BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL

PARTICIPATION IN CANADA

Melanee Thomas*

THE CONTINUED UNDER-REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN CANADIAN POLITICS

In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir noted that, among other things, politics “has
always been a man’s world.” 1 This statement remains as true today as it was when it
was first published. In all aspects of political leadership – be that in the community,
in advocacy, or in electoral politics – Canadian politics is a man’s world. Here, I
outline why this is the case, identifying obstacles to women’s political participation
at the individual, social, and political levels. I conclude by examining if targeted
education efforts such as campaign schools can help women overcome these barriers.

It may be tempting to conclude that women have made great political gains
in Canada. More women were elected to the House of Commons in 2011 than ever
before in the past. As of early 2012, women lead six provincial or territorial
governments: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and
Labrador, and Nunavut. However, many of these women are in “glass cliff”
circumstances: their party’s electoral fortunes have declined to the point where their
re-election prospects are grim.2 Furthermore, these higher profile political events
obscure the dearth of women in politics in Canada. Less than 20 per cent of the
candidates nominated by major parties in 2011 were women; this is much the same
as it was in 1997.3 Stated differently, Canada’s political parties nominate and elect
about as many women today as they did fifteen years ago (see Appendix A). And yet,
Canada’s international ranking for women’s political representation fell from 16th in

                                                                                                               
*
Melanee Thomas, BA (Lethbridge), MA (Calgary), PhD (McGill), is Assistant Professor at the
Department of Political Science, University of Calgary.
1
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, translated by H.M. Parshley. (New York: Vintage Books, 1989).
2
Research shows that women leaders are often preferred to men only under these precarious
circumstances. See Susanne Bruckmüller and Nyla Branscombe, “The glass cliff: When and why women
are selected as leaders in crisis contexts” (2010) 49 British Journal of Social Psychology 433.
3
Elections Canada, Final List of Confirmed Candidates -- 41st General Election (6 June 2011), online:
Elections Canada <http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=pas/41ge/can&document=in
dex&lang=e#complete>; Elections Canada, Thirty-Sixth General Election 1997: Official Voting Results:
Synopsis, Table 10 Number of Candidates by Percentage of Valid Votes Received, by Political Affiliation
(20 July 2010), online: Elections Canada <http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rep/
off/dec3097&document=res_table10&lang=e>; Parliament of Canada, “Members of the House of
Commons,” (20 February 2012), online: Parliament of Canada <http://www.parl.gc.ca>.
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 219

1997 to 49th in 2011.4 It is hardly surprising that the Canadian electoral project – the
goal to elect 50 percent women to legislatures – is characterized as “stalled.”5

Indeed, if women’s political empowerment is measured as women’s

participation in political decision-making at the national level, then gender-based
political inequality is the most pernicious and robust indicator of inequality. This is
measured by the Global Gender Gap Reports6 In the top-ranked country (Iceland),
women’s political empowerment is roughly two-thirds of men’s; in Canada,
women’s political empowerment is less than 20 per cent of men’s.7

Women’s political underrepresentation is not restricted to names on federal

election ballots. In 2010, women comprised a mere 25% of municipal elected
representatives in some Canadian provinces.8 This is the same rate of participation as
the federal House of Commons, though municipal politics is broadly perceived to be
more “woman friendly.” Similarly, though women are as likely as men to vote,9
academic research concludes they have been less likely than men to be members of
political parties and civil society-based advocacy groups.10 Research also shows that
women are less likely than men to work on political campaigns for parties and for

                                                                                                               
4
Interparliamentary Union, Women in Parliaments: Word and Regional Averages (Statistical Archive),
online: Interparliamentary Union <http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world-arc.htm>.
5
Linda Trimble and Jane Arscott. Still Counting: Women in Politics across Canada. (Peterborough, ON:
Broadview Press, 2003).
6
Ricardo Haussmann, Laura D. Tyson, and Saadia Zahidi, World Economic Forum, The Global Gender
Gap Report 2006 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2006); Haussmann, Tyson, and Zahidi, World
Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2008 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2008);
Haussmann, Tyson, and Zahidi, World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2009 (Geneva:
World Economic Forum, 2009); Haussmann, Tyson, and Zahidi, World Economic Forum, The Global
Gender Gap Report 2010 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2010) [Haussmann, Ricardo and Zahidi,
“Reports”].?
7
By contrast, according to the same report, Canadian women’s economic participation and opportunities
are roughly 78 per cent of men’s, while women’s and men’s educational attainment, and health and
survival rates are equal. Three factors comprised “political empowerment” in these reports: the proportion
of women in parliament, the proportion of women in Cabinet, and the number of years women have
served in the political. Haussmann, Ricardo and Zahidi, “Reports”.
8
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, Women in Municipal Government, online: AUMA
<http://www.auma.ca/live/AUMA/Toolkits+%26+Initiatives/Women_in_Municipal_Government>;
Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Women in Local Government: Getting to 30% by 2026 (February
2012), online: CFM <http://www.fcm.ca/Documents/reports/Women/Getting_to_30_percent_by_
2026_EN.pdf> [FCM].
9
Elisabeth Gidengil et al., Citizens (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004).
10
Lisa Young and William Cross, Women's Involvement in Canadian Political Parties" (2003) in Manon
Tremblay and Linda Trimble, eds, Women and Electoral Politics in Canada (Toronto: Oxford University
Press); B Cross, Political Parties (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004); L Young and J Everitt, Advocacy
Groups (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004).
220 UNB LJ RD UN-B [VOL/TOME 64]

advocacy groups, to donate to political campaigns and causes, and to contact

government officials.11

The most recent data suggest that some of these trends have changed over
time, while others have persisted. According to the 2011 Canadian Election Study,12
women and men are now equally likely to have volunteered for, and been members
of a political party at some point in their lives. Women and men are equally likely to
sign petitions, engage in protest activities, and use the Internet to be politically active.
They are also equally likely to have been active in professional, environmental, and
ethnic associations. However, women remain less likely to donate to political
parties. 13 Women are less likely than men to participate in buycotts – buying
products for political, ethical, or environmental reasons – and women remain less
likely than men to volunteer for a community group or non-profit organization.
Women continue to be less likely than men to be active in unions, and business and
sports associations.

Finally, women are less likely to be interested in politics or confident in

their political abilities.14 They are also less likely to be knowledgeable about some
aspects of political affairs.15

WHY ARE WOMEN’S LOWER LEVELS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

PROBLEMATIC?

Women’s lower levels of political participation are problematic for three reasons.
First, women are a historically underrepresented group. In the past, they were
formally barred from participating in politics and democracy. Even though these
formal restrictions have been removed, informal barriers continue to act to hamper
women’s political participation. In the face of these barriers, Canada’s representative
institutions cannot function in a just, fair, and democratic manner. Second, women

                                                                                                               
11
Nancy Burns, Kay Leman Schlozman, and Sidney Verba, The Private Roots of Public Action
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001); Gidengil et al.; Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris,
Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change around the World (New York: Cambridge University
Press, 2003); Young and Cross; Young and Everitt.
12
Patrick Fournier et al. The 2011 Canadian Election Study [Dataset]. Author’s calculations.
13
This difference in donations does not achieve conventional levels of statistical significance. The other
differences are statistically significant at p<0.05.
14
Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox, It Still Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010); Melanee Thomas, "The Complexity Conundrum: Why
Hasn't the Gender Gap in Subjective Political Competence Closed?" (2012) 45:2 Canadian Journal of
Political Science 337 [Thomas “Complexity”]; Melanee Thomas, Feminist Mobilization and Gender Gaps
in Political Interest (2012) [unpublished, archived at the University of Calgary] [Thomas, “Feminism”].
15
Dietlind Stolle and Elisabeth Gidengil, "What Do Women Really Know? A Gendered Analysis of
Varieties of Political Knowledge" (2010) 8:1 PS: Perspectives on Politics 93.
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 221

are a heterogeneous group with a diversity of political opinions and preferences.16

Representing this diversity is difficult, if not impossible, with a small number of
representatives and activists. This task would be more realistically achieved if
women are as active in politics as justified by proportionality and their demographic
weight. 17 Third, research shows that in the legislature and the laboratory alike,
women’s and men’s decision-making behaviour changes with the gender
composition of that group.18 Specifically, men paired with women are more likely to
choose outcomes that closely match their preferences than are teams made up
exclusively of men, 19 and women are more likely than men to “prioritize the
protection of the vulnerable and support government intervention on ‘compassion’
issues.”20 This suggests that women’s lower levels of political participation lead to
outcomes that are less desirable for society as a whole.

These trends – or, rather, the stability of women’s lower levels of political
participation – suggest that that considerable barriers to women’s political
participation persist in Canada. These barriers exist at the individual,
community/social, and political levels; specific barriers at each level will be
discussed in turn.

                                                                                                               
16
Elisabeth Gidengil, "Beyond the Gender Gap: Presidential Address At the Canadian Political Science
Association, Saskatoon 2007" (2007) 40:4 Canadian Journal of Political Science 815; Pei-Te Lien, "Does
the Gender Gap in Political Attitudes and Behavior Vary across Racial Groups?" (1998) 51:4 Political
Research Quarterly 869.
17
Jane Mansbridge, "Myth and Reality: The Era and the Gender Gap in the 1980 Election" (1985) 49:2
Public Opinion Quarterly 164. This is one theoretical idea that underpins the notion of a “critical mass” of
women in politics. Many academics and advocacy groups argue that real political change can occur for
women in politics once they comprise 30 percent of a decision-making group, as advocated for by the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Others argue that this characterization of “critical mass” is based
on a misinterpretation of earlier work, and that increasing the number of women in politics could
potentially lead to less cohesive political representation for women. See Sarah Childs and Mona Lena
Krook "Critical Mass Theory and Women's Political Representation" (2008) 56 Political Studies 725.
Those arguing from this second perspective suggest that “critical actors” may be more important for
women’s political representation.
18
Nicholas Goedert, Christopher Karpowitz, and Tali Mendelberg, "Does Descriptive Representation
Facilitate Women's Distinctive Voice? How Group Gender Composition and Decision Rules Affect the
Content of Deliberation" (Paper delibered at the NYU CESS Annual Experimental Political Science
Conference, New York, 3 March 2012), online: <http://cess.nyu.edu/policon2012/wp-
content/uploads/2012/02/Goedert-Karpowitz-Mendelberg_NYU_2012_Feb-20.pdf>; Rebecca Hannagan
and Christopher Larimer, "Does Gender Composition Affect Group Decision Outcomes? Evidence from a
Laboratory Experiment" (2010) 32(1) Political Behavior 51; Lyn Kathlene, "Power and Influence in State
Legislative Policymaking: The Interaction of Gender and Position in Committee Hearing Debates" (1994)
88:3 The American Political Science Review 560.
19
Hannangan and Larimer.
20
Goedert, Karpowitz, and Mendelberg at 3.
222 UNB LJ RD UN-B [VOL/TOME 64]

Individual-Level Barriers to Women’s Political Participation

A number of individual-level barriers contribute to women’s lower levels of political

participation. The most important barriers at this level today in Canada are
psychological. One socioeconomic factor – income – continues to be an important
individual-level barrier.

Historically, socioeconomic factors were highlighted in the literature as the

most important. The earliest studies of political behaviour argued that as women’s
levels of education, income, and occupational status caught up to men’s, so too
should their levels of political participation and engagement.21 Canadian women’s
levels of education now rival and even exceed men’s.22 Though women’s median
income is about two-thirds of men’s, women’s wages grew faster than men’s since
the late 1980s, and women have been steadily moving into higher status occupations
over time.23 These factors are not immaterial to political participation: education and
household income are both strong predictors of participation in Canada.24

If women’s lower levels of political participation could be explained by

these socioeconomic factors, then gender gaps in political participation should have
narrowed, if not closed over time. This has not been the case.25 Though women’s
lower levels of earned income remain a barrier to their political participation,
women’s other socioeconomic gains – notably, their great strides in educational
attainment – should have powerful effects on closing gender gaps in political
participation. This may be due, in part, to the fact that women remain
underrepresented in the upper echelons of many professions, despite their education
gains overall. Still, because women’s political underrepresentation persists, other
barriers must also be at work.

Income acts as an individual-level barrier through campaign finance

regulation (or lack thereof). Electoral contests remain unregulated in some municipal
                                                                                                               
21
Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five
Nations (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963); A Campell et al., The American Voter (New
York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1960); Paul Lazarzfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet, The People's
Choice (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968).
22
Statistics Canada, “Educational Portrait of Canada, 2006 Census.” (Ottawa, Minister of Industry, 2006;
OECD, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, The Reversal of Gender Inequalities in Higher
Education: An On-going Trend by Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin, Higher Education to 2030 (Paris: OECD,
2008).
23
Statistics Canada, Why has the Gender Wage Gap Narrowed? by Marie Drolet (Ottawa: Minister of
Industry, 2011); Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population, Catalogue No. 97-563-Xcb2006068.
(Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2011); A Eagly and L Carli, Through the Labryinth: The Truth About How
Women Become Leaders (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2007).
24
Gidengil et al.
25
Ibid. Lawless and Fox.
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 223

and provincial jurisdictions. This lack of regulation requires potential candidates for
office to rely on conventional sources of campaign finance, including personal
income.26 This individual-level barrier can be mitigated through campaign finance
regulation, as noted below in the “political barriers” section below.

In the absence of systematic socioeconomic barriers, psychological barriers

become more important for women’s political participation. Women are less likely
than men to be interested in or knowledgeable about politics.27 Women are also less
likely than men to be confident in their political abilities.28 Research from the United
States shows that women’s lower levels of political self-confidence translates
directly into a gender gap in political ambition. This suppresses women’s desire to
run for political office at all levels of government. 29 Importantly, levels of
socioeconomic resources and family responsibilities do not directly explain why
women report lower levels of psychological orientations to politics than do men.30
This suggests that leadership programs that target the development of political
interest and political self-confidence may help some women overcome an individual-
level barrier to political participation.

Though women’s marital and parental status do not have statistically

significant direct effects on their likelihood of considering a candidacy, or on their
psychological engagement with the political system, most women perceive that
family responsibilities pose one of the greatest barriers to their participation in
politics.31 This is intuitive: women who work full-time outside the home spend, on
                                                                                                               
26
Cross.
27
Women are as, and sometimes more, likely than men to possess knowledge of government programs
and services and benefits. However, the women who are most likely to need government services benefits
– poor women, recent immigrants – are the least likely to know about these programs. See Stolle and
Gidengil.
28
Linda Bennett and Stephen Earl Bennett, "Enduring Gender Differences in Political Interest: The Impact
of Socialization and Political Dispositions" (1989) 17:1 American Politics Quarterly 105; Stephen Earl
Bennett, "Knowledge of Politics and Sense of Subjective Political Competence: The Ambiguous
Connection” (1997) 25:2 American Politics Research 230; Gidengil et al.; Elisabeth Gidengil, Janine
Giles, and Melanee Thomas, “The Gender Gap in Self-Perceived Understanding of Politics in Canada and
the United States” (2008) 4:4 Politics & Gender 535; Lawless and Fox; Stolle and Gidengil; Melanee
Thomas Gender and Psychological Orientations to Politics (PhD Dissertation, Department of Political
Science, McGill University, Proquest UMI Dissertations Publishing 2012) [Thomas “Psychological”];
Thomas, “Feminism”; Thomas, “Complexity”; Jan Van Deth, "Interest in Politics" (1990) in M. Kent
Jennings and Jan W. Van Deth, eds, Continuities in Political Action: A Longitudinal Study of Political
Orientations in Three Western Democracies (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co); Jan Van Deth, "Political
Interest and Apathy: The Decline of the Gender Gap?" (2000) 35:3 Acta Politica 247.
29
Lawless and Fox.
30
See Bennett and Bennett; Burns, Schlozman and Verba; Gidengil, Giles and Thomas; Thomas,
“Complexity.” Instead, women in Canada generate less political interest and political self-confidence from
higher levels of income. See Thomas, “Complexity”; Thomas” Psychological.” Why this is the case
remains unknown.
31
Lawless and Fox at 172-173; see also Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
224 UNB LJ RD UN-B [VOL/TOME 64]

average, almost double the hours engaged in child care than do comparably situated
men.32 This pattern holds when women in political careers are examined.33 Thus, the
absence of a direct effect of family responsibilities on women’s political
participation is perplexing.

Instead of exerting a direct effect on women’s political participation, family

responsibilities place women in a “double bind.” They must be successful in their
political and civic activities, as well as successful in their private roles as “wife” and
“mother.” Stated differently, for women to “be successful public citizens, [they] must
also be successful private citizens.”34 These requirements are not the same for male
politicians. 35 The result is that women who decide to engage in community or
political activities do so with considerable supports from their spouses, friends, and
extended support networks.36 Interviews show that politically active women report
that they “wouldn’t be able to do anything like run [for office] without the backing of
my husband and friends.”37 This, when combined with the fact that women are far
less likely than men to receive the suggestion that they run for political office from a
personal source, highlights the nuanced ways in which family responsibilities act as a
barrier to women’s political participation.

Given the complex nature of the double bind, overcoming this barrier may
require multiple strategies. This is reflected in some campaign schools, as women are
encouraged to be candidates, or to support women who are candidates for public
office.38

SOCIAL/COMMUNITY-LEVEL BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

The gendered division of household and private labour noted above help produce the
stereotypes and processes that underpin societal and community-level barriers to
                                                                                                               
32
Statistics Canada, “Families, Living Arrangements and Unpaid Work” in Women in Canada: A Gender-
Based Statistical Report by Anne Milan, Leslie-Anne Keown, and Covadonga Robles Urquijo (Ottawa:
Minister of Industry, 2011).
33
Lawless and Fox.
34
Ibid at 71.
35
A recent example is Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Reporters specifically highlighted
Madigan’s parental status, asking “whether she could serve as governor and still raise her ids the way she
wants to,” and asking “whether she could simultaneously hold both jobs – governor and mom.” From
Dave McKinney, “Lisa Madigan refuses to tip hand on governor’s race,” Chicago Sun-Times (4
September 2012) online: Chicago Sun-Times <http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/14938617-
505/lisa-madigan-refuses-to-tip-hand-on-governors-race.html>.
36
Lawless and Fox.
37
Ibid at 82.
38
Eqaul Voice, Be Her or Support Her Campaign, Online: Equal Voice <http://www.equalvoice.ca/
be_her_or_support_her.cfm> [Equal Voice, “Be Her”].
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 225

women’s political participation.39 This gendered division of labour produces broad,

blunt ideas and expectations about behaviours that are appropriate, or attributable to
the general social categories of “women” and “men.” 40 These general social
categories form stereotypes; it is against this backdrop that more specific roles, such
as those associated with occupations, are evaluated. This means that women who are
active in specific political, occupational, and civic activities are evaluated differently
than are men in comparable pursuits.

Women’s political and civic activities can be understood through this lens.
For example, politics is a masculine-stereotyped field that is, by definition, tied to
power and competition.41 Studies indicate that voters tend to prefer masculine to
feminine traits when evaluating candidates for high political office. 42 Masculine
traits are seen as essential for politics, while feminine traits are not. Importantly,
women politicians are stereotyped as significantly less feminine than women in
general, but as feminine as, and significantly less masculine than male politicians
and politicians in general.43 Thus, while women in general remain broadly defined by
diffuse gender roles, women in politics are defined by what they lack: femininity and
specific masculine traits.

This reflects on the kinds of civic and political activities that women engage
in. As noted above, women are significantly less likely than men to participate in
unions, business associations, and sport associations. These gender gaps matter: the
top occupation for Canadian Parliamentarians in 2011 is “businessman”. This
occupation does not appear in the top ten for women Parliamentarians. Instead, the
women who enter politics are most likely to be teachers and consultants.44 These
                                                                                                               
39
Amanda Diekman and Monica Schneider, "A Social Role Theory Perspective on Gender Gaps in
Political Attitudes" (2010) 34 Psychology of Women Quarterly 486.
40
Lourdes Benería, "Reproduction, Production and the Sexual Division of Labour" (1979) 3:3 Cambridge
Journal of Economics 203; Diekman and Schneider; Alice Eagly and Aamanda Diekman, "Examining
Gender Gaps in Sociopolitical Attitudes: It's Not Mars and Venus" (2006) 16 Feminism & Psychology 26.
41
Leonie Huddy and Nayda Terkildsen, "The Consequences of Gender Stereotypes for Women
Candidates at Different Levels and Types of Office" (1993) 46:3 Political Research Quarterly 503 [Huddy
and Terkildsen, “1993a”]; Leonie Huddy and Nayda Terkildsen, "Gender Stereotypes and the Perception
of Male and Female Candidates” (1993) 37:1 American Journal of Political Science 119 [Huddy and
Terkildsen, “1993b”]; Kira Sanbonmatsu, "Gender Stereotypes and Vote Choice" (2002) 46:1 American
Journal of Political Science 20; Kira Sanbonmatsu and Kathleen Dolan, "Do Gender Stereotypes
Transcend Party?" (2009) 62:3 Political Research Quarterly 485.
42
Leonie Huddy and Theresa Capelos, "The Impact of Gender Stereotypes on Voters' Assessment of
Women Candidates" (2002) in Victor Ottai, ed, Social Psychological Applications to Social Issues:
Developments in Political Pscyhology (New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum); Huddy and Terkildsen,
“1993a”; Huddy and Terkildsen, “1993b”; Sanbonmatsu; Sanbonmatsu and Dolan; Monica Schneider and
Angela Bos, "Measuring Female Politician Stereotypes" (Paper delivered at Annual Meeting of the
American Political Science Association, Seattle, 2011).
43
Schneider and Bos.
44
Parliament of Canada, “Top 10 Occupations in the House of Commons” (20 March 2012), online:
Parliament of Canada <http://www.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Lists/Top10Occupations.aspx?Menu=HOC-Bio-
226 UNB LJ RD UN-B [VOL/TOME 64]

differences in the Canadian political pipeline and civil society participation reflect
more general, gendered expectations about work. Though women are now more
likely to enroll in and complete university degree programs than men, women are
disproportionately found in feminine-typed “caring” fields such as health care and
education. Furthermore, women are more likely to study in these fields now than in
the past.45

This trend is reflected in Canadian women’s participation in municipal

politics: women are most likely to participate in School Boards. By contrast, men are
more likely to participate in Public Utilities Boards and municipal councils.46 As a
general rule, even local politics is perceived to be a “male-dominated career.”47 This
may contribute to why municipal politics associations have cited a need for mentors
and mentoring to recruit women to participate in local politics.48 As a result of
gendered perceptions and behavioural expectations, women are disproportionately
found in professions outside the political pipeline.

These same municipal associations cite discrimination and disrespect as

barriers to women’s participation in municipal politics. 49 These barriers rest on
stereotypical perceptions of “ladylike” behaviour.50 Notably, these behaviours do not
include debate and dissent. These stereotypes are reinforced through media coverage
of women politicians at all levels of government. Women who violate these
stereotypes are trivialized and condemned by the media.51 In politics, female federal
party leaders who vigorously participated in debate were characterized as aggressive
and attacking, though their behaviour was less hostile and less aggressive than that of
male party leaders. Female leaders who took a more conciliatory tone in debate were
ignored in the press.52 Women’s personal relationships and physical appearance also
receive far more scrutiny from the press and other politicians than do their male
colleagues, and the tone of the press coverage women politicians receive is
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
Occ&Section=03d93c58-f843-49b3-9653-84275c23f3fb&Chamber=03d93c58-f843-49b3-965384275c23
f3fb&Parliament=&Name=&Party=&Province=&Gender=F&CurrentParliamentarian=True>.
45
Statistics Canada, “Women and Education” in Women in Canada: A Gender-Based Statistical Report by
Martin Turcotte (Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2011).
46
Kathryn Kopniak, "Women in Canadian Municipal Politics: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back"
(1985) 22:3 Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 394.
47
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
48
Ibid. Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
49
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
50
Federation of Canadian Municipalities at 9.
51
Gaye Tuchman, "The Symbolic Annihilation of Women" (1978) in Gaye Tuchman, Arlene Kaplan
Daniels and James Benet, eds, Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media (New York:
Oxford University Press).
52
Joanna Everitt and Elisabeth Gidengil, "Tough Talk: How Television News Covers Male and Female
Leaders of Canadian Political Parties" in Trimble and Tremblay.
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 227

disproportionately negative. Research demonstrates that these trends are international

phenomena.53

Thus, though political marketing in Canada is already sophisticated,54 media

training may be a particularly important part of recruiting and retaining women in
political and civic affairs. Many Canadian universities offer comparable training for
women faculty designed to help them establish their authority with the media quickly
and efficiently.55

POLITICAL BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

Women who overcome individual and social/community level barriers to political

participation then face uniquely political hurdles. These political barriers are tied to
political parties and legislatures.

First, once a woman decides to seek elected office, they need to be

nominated to stand on a ballot. This process has been described by former
parliamentarians as a confusing “black box.” 56 Municipal associations echo this
concern, describing the process of seeking local election as a process that needs to be
demystified.57 This is one area where campaign schools help women by informing
them about the steps required to get their name on a ballot.58

                                                                                                               
53
Lisbet van Zoonen, ""Finally, I Have My Mother Back" Politicians and Their Families in Popular
Culture" (1998) 3:1 The International Journal of Press/Politics 48; Lisbet van Zoonen, "The Personal, the
Political and the Popular: A Woman's Guide to Celebrity Politics" (2006) 9:3 European Journal of
Cultural Studies 287; Caroline Heldman, Susan Carroll, and Stephanie Olson, "She Brought Only a Skirt:
Print Media Coverage of Elizabeth Dole's Bid for the Republican Presidential Nomination" (2005) 22:3
Political Communication 315; Melissa Miller, Jeffrey PEake, and Brittany Anne Boulton, "Testing the
Saturday Night Live Hypothesis: Fairness and Bias in Newspaper Coverage of Hillary Clinton's
Presidential Campaign" (2010) 6:2 Politics & Gender 169; Trimble and Arscott.
54
Alex Marland, Jennifer Lees-Marshment, and Thierry Giasson, Political Marketing in Canada
(Vancouver: UBC Press, 2012).
55
“Informed Opinions” (26 March 2012), online: Informed Opinions <http://www.informedopinions.org/>
56
Allison Loat and Michael MacMillan, The Accidental Citizen, online: Samara Canada <htt
p://www2.samaracanada.com/downloads/Samara_Report_The_Accidental_Citizen.pdf>.
57
Federation of Canadian Municipalities. That said, municipal politics is characterized has having fewer
political barriers – party elites and gatekeepers, expensive campaigns – and thus, more friendly for women.
See Elisabeth Gidengil and Richard Vengroff “Representational Gains or Token Growth? The Case of
Women in Quebec Municipal Politics” (1997) 30 Canadian Journal of Political Science 513.
58
Nova Scotia Advisory Council on The Status of Women, Nova Scotia Campaign School for Women:
Navigating the Campaign Process, online: Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women <
http://women.gov.ns.ca/assets/files/Campaign%20School%202011%20Backgrounder%20-%20v2.pdf>.
228 UNB LJ RD UN-B [VOL/TOME 64]

Canadian political parties vary in their nomination procedures. Some, such

as the Conservative Party of Canada, have very few formal nomination rules, while
others, such as the New Democratic Party, have a formal nomination process that
must be followed by every local association.59 The more formal processes are seen to
promote women candidacies, as candidate search committees are encouraged to seek
out qualified candidates from historically underrepresented groups. 60 Not
surprisingly, the sociodemographic make-up of search committees also affects
women’s political nominations, as women riding association presidents are more
likely than male presidents to recruit women candidates.61

Parties also vary in their commitment to nominating women candidates. For

example, in the lead up to the 2011 federal election, most, but not all, federal parties
pledged to Equal Voice that a certain portion of their candidate slate would be
comprised of women.62

Nomination contests and electoral campaigns at all levels of government are

also expensive. Though election receipts indicate women candidates are as good as
their male counterparts at securing campaign funds,63 the perception that women
have difficulties raising campaign funds persists. Thus, women active in municipal
politics in Canada argue that increasing resource supports would help increase the
number of women in local politics.64 At the federal level in Canada, regulating
nomination and electoral campaign financing and spending limits through Elections
Canada has mitigated this issue. 65 Despite this, women and visible minority
candidates have noted that in hotly contested nomination contests, “they have
difficulty raising sufficient funds to be competitive.”66 This reflects the fact that, as
noted above, women do not have comparable access to income as do men. These
issues persist all the more in jurisdictions with lax or no campaign finance
regulations, such as some provinces and municipalities.

That said, it is worth noting that very few electoral nominations are actually
contested in Canada. Elections Canada reports show that the overwhelming majority

                                                                                                               
59
Cross.
60
Ibid.
61
Christine Cheng and Margit Tavits, "Informal Influences in Selecting Female Political Candidates"
(2011) 64:2 Political Research Quarterly 460.
62
Equal Voice, Canada Challenge 2009: Building the Momentum to Elect More Women in Canada,
online: Equal Voice <http://www.equalvoice.ca/challenge_09.htm>.
63
Lawless and Fox.
64
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.
65
Cross.
66
Ibid at 167.
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 229

of federal nomination candidates spend no money on their nomination campaigns.

Instead, only 4% of candidates (70 of 1601) in 2008 and 3% of candidates (53 of
1587) in 2011 reported spending money on their nomination campaigns at the federal
level. 67 Women are, however, more likely to be a candidate in a contested
nomination. Women comprised 28% of total candidates in 2008 and 2011, but 33%
of candidates in contested nomination campaigns in 2008, and 42% in 2011.68 This
suggests that some nomination contests may serve a gate-keeping function, and act
as a barrier to women’s political participation.

Women candidates are also more likely to be nominated in districts where

their party stands a poor chance of winning compared to men. Nearly 60% of women
candidates for federal office in 2008 and 2011 ran in a district that was another
party’s stronghold; 47% of candidates who are men were comparably situated. By
contrast, 25% of male candidates ran in their own party’s stronghold, while only
17% of women candidates were found in these safe seats.69

Similarly, 80% of incumbent candidates in 2008 and 2011 were men. As a

result, far fewer female candidates enjoy the benefits of the incumbency effect.70
This is a key barrier to women’s political participation. However, even when women
are incumbent candidates their seats are not nearly as safe as their male counterparts.
Only 19% of women incumbents ran in their own party’s strongholds in 2008 and
2011; the remainder of women incumbents ran in hostile electoral environments.71
The re-election challenges faced by women incumbents hampers their retention in
the political process, and represents another political barrier to women’s participation.

Finally, it is worth noting what does not constitute a political barrier to

women’s political participation. There is no evidence of a gender bias in the
Canadian electorate: voters are equally likely to support women and men

                                                                                                               
67
Elections Canada, Financial Reports: Contestants' Nomination Campaign Returns (Ottawa: Elections
Canada, 2011b).
68
Melanee Thomas and Marc André Bodet, “Sacrificial lambs, women canddiates, and district
competitiveness in Canada.” Electoral Studies (2012) DOI <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elect
stud.2012.12.001>
69
Ibid.
70
André Blais et al., Anatomy of a Liberal Victory: Making Sense of the Vote in the 2000 Canadian
Election (Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2002); R.K. Carty and Munroe Eagles, "Do Local
Campaigns Matter? Campaign Spending, the Local Canvass and Party Support in Canada" (1999) 18:1
Electoral Studies 69; Andrew Gelman and Gary King, "Estimating Incumbency Advantage without Bias"
(1990) 34:4 American Journal of Political Science 1142; Ivan Pastine and Tuvana Pastine, "Incumbency
Advantage and Political Campaign Spending Limits" (2012) 96:1-2 Journal of Public Economics 20.
71
Thomas and Bodet.
230 UNB LJ RD UN-B [VOL/TOME 64]

candidates.72 Political barriers to women’s participation in politics are more likely to

occur before Election Day.

DO CAMPAIGN SCHOOLS HELP WOMEN OVERCOME THESE BARRIERS?

Campaign schools are widely seen as an asset for women’s political participation.
Surveys of women in local politics show that campaign schools and educational
materials have wide appeal. 73 Canadian organizations such as Equal Voice, the
Canadian Women Voters Congress, and the College of Continuing Education at
Dalhousie University organize campaign schools for women on a regular basis.
These schools mirror well-established campaign schools for women in the United
States. Notable examples include the Ready to Run program organized by the Center
for American Women and Politics, the Women’s Campaign School at Yale
University, and the Campaign College organized by the Women and Politics Institute
at American University.

Each organization monitors the success of these schools in a different

manner. Local chapters implement many schools, such as those organized by Equal
Voice and the Canadian Women Voters Congress. Equal Voice also offers an online
campaign course.74 As such, monitoring the effectiveness of the schools is, at best,
ad hoc.

Other schools monitor the political participation of their graduates more

closely. The Women’s Campaign School at Yale highlights on their website when its
graduates win their elections.75 Notable graduates from this school include Kirsten
Gillibrand, a current member of the United States Senate. The Campaign College at
American University is designed to spark women’s participation in campus politics,
as research shows that running for student office is a strong, positive predictor of
political participation in later life.76 This school is remarkably effective: after its first

                                                                                                               
72
Sylvia Bashevkin, "Women's Representation in the House of Commons: A Stalemate?" (2011) Spring
Canadian Parliamentary Review 17; Jerome Black and Linda Erickson, "Women Candidates and Voter
Bias: Do Women Politicians Need to Be Better" (2003) 22 Electoral Studies 81, Blais et al.; Elizabeth
Goodyear-Grant, Who Votes for Women Candidates and Why? Evidence from the 2004 Canadian
Election Study?" (2010) in Cameron D. Anderson and Laura B. Stephenson, eds, Perspectives on the
Canadian Voter: Puzzles of Influence and Choice (Vancouver: UBC Press); Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant
and Julie Croskill, "Gender Affinity Effects in Vote Choice in Westminster Systems: Assessing "Flexible"
Voters in Canada" (2011) 7 Politics & Gender 223.
73
Alberta Urban Municipalities Association; Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

74
Equal Voice, “Be Her”.
75
“The Women's Campaign School at Yale University” (2009-2013), online: Women’s Campaign School
at Yale University <http://www.wcsyale.org/index.php> .
76
Lawless and Fox.
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 231

offering, the women’s representation in campus political life increased by 43 per

cent.77

The Ready to Run program is one of the most impressive campaign schools.
It has been offered by the Center for American Women and Politics for over a
decade, and has over 1500 graduates. Of these, more than 25 percent have run for
public office; 70 per cent have won their races.78 Ready to Run targets state politics
in New Jersey; though the school cannot be credited for the entirety of the change, it
is worth noting that before the school started, New Jersey was rated 39th for women’s
representation at the state level in the United States. By 2011, their rank increased to
12th. 79 As a result of this success, the Ready to Run program has established
partnerships in a number of other states. Their structure appears to be similar to that
employed by Equal Voice vis-à-vis their local chapters.

The Nova Scotia Advisory Council on The Status of Women organizes one
of the most active campaign schools in Canada.80 These campaign schools were first
organized in the early 1990s, and their programming was developed in consultation
with academics, civil servants, and elected officials.81 Importantly, this development
included attending the campaign school organized by the Canadian Women Voters
Congress, suggesting that that school has more of a national impact than first thought.

Overall, the effects of campaign schools are suggestive. More systematic

evaluation of Canadian campaign schools, particularly those that are multi-partisan
and regularly offered by organizations such as Equal Voice, may identify uniquely
Canadian success stories, as well as highlight ways that campaign schools help
women overcome barriers to participation that are unanticipated by the academic
literature. To date, a systematic study of the full effects of these campaign schools
has not been undertaken in Canada. Future research could probe the short and longer-
term effects of these schools on the political engagement and participation of the
women who attend them. Particular focus could be paid to the aspects of each
curriculum that address the different types of barriers outlined above.

                                                                                                               
77
“Campaign College”, online: Women and Politics Institute <http://www.american.edu/spa/wpi
/Campaign-College-About-Us.cfm>.
78
Center for American Women and Politics, Ready to Run: Campaign Training for Women, online:
CAWP <http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/education_training/ReadytoRun/index.php >.
79
Ibid.
80
Nova Scotia Advisory Council on The Status of Women, “Nova Scotia Campaign School for Women:
Navigating the Campaign Process”, online: Nova Scotia Advisory Council on The Status of Women <
http://women.gov.ns.ca/assets/files/Campaign%20School%202011%20Backgrounder%20-%20v2.pdf>;
Louise Carbert, "Making It Happen in Practice: Organized Efforts to Recruit Rural Woman for Local
Government Leadership" (2011) in Barb Pini, ed, Women & Representation in Local Government (New
York: Routledge).
81
Carbert.
232 UNB LJ RD UN-B [VOL/TOME 64]

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

The legitimacy of Canadian democracy depends on integrating more women into the
political process. Achieving this goal requires that several barriers be removed. This
report identifies several of these barriers at the individual, social/community, and
political levels. Many of these barriers will only be removed fully when the broad
social attitudes about gender and women’s ‘appropriate’ behaviour, particularly as
they relates to politics and civic activity, change.

It is important to note that removing barriers at one level may go a long way
to removing barriers at another. Research shows that electing more women to
national public office can spark women’s interest in politics.82 Women’s lower level
of political interest is a key individual level barrier; the presence of more political
role models for women may lift many women over this barrier.

In identifying the barriers to women’s political participation in Canada, this

report also highlights a number of opportunities and remedies that can be applied to
these barriers. The challenge is to continue with existing opportunities that appear to
work – including campaign schools, limits on campaign spending, and mentorship –
and to raise awareness about the barriers women face in politics.

                                                                                                               
82
Pippa Norris and Mona Lena Krook, One of Us: Multilevel Models Examining the Impact of
Descriptive Representation on Civic Engagement" (Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the American
Political Science Association, Toronto, 2009), [unpublished]; Thomas, “Psychological”; Thomas,
“Feminism”.
[2013] BARRIERS TO WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 233

APPENDIX A

Proportion of Women Elected to the Canadian House of Commons: 1974-2011

30%  

Proportion  of  Women  Elected  to  

25%  

the  House  of  Commons   20%  

15%  

10%  

5%  

0%  
1974   1979   1980   1984   1988   1993   1997   2000   2004   2006   2008   2011  
Election  Year  

Source: Parliament of Canada, “Members of the House of Commons,” (20 February

2012), online: <http://www.parl.gc.ca>, Author’s Calculation