Women and Politics in Canada - Research Paper Example

Women and Politics in Canada In any civilized society, equal representation in the legislature and government indicates good political setups that cater for all. The representation of women in any political system signifies good democratic principles in that society1. Many traditional political landscapes do not have political roles for women, as women are considered incapable of making good decisions. Traditional male dominance that stifled women’s right to be heard is gradually being broken down by globalization and increased advocacy for human rights. In institutions that lack women representation, it is clear that gender inequality is acceptable and normal. It is left to the imagination, the level of oppression that women undergo because there is nobody to fight on their behalf. It is then plausible to say that any voice that rises on their behalf goes unheard, is crushed or is ignored; in most instances the women who question male dominance are frowned upon. The social structure that traditionally had ‘women’ roles as restricted in the kitchen started changing rapidly in the early 18th and 19th century with women taking on roles that earlier were exclusively held by men. The changing economic times, coupled with increased access to education and information, gave women the power to actively push for their rights and the right to be involved in decision making in all spheres of their lives. During the World War I, women experienced the war in different ways from their husbands and sons; they suffered different torment and adopted new patterns of thoughts, new lives, and sometimes new identities. The war added a revolutionally knowledge to women as they became munitions’ workers, ambulance drivers, police nurses, and spies. They lived and died through fire and shell and they planned for a future without discrimination. During that period the women had not been listened to but after the war some of the women got vote and wanted their voice heard. The “extreme diversity of what men and women underwent during the war present a test case where women had to be granted equal status to those of men”2. This is because the men left for war and women had to adopt the roles men previously held, their voice had to be heard3. Canada was a British colony and most laws were based on the British legal systems. Unmarried Women and widows right to vote in municipal elections was granted in Ontario in 1884 signifying a long march towards representation. The right to vote in provincial elections was not granted until 1916 in Manitoba followed by Alberta the same year. The first woman magistrate in the entire British Empire was Emily Murphy in Canada. This illustrates the insignificance of women during the 18th and 19th century as they were denied any representation whatsoever and it follows then that the rights of women were frequently abused without any form of redress. The inequality of women was legalized by acts such as the military voter’s act that allowed women of British origin to vote on behalf of their male relatives in the armed forces in federal elections. The right to vote was finally extended to all women in the act to confer the electoral franchise upon women in 1919. Legal representation for women and the right to hold public office in Canada was achieved by efforts of the famous five Alberta women. The women sought a clarification on whether the constitution at that time recognized women as ‘persons’ on which the supreme court ruled that women were not; a ruling that was later overruled by the judicial committees of England privy council who ruled that the word ‘persons’ included both male and female sex and this opened the right of women to seek political offices. Feminism was steadily gaining momentum by the day and women were finally beginning to seek equal recognition with men albeit in the political field. Majority of the women however could not actively voice their demand and the impact of the small win could not be immediately felt. Despite women being recognized as ‘persons’, discrimination took many forms and in the labor market they were denied equal wages with men. All over the world, women work was regarded as inferior and less important compared to men’s work, probably due to the different tasks performed by men and women in the society. This can be captured in the statement by Harriet Bradley “men and women are fond of ostensibly working side by side in different fields, offices and factories, however on closer investigation one may well outline that they are doing different things”4, men perform the real work, and women assist. Men are controlling women are obeying5. This mentality explains why women were discriminated in the work places. They got substantially lower wages even in the same positions with the same job description. Furthermore, they could not get senior positions in most institutions. This discrimination clearly indicated that men were dominant and it perpetuated the patriarchal traditional home structure where the man was supreme. This gave rise to feminist trade unions that fought for ‘equal pay’ with men, representation of women in organizational structures involved in decision –making, and to equal gender division of labor. Women were primarily responsible for family and domestic work which reinforced their subordinate status at the work place, in the union, and in the home6. In Canada the rapidly increasing female labor force, with 30% of permanent employees in the labor force, necessitated a review on women issues7. In 1963, Judy Lamarsh, the minister of National Health and Welfare, agitated for a public enquiry on the status of women in Canada. But the media was against the idea of women recognition and actively campaigned against the same. The then prime minister was not able to address the issue. This was later possible in 1967 with the assistance of the president of the Canadian Federation of University Women. By rallying all established women’s organizations to meet in Toronto on 3rd may 1966 and discuss the status of the women, the meeting led to the establishment of the committee on the equality of women in Canada under Sabia’s leadership. Only then did the government establish the royal commission on the status of women after they threatened to hold a demonstration. The commission was tasked with investigating the conditions of women in Canada and come up with resolutions that would ensure the federal government facilitated equal opportunities for women and men in all aspects of the Canadian society. They were especially mandated to look in the federal statutes, regulations, and policies in the Canadian constitution that hindered the rights and activities of women. The royal commission increased and publicized the status of the women in Canada; it led to the formation of numerous women liberation and feminist groups which successfully brought attention to women issues that included equal pay, abortion, and violence against women. Previously invincible in key decision making and policy formulation in most structures of the government, the feminist movements had created an awareness that would continually change the way women were treated in the society. It was a spring board in which women had a chance at free choice from the male influence. The major question that remained was “will the rest of the women take up the task and challenge the male superiorly mindsets?” Only by women actively involving themselves in politics would their interests be properly looked after. The recommendations of the royal commission were to create an advisory committee that would oversee the adoption of the report’s 167 recommendations. It was renamed the Status of Women Canada (SWC). The royal commission enabled the government to use tax monies to establish women groups all over the country. This led to invention and implementation of feminist policies and concepts making the Canadian feminist movement very powerful and influential. The feminist agenda was using the state to redress and eradicate inequalities brought about by male dominance. Political patronage and structural confusions made the feminist advisory committees unsuccessful in effectively representing women to the government. This is because their leaders were not selected by women movements but were appointed by the government machinery hence they had to support it. Internal disagreements also made them not have a structured plan for advancement of women issues. Feminists in Canada have direct bearings on political opportunities open to them, based on the relationship they have with the government of the day8. The relationship keeps on changing possibly because there are no permanent legal framework and structures that guide the interaction of the government and the feminist groups. This is a loophole that can be exploited by both the government and the women representatives to the women’s disadvantage. Their complacency can be bought and this can hamper the access of women to their rights. Federal feminism supported by the Canadian government has failed to provide the feminist groups with efficient structures that could advance the women’s views. The four main agencies, the Status of Women Canada, the Advisory Council, the Women’s Program and the long existing Labor Bureau failed also to collectively articulate the views of women organizations into the policy making process and hence the women demands were not successfully implemented. Though the movements were well organized at the lower levels, the top leadership failed to meet their mandate except in pushing for equal pay9. The movements could have pushed for a greater quota of legislative seats in municipal and provincial administration, which could have increased the women power as they would be actively involved in key decision making processes. By negotiating for legislative seats in various levels of the federal government, they could have actively made a far much impact that could have motivated women to go for political seats. The political landscape is unfavorable to women especially when competition for power is high. Significantly, fewer women can be able to compete for elective posts because they will lose and the feminist movements are unable to aggressively push the women electorate to vote for their own candidates. The Canadian feminist political scope should have developed a strategy to encompass official politics in their activities. They could have developed feminist members to work in the different arms of the government that include the judicially, the police, legislatures, and the civil service departments and agencies of the government to increase women representation10. This could have been a better political tool as it would have strategically placed its members in positions of authority either by education or by active negotiations and would have easily changed the political playing field. There are many challenges to women ascending to powerful positions and this can be shown by the few elective posts women hold. Women are less likely to win nominations into elective positions because of financial constraints, limited access to informal networks and overt oppositions from within party networks11. The bulk of household and family responsibilities are handled by women and considering that they earn 0.72 for every dollar a man makes, it will make women start at a disadvantage given that they also will make substantially lower and fewer political donations12. This will undermine their value in their respective parties. With limited finances for their campaigns, it will be very difficult to make a good impact necessary for a landslide win as their outreach programs will be difficult to implement. As new entrants in the political field, the incumbency members of parliament wield a lot of power and influence. They have a higher chance of being re elected into office especially where they have good track records. In the 1970s, when second wave feminists convinced political parties to change their organizational and party politics, nine women campaigned for party leader seats. Their success was determined by various factors and it was clear that they succeeded where posts were of no political significance and they would not actively be involved in national policy making processes13. Their win was not significant because it did not change the overall mindset of the society to women leadership14. It was as if the parties were performing a public relations exercise and never wanted the women to ascend to meaningful positions. If feminist women consistently fail to take part in party politics and fail to get party posts, then women will continually be underrepresented in all political institutions. Data from the Canadian elections of 2004 and 2006 illustrate that women are apt to run for political posts if the party leader composition has a large proportion of women15. They are also more likely to be nominated by their parties if the party leader is a woman16. This indicates that there are many formal and informal factors that contribute to the women being underrepresented and if they are not effectively researched and addressed, their representation will always be low and ineffective. The subject on women under participation and under representation revolves around many issues mainly arising from the cultural context of politics. Feminists have failed to investigate how education and learning tools that are used to bring change and justice have advanced or hindered women’s political representation17. It is necessary for all stakeholders to investigate and articulate the underlying factors that surround women’s participation in politics so as to learn how such factors are reinforced and naturalized18. By investigating the informal and non formal learning practices of elected and aspiring women politicians, the feminists can highlight the issues that need to be addressed to increase their participation in politics. The political arena is dominated by men and they usually hold ‘secret meetings’ to strategize and come up with ways of consolidating power. Most politicians even in opposing groups regularly hold consultative meetings and sometimes they are so secretive that only insiders know about them. When women enter into this male dominated field, they are mostly isolated from these groups and they become loners in the political arena and without their male counterparts’ support they eventually give up. The women don’t get political good will from their male counterparts and hence they don’t learn the inner working of their political groups and this predisposes them to making irreversible political blunders. By being alienated, they don’t get the practical knowledge, skills, and networking necessary to move up the political hierarchy19. The Canadian constitution is non partisan and has no provision for special groups including women. It doesn’t have any legislative mechanism to ensure gender equality of elected leaders. The mandate is left with the respective parties and some have succeeded in ensuring special groups, including women, are elected. The New Democratic Party has actively encouraged women to vie for seats albeit with little success. Election of a big percentage of women into the legislature has proved difficult20. Only 21.1 % of women make up the parliamentary seats and 25% the local government seats. Many women want nothing to do with politics even though they are more likely to succeed than their male counterparts in terms of output. Cultural beliefs that only men have good leadership qualities impede their decision to run for office. Many women can never agree to be gloomed for political office, believing that they don’t have the skills and qualities necessary for success and hence many parties and feminist movements lack willing women candidates to push forward. Even when they are willing to run for office, the support of the family and close relatives is important and without this support they are labeled as social misfits and their chance of getting elected dims. Women have to learn to approach politics as women; they should stop comparing themselves with men and use women ideals to succeed. By participating with men as equals in the political field, they are doomed to fail as men and women have predominantly different roles and way of doing things. Their mode of decision making and relating with the electorate is very different and hence they have to understand how to communicate effectively and efficiently by improving their communication skills. Traditionally, politics belonged exclusively to men as were many leadership positions. This mentality is deeply entrenched in the culture of Canadians and hence women enter the political field as underdogs. To change this stereotyping of gender roles will take a long time and before that women will always face an uphill task succeeding in politics. Politics is a dirty game and the media will sometimes influence the voters against women candidates by discrediting their ability to lead with relevant ease21. Canadian feminist movements still has a lot to do to promote their agenda and this can only be done through a systematic political learning process that can collectively educate both men and women and change the perception that women cannot be good leaders. The society norms and beliefs that reinforce existing power structures that identify women with roles of family duties and motherhood and men as leaders need to change22. This will give women a chance at leadership and probably spur more women to vie for elective political posts. Though the feminist movements believe that women have achieved equality to men, this is an illusion as they have succeeded only in equating pay per work done. The fundamentally and historically societal believes and norms about the gender roles will continue to exist and hamper efforts to make women successful in politics. Perhaps in-depth research into the issue will come up with recommendations to incorporate women successfully in politics. Works Cited Bashevkin, Sylvia. When do outsiders break in? Institutional circumstances of party leadership victories by women in Canada. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics; 2010, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p72. Bradley, Harriet (Ed). Men’s Work, Women’s Work. London: Macmillan press ltd, 1992 pg32. Chappell, Louise Interacting with the State: Feminist Strategies and Political opportunities. International: Summer. 2000. Vol. 2 Issue 2, p.244 Cheng, Christine and Tavits, Margit. Informal Influences in Selecting Female Political Candidates. Political Research Quarterly; Jun2011, Vol. 64 Issue 2, p460-471, 12p Darlene, Christopherson, Magregor, Clover, Farell Mike and Pant. Women learning politics and the politics of learning: A feminist study of Canada and India. Studies in the Education of Adults; Spring 2011, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p.18 D'Hooghe Alexander and Karin Andersen. ‘Gender as A Factor in the Attribution of Leadership', Political Research Quarterly, 46 (3) 1993 p. 527. Erickson, Lynda. ‘Might More Women Make A Difference? Gender, Party and Ideology Among Canada's Parliamentary Candidates, 1993 p. 61 Goldman, Dorothy (Ed). Women and World War I. London: Macmillan ltd, 1993 pg 26 Gemmerli, Tobias. “Queering development -- incorporating sexuality”, Approaches to Development. 2009 Web 15 Mar 2012 Kainer, Jan. “Gendering Union Renewal: Women's Contribution to Labor Movement Revitalization.” Gender and Work Database, 2009 Web 15 Mar 2012 Lovenduski, Joni. Introduction: State Feminism and the Political Representation of Women. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. p1 Puwar, Nirmal. Thinking About Making a Difference. BJPIR, 6, 2004. p.65. Rankin, Pauline, Vickers, Jill and Field Ann-Marie. Women’s Movements, and State Feminism: integrating Diversity and Public Policy 2001 p 21 Sangster, Joan. Invoking Experience as Evidence: Canadian Historical Review 92 .2011. p.1 Statistics Canada. “Women in Canada.” 7 Mar 2006 web 15 Mar 2012. Tremblay, Manon and Trimble Linda. Women and Electoral Politics in Canada. Oxford: OUP, 2003, p 5 Read More