Supporting Women | political

How can we promote and support women in political leadership?

"Women are perhaps the most under-utilized resource." Elsie Hambrook, Chairperson, NB Advisory Council on the Status of Women

As individuals we can all do something such as:

Educate ourselves about women’s political leadership and the barriers women face
Consider what we think and say about women in leadership roles
Promote women’s leadership and progress in our daily activities and conversations with others
Point out the ingrained attitudes others publicize
- Uncovering the Coverage: Gender Biases in Canadian Political Reporting
Share our views and concerns with our MLAs and the political parties we support
Participate in groups and other causes that promote women’s political leadership
- Work begins now to elect more women to legislature in 2018
Donate to the cause
Help a woman candidate with her campaign
Lobby government for electoral reform

Have a look at the Equal Voice New Brunswick Chapter sponsored event- She Can: Inspiring the Next Generation of Female Leaders that was held on January 20th, 2018

Politicians can:

Openly support women’s political leadership
Challenge other politicians to do the same
- Justin Trudeau Urges Men To Be Feminists
Work to eliminate the confrontational culture of politics
- Elizabeth May: Raising a Point of Order on the continued Issue of heckling in the House
- Advocate for working group to develop mechanism to deal with sexual harassment, negative media coverage, and accountability mechanism to address online aggressors
Support more family-friendly policies and working conditions by advocating for and implementing work/life balance measures
Influence institutions to be more welcoming to women of all backgrounds

Political parties can encourage women to run by:

Setting targets
- Gallant sets higher target for female candidates in next year's election
Approaching women to run – this can include collaborating with others to find potential candidates
Being serious about women candidates
- Sacrificial lambs, women candidates, and district competitiveness in Canada
Offering Incentives for women to run
- Political parties to get financial incentive to run female candidates (reported by CBC March 22, 2017)

Promote and participate in campaign schools
Distribute information such as how to seek a nomination, campaigning, legal information, policy information, etc.
Research what others have done to promote the cause and adapt what could work for you
- Best Practices Used by Political Parties to Promote Women in Politics (iKNOWpolitics.org)

Women leaders can help potential candidates by:

Community leaders and organizations can:

Promote the leadership of women
- Host workshops and info sessions
- Develop websites for girls and young women about women in politics and leadership
Educate the public and media on the benefits of women’s leadership and the barriers they face
Lobby the media for fair and equal representation of female candidates and female politicians
Launch advertising campaigns during an election
Lobby government for electoral reform
Apply a gender lens and intersectional lens to their mission and activities
Connect women considering leadership with women who are leaders