political representation that accurately refl ects
the composition of the population
2. To ensure that women’s interests are fully represented
To elect more women, some argue that safeguards should
be instituted to ensure such an outcome; for example,
affi rmative action-like quota systems or ridings where only
female candidates are nominated and run against each
other. These proposals are fl awed as they don’t address the
root cause of the problem, but instead suggest cosmetic
changes.
feature
Two overarching issues prevent women from seeking
public offi ce:
1. Cultural and societal norms associated with the political
environment
2. The confi dence gap between men and women
Societal and Cultural Norms
The political process in Canada was developed prior to the
establishment of universal suff rage.
Carol Down, a specialist in municipal-level gender studies argues “Since that time [establishment of universal suff rage] no major accommodations have been made for the gender roles that women bring to the table.”
22 / OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014
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She goes on to say that the values and standards of political
life haven’t evolved from the male-dominated era, and
politics at the municipal level remains an Old Boys’ Club.
Many municipalities retain non-inclusive policies and
practices, where gender discrimination is reported at many
levels. That, along with the fact that the rules of the political
game have not changed, disadvantages women as potential
candidates.
Down’s arguments appear to hold true when pitted against
current events. To use the provincial level once again
because of the high-profi le examples it provides, one must
look no further than the political demise of former Alberta
Premier Alison Redford. If her complete abuse of public
funds is put aside, it appears that expectations of her were
unfairly shaped by the gender double standard prevalent
in Alberta’s political culture. A caucus colleague of hers,
Len Webber, told reporters he could no longer work under
Redford because she was a bully and “not a nice lady.” Would
the same thing have been said of a male? Probably not, as
this type of behaviour is the norm for men in the political
sphere. Shawinigan Handshake anyone?
In Newfoundland and Labrador, Premier Kathy Dunderdale
resigned in January amid questions about her leadership
OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014 / 23
and sliding approval ratings. Compare this outcome with
that of her fellow Tory, Ontario Progressive Conservative
leader Tim Hudak, whose approval ratings in the province
had been dismal for years – and lower than the leaders
of the other two parties – yet he remained leader of the
party through two elections until their dismal performance
in the 2014 provincial election. Did the gender of these
individuals play a role in the outcome of their political
careers?
As the political culture in Canada continues to evolve
from its male-dominated past, there continue to be some
hurdles in the way women are treated by their male
colleagues. A barrier found in all walks of life is sexual
harassment. What makes it unique in the public/political
sphere is the amplifi cation of such incidents. Unfortunately
this has already occurred in the Toronto mayoral race, as
incumbent Mayor Rob Ford made sexually lewd comments
about female candidate Karen Stintz in one of his
drunken rants. Stintz was not only highly off ended by the
comments, but had to explain the incident to her children,
take questions from the media about it, and reaffi rm her
place in the political sphere as a woman.
At the federal level, NDP MP Megan Leslie admitted that
when she fi rst arrived to the House of Commons one
of her new male colleagues told her what a “fi ne body”
she had. She claims “There is a locker-room mentality of
casual sexism in the House” that persists to this day. Such
incidents do not encourage more women to run in an
already male-dominated fi eld and will continue to reinforce
the notion that it is a man’s game. Down argues that the
current political culture is adversarial (a “male value”) and
not consensus building (a “female value”) and as a result
discourages many women from pursuing political careers.
However, it is this type of argument that actually reinforces
current gender roles. Although the political system is in
dire need of more consensus builders, women should not
be relegated to this role. Instead, women should be able
to pursue any type of role without being judged by the
existing cultural double standard.
Cultural standards surrounding family and children are
also a factor when women are considering a run for public
offi ce. Although the majority of women have been in the
workforce for decades, many continue to view family and
children as part of the woman’s domain. When a man
spends countless hours at the offi ce and sacrifi ces time
with his family, he is considered a hard and dedicated
worker; however, when the same is done by a woman she is
seen as neglecting her family and an absentee parent. Such
an obstacle delays the entry of women into public life until
their children are older.
Until male behaviour is no longer considered the default
in the political sphere, women will continue to be held to
a diff erent standard. Changing the cultural perception of
those within the political sphere as well as those observing
it is no easy task. A cultural shift can take decades, if not
generations.
THE CONFIDENCE GAP
In two decades of covering American politics, they
interviewed some of the most infl uential women in
the country. They wrote their book as a result of being
surprised to discover the extent to which many of these
women suff ered from self-doubt.
feature
“…commentators point to cultural and institutional barriers to female success. Th ere’s truth in that, too. But these explanations for a continued failure to break the glass ceiling are missing something more basic: women’s acute lack of confi dence.”
Claire Shipman and Katty Kay
Claire Shipman, Reporter, ABC News Katty Kay, Anchor, BBC World News AmericaCo-authors The Confi dence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance—What Women Should Know.
OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014 / 25
To summarize their thesis, the self-confi dence of women
is generally lower than their male counterparts (who the
authors claim to generally have higher than average self-
confi dence). They argue that socialization patterns from
a very young age perpetuate this outcome. Young girls
behave more orderly as a result of their longer attention
spans while boys are roughhousing and calling each other
names. They argue that while girls are playing by the rules
and are generally more academically successful, the boys
are developing a thicker skin and are becoming less likely
to fear criticism and rejection later in life. When children
grow up and leave the classroom, this means men take
more risks, are more likely to get a promotion, and are more
likely to earn a higher income.
The issue of self-confi dence, though not the only factor
aff ecting a woman’s entry to political life, should be
taken seriously. Shipman and Kay found that many of the
women they interviewed had argued that they were “not
good enough” or “not qualifi ed enough”. Many had even
admitted to thinking that they were just lucky to get where
they were. The authors view this as the primary reason as
to why many women don’t apply for positions at higher
levels and are thus underrepresented in top jobs. This same
argument can easily be applied to the political sphere.
Running for public offi ce takes a high degree of self-
confi dence as when one enters a campaign they are
essentially selling themselves and their qualities and
hoping that the electorate “buys” it by voting for them.
One who is full of self-doubt will not be able to convey a
consistently clear and positive image of themselves and the
electorate will not believe that they can get achieve their
goals. Once elected, attacks from councillors with opposing
views, the media, and the general public will easily aff ect
the individual, and seeking re-election may become
undesirable.
Critics of Kay and Shipman’s thesis argue that women have
lower self-confi dence because society undervalues women
while rewarding men for their risky and sometimes reckless
behaviour. This brings us back to the societal and cultural
norms discussion in the previous section of the article.
It appears that there is a relationship between low female
self-confi dence and male societal norms. Furthermore, it
appears that this relationship is cyclical.
feature
continued on page 44
While it is not necessary for Ontario municipalities to re-invent the wheel with their approach, there should be a
stronger and more concerted eff ort to encourage women to enter municipal political life.
44 / OGRA MILESTONES SUMMER 2014
continued from page 25Re: FEATURE Why Women Continue to be Underrepresented in the Political Sphere
