Do Statutory Quotas An Assurance That Women?

In addition to the arguments above there are some very strong disadvantages to this system such as it excludes women from the legislature. The ‘most broadly acceptable candidate’ syndrome also affects the ability of women to be elected to legislative office because they are often less likely to be selected as candidates by male-dominated party structures. Although the evidence across the world suggests that women are less likely to be elected to the

Overall, the representation of elected women now stands at about 25 % at each level of government, including on municipal councils, in provincial/territorial legislatures and at federal level. (Parliament of Canada, 2016) With this significant gender parity in politics, the paper examines the causes of the under-representation of Canadian women in politics. Findings are based on scholarly articles and their analyzed data on why do fewer Canadian women run for political office. When taken together, the results presented in this paper argues that (1) unwelcoming environment (women and family unfriendly working environment) with lack of support in political engagement, (2) women’s experience of exclusion, paternalism and systemic discrimination in political realm, and (3) media’s portrayal of women as to be marginalized by the society are what cause Canadian women to be under-represented in politics. Finally, the paper raises an interesting question from the topic of gender disparity into further discussion of the discrimination within discriminated group women other than those privileged ones who are likely to be selected in public

Numerous systemic barriers are preventing women from entering the political workforce including (but no limited to): family, the brutality of politics, male domination, stereotypes and traditionalism. Family plays probably the most important role in women’s decision-making on whether to enter politics.

The most adequate of women are being scared away from the political race because of the sexist attacks against women in government. The most suitable women look at past candidates and witness the attacks on them and choose to avoid the political

It is also evident that since female and male candidates are equally qualified for political positions and have the same success rate in elections, the gender gap can be explained through the lack of female participation in elections. Many governments, including the Canadian government, have contemplated introducing quota systems to reduce the scope of the gender gap and ensure female representation in parliament. However, in a democratic system, quotas can be viewed as a “violation of liberal democracy” because they favour a specific people group (“50% Population”). The solution, therefore, rests in the hands of the next generation of female leaders. It is up to young, educated women to embrace Virginia Woolf’s parting message in her essay A Room of One’s Own of acquiring “a room of [their] own” (Woolf 4). In other words, young women are faced with the task of developing a sense of independence and having the “habit of freedom and the courage” in order to pursue a career in politics (Woolf 112). Even though there are initiatives in universities aimed prepare women to run for politics such as the She Will Run, it is essential to acknowledge that gender parity in the political environment will not be achieved automatically ("50% Population”). As instructed by Woolf, young women must move past stereotypes, suppress

This essay will argue why Canada should take a substantive approach to women’s representation in parliament. Having an adequate representation of women in parliament would be a huge turning point for women and allow their voices to be heard. Each woman holds a different view, just like men do. Each gender and person will bring their own view forth and allow for a diverse House. The issue is that women are not getting adequate representation, and therefore are not being able to represent their views. Men have a much larger congregation than women, therefore overpowering the views/ideologies of them. In Canada, everyone strives for equality, and the best place to start is to take a substantive approach to women’s representation in parliament.

Professional and politically active women often encounter prejudice. Another barrier women face would be low socio-economic status. The barrier prevents women from getting any necessary funding for campaigns. Women’s experiences are often with volunteer associations or women’s groups if they have decided to enter the political world. Different socialization patterns are also a barrier for women entering politics.

Women’s voice in governance, political process, and decision-making offers a direct perspective on women’s issues which may contradict or expand on those of men, promoting equality and equity, and granting access to the power to make change (Guppy & Luongo, 2015, p. 259). Status of Women Canada, established as a department in the federal government in 1976, promotes gender equality and advocates for “women’s and girls’ full participation in all aspects of life” because it is vital for the country’s success, and for women to gain voice alleviates discrimination (2016). This sentiment is powerful, but how can women’s full participation be

Statistics Canada shows that women make up of 50.4% (2010) of Canada’s collective population, however, only 25.3 % of those women are situated in the House of Commons (Women, 2015). Why would this be the case? Canadian women have suffered for a long time now regarding the concern that not only dictated history but has also harshly influenced today’s society, which is the social gap between men and women. It is arguable that this gap has prevented women from the ability to seek their highest potential due to the lack of recognition they would receive, mainly because of their gender. Women have been stigmatized in society as being inferior to men in many aspects of life, such as, “not being as intelligent or as strong as men” even if they are.

In Canada, women comprise over 50% of the population and the fact that they are not present in halls of government in proportion to their population reflects poorly on our democracy. The significant under-representation of women in Canadian legislation has severe consequences that are symbolic; it deprives our government’s policy-making process the input of a significant portion of Canadians. A system that does not adequately represent its majority population calls into question the legitimacy of our democratic institutions. Women’s participation in formal politics is crucial because the quantity of representation will influence the quality of representation in Canadian legislation. It reflects poorly on democracy because the minorities, the white heterosexual men in power, are regulating the majority population. Women need to advocate for mirror representation and not settle for a quota. A quota in our legislation is not enough to ensure sufficient representation of women in decision making. When we have a few women in our legislation they no longer fight for those who elected them in the first place. Instead they are pressured by the majority of men in power to conform to the culture and practices that continue to oppress those who elected them in the first place. When there are enough women in legislature to mutually support one another, we will begin to see decisions that improve citizen’s quality of life. In this essay I will argue that political parties need to ensure

Reserve the few important portfolios for the women-------- female ministers are typically given ‘feminine’ portfolios, such as education, health, social welfare or environment. Moreover, governments do not consider gender equality as a priority, gender equality issues are missing from the budgeting process, and women are not present in the financial, peace, and international negotiations, structures and delegations. The participation of a proportion of women in government in all levels should be established as one of the rules of democracy. All governments should thus include a proportion of women. Men and women alike are fitted to hold government

In 1919, Grace Benny became Australia’s first woman in office catalyzing the female empowerment movement, which in result, provided women with opportunities to consider becoming more actively involved within the government and various associations (Victorian Women’s Trust 2017). In 1947, Sweden elected their first woman into the government position of ministerial, Karin Kock; she also influenced the evolution of the women empowerment movement; in addition, Knock, influenced a greater pull towards female participation in the economic and political parliaments (Sweden Sverige 2017). My analysis sheds light onto the various similarities and differences that helped form a progressive enlightenment on gender equality towards women in politics within both countries. Though Sweden and Australia vary significantly within their demographics, similar ideologies were used when initiating women stances in the governing parliaments.

Society sees men with the traits that display more stronger and dominant attitudes that is left women to be in the shadow. Women having a lower income compared to men are not because they work fewer hours, and it is not because they have a lower education level as well (Grant). This shows patriarchy where it revolves around a power system that is organized around the dominance of men. “Even with all of these factors are considered, the result remains the same: a wage gap” (Grant). During the election, it was shown that the majority of the elected members were men (Taber). The results were that 88 out of 338 MPs have been elected into the federal office (Taber), which shows that society does not give many women the opportunity to be

When Sylvia Bashevkin wrote “ the higher, the fewer” it was to indicate a pattern in women's political participation. The number of women in politics drops as one moves upward to the upper tiers of government, federal or provincial. The gap between the number of women involved in politics to the number of women in the country is still too wide. Over half the population is female and yet less than 25% were Members of Parliament in 2011. As of 2016 only 31% of senators were female. This gap highlights the need to continue to pursue the feminist movement.

New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893, however, since then we have dropped to 27th when it comes to gender representation in government, out of 188 countries. One of the many reasons as to why women are under represented in parliament can be linked to the issue of the political obstacles that face women. This is when they want to be in parliament, women whom are in parliament, and the many women who this is not an option for due to lack of opportunity. Women have to face this “masculine model” of politics and government. Men are dominant in parliament, meaning that political life revolves around male norms and values (Shvedova). This can be extended, politics is very much about competition and confrontation. Rather than politics being