“Lagging Behind” an Examination of Why Women Continue to Be So Underrepresented in Canadian Federal Politics Author
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“Lagging Behind” An Examination of Why Women Continue to be So Underrepresented in Canadian Federal Politics Author: Jasmin Pettie Supervisor: Steve White Graduate Program in Political Science A Major Research Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree in Master of Arts. at CARLETON UNIVERSITY 2019 Jasmin Pettie ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the question of why women are still so underrepresented in Canadian federal politics and specifically within the Canadian House of Commons despite advances in representation in many other fields. To answer this question a study was conducted using qualitative data obtained from interviews with 17 female Members of the 42nd Parliament of Canada between October 2018 to April 2019. Data collected through these interviews was analyzed qualitatively using a combination of content and discourse analysis to summarize, categorize, and investigate the verbal, written, and behavioural data that was obtained. Findings from this study mostly confirm the findings of previous research with a few key exceptions. New findings from this study include that a more nuanced relationship exists between female MP’s and the media than previously thought; that most of the women who run for office at the federal level have very little or no knowledge of the nomination, candidate, and electoral process before they start; and that a toxic work place culture exists within the House of Commons and this negatively impacts the experience that female MP’s have and is one of the reasons women are more likely to have shorter political terms and leave politics after shorter amounts of time when compared to their male counterparts. Keywords: women in politics, Canadian politics, women in Canadian politics, sexism in politics, news media, media treatment, toxic work culture 1 Jasmin Pettie ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincerest appreciation to everyone who provided me with love and support throughout the writing of this paper and my Master’s degree in general. There are so many people who helped me through this and for that I will be forever grateful. First and foremost, I would like to thank my Supervisor Professor Steve White without whom this paper could not have been written. His support and encouragement throughout this process has been invaluable. I would also like to express my gratitude to all of the women who so generously took time out of their incredibly busy schedules to sit down and talk with me, chat with me over the phone, or email me their responses. You impressed upon me that serving as an MP in this country is a great honour and getting the opportunity to speak with all of you and hear your stories has been a privilege. Additionally, I need to thank all of my friends and family. My friends here in Ottawa and elsewhere have shown me unwavering support, empathy, and encouragement in good times and bad. They have listened to me talk endlessly about this project for the last three years and for that I am grateful. My family, though far away, has also shown me endless support and encouragement and I am thankful. Thank you, Jasmin Pettie 2 Jasmin Pettie TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 5 1.1. Women by the Numbers .................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 8 2.1. The Impact of Sexism in Politics .................................................................................................... 8 2.2. The Impact of Household Chores, Childcare Responsibilities, & Motherhood ....................... 33 2.3. Psychological Barriers ................................................................................................................... 37 2.4. Financial Impacts .......................................................................................................................... 40 2.5. The Impact of Electoral & Parliamentary Structures ............................................................... 41 2.6. Lack of Encouragement ................................................................................................................ 42 2.7. Women of Colour in Canadian Politics ....................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS: THE VIEWS OF FEMALE MP’S ..................... 47 4.1. Sexism in Politics ........................................................................................................................... 47 4.2. Media Treatment ........................................................................................................................... 58 4.3. Motherhood, Childcare Responsibilities, & Household Chores ................................................ 69 4.4. Psychological Barriers & Deciding to Run .................................................................................. 78 4.5. Encouraging Women to Run ........................................................................................................ 89 4.6. Political Socialization .................................................................................................................... 95 4.7. Role Models & Mentorship ........................................................................................................... 99 4.8. Financial Barriers ........................................................................................................................ 106 4.9. Electoral & Parliamentary Structures ....................................................................................... 109 4.10. The Nomination, Candidate, & Electoral Process .................................................................. 111 4.11. Access to Resources ................................................................................................................... 113 4.12. Toxic Culture Within the House of Commons ........................................................................ 120 CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS & POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO WOMEN’S UNDERREPRESENATION IN POLITICS............................................................................. 126 5.1. Changing the Nomination Process ............................................................................................. 126 5.2. Encouraging Women to Run ...................................................................................................... 127 5.3. Internal Policies & Programs ..................................................................................................... 130 5.4. Parliamentary Structure Changes ............................................................................................. 132 3 Jasmin Pettie 5.5. Gender Quotas ............................................................................................................................. 134 5.6. Electoral Reform .......................................................................................................................... 139 5.7. Government Funding & Programs for Childcare .................................................................... 141 5.8. Equality Legislation ..................................................................................................................... 142 5.9. Women’s Groups & Feminist Organizations ............................................................................ 143 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION................................................................................................... 143 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 151 4 Jasmin Pettie CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION In this essay I will explore the question of why women are still so underrepresented in Canadian federal politics and specifically within the Canadian House of Commons despite advances in representation in many other fields. I will do this by performing a qualitative analysis of the original interview data I obtained from talking to 17 current female Members of Parliament (MP’s) in the Canadian House of Commons. Focusing on the subjective experiences of these women and bringing their stories to light can help us understand women’s lack of political involvement in this country and what can be done to improve it. While many other scholars have examined this issue in detail, much of the existing research has focused on academic and historical explanations of women’s underrepresentation without taking into account the experiences of female MP’s themselves and what their accounts can tell us about women’s underrepresentation in politics in Canada in the 21st century. I will frame my analysis by situating it within the existing Canadian and international