A BC New Democrat recently proposed a new way to involve more women in Canadian politics, and frankly, I am not a fan: Kennedy Stewart‘s bill, the Candidate Gender Equity Act, proposes reducing the amount of rebates a party can register for after an election is over if a certain percentage of their candidates were not women. We all know elections cost money (albeit a heck of a lot less here in Canada), and so the Federal Government uses tax dollars to rebate the political parties for up to 80% of their election activity spending. Stewart says reduce the amount of rebates a party may collect based on a gender scale: if 45% of the party’s candidates are not female, then it is financially penalized with less rebates.
While I appreciate Stewart’s effort to push for greater gender balance in Parliament, I say this proposed bill is unlikely to be successful in its mission because of its potential to work against itself and because it does not address the actual problem and the real reasons behind why I feel women do not enter politics as commonly as men:
- Personal criticism and sexual harassment from colleagues as well as the public (and a fear of being set up to fail?)
- A system that tends to favour their male counterparts
- A lack of role models that young women can look up to and seek guidance from
I agree with two-term Calgary MP Michelle Rempel, who served two years in Stephen Harper’s cabinet and is notably only 36, when she says that a bill like this would likely incentivize parties to bring up more female candidates but place them in ridings that are likely non-winnable anyway in order to secure their financial rebates.
It may be a longer term plan, but I would rather see incentives for parties to engage young people (not just women), in politics who are at the start of their post-secondary education and careers in addition to stricter penalties for those found guilty of sexist or harassing behaviour. Let’s affect change from the ground up, rather than try to break down barriers from the top down.
See the original article by Jane Taber, published in The Globe and Mail, here.
Featured image via iPolitics: MP Michelle Rempel.
