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ELECT HER: A ROADMAP FOR IMPROVING THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN CANADIAN POLITICS Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women Karen Vecchio, Chair APRIL 2019 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Reproduction in accordance with this permission does not constitute publication under the authority of the House of Commons. The absolute privilege that applies to the proceedings of the House of Commons does not extend to these permitted reproductions. Where a reproduction includes briefs to a Standing Committee of the House of Commons, authorization for reproduction may be required from the authors in accordance with the Copyright Act. Nothing in this permission abrogates or derogates from the privileges, powers, immunities and rights of the House of Commons and its Committees. For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca ELECT HER: A ROADMAP FOR IMPROVING THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN CANADIAN POLITICS Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women Karen Vecchio Chair APRIL 2019 42nd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committee presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN CHAIR Karen Vecchio VICE-CHAIRS Pam Damoff Irene Mathyssen MEMBERS Bob Bratina Terry Duguid (Parliamentary Secretary — Non-Voting Member) Rachael Harder Emmanuella Lambropoulos Hon. K. Kellie Leitch Eva Nassif Sonia Sidhu Salma Zahid OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Dean Allison Sheri Benson Gérard Deltell Anju Dhillon Darren Fisher Sean Fraser Joël Godin Bernadette Jordan Stephanie Kusie Sheila Malcolmson Bryan May Anne Minh-Thu Quach iii Christine Moore Blake Richards Ruby Sahota Marc Serré Martin Shields Sven Spengemann Kennedy Stewart Shannon Stubbs Marwan Tabbara CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Kenza Gamassi LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Clare Annett, Analyst Dominique Montpetit, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN has the honour to present its FOURTEENTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied the barriers facing women in politics and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................. 5 LIST OF OBSERVATIONS ........................................................................................................................ 9 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 11 OVERVIEW OF WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION IN ELECTORAL POLITICS IN CANADA ................................................................................................................................................ 15 A. Women in the Parliament of Canada ............................................................................... 15 B. Women in Provincial and Territorial Legislatures .................................................... 17 C. Women in Municipal and Local Governments ............................................................. 19 CHOOSING TO ENTER ELECTORAL POLITICS ........................................................................... 23 A. Women’s Interest in Politics and Involvement in Community Organizations .................................................................................................................................... 23 B. Gender Stereotypes and Discrimination and Women’s Participation in Electoral Politics .............................................................................................................................. 26 1. Caregiving and Family Responsibilities .................................................................. 29 C. Women’s Political Ambition and Confidence ............................................................... 31 1. Campaign Schools for Women .................................................................................... 33 2. Access to Role Models and Mentorship and Networking Opportunities ...... 34 RECRUITING FEMALE CANDIDATES FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS ......................... 37 A. Increasing the Representation of Women from Diverse Backgrounds in Electoral Politics .............................................................................................................................. 40 B. The Role of Electoral District Associations and Search Committees in the Recruitment of Female Candidates .......................................................................................... 43 C. The Role of Political Parties in the Recruitment of Female Candidates ........... 44 vii 1. Offering Financial Incentives to Political Parties to Increase Women’s Representation in Electoral Politics ................................................................................. 46 2. Quotas to Increase Women’s Representation in Electoral Politics ............. 48 WOMEN RUNNING FOR ELECTED OFFICE .................................................................................. 53 A. Rules and Procedures for Nomination and Election Campaigns ......................... 53 1. Data on Selection and Nomination Processes at the Federal Level ............ 54 B. The Federal Electoral System ............................................................................................. 56 C. The Impact of Incumbency on Candidates’ Success .................................................. 57 D. The Choice of Riding and Candidates’ Success ............................................................ 58 E. Expenditures for Nomination and Election Campaigns .......................................... 59 WOMEN WORKING AS ELECTED OFFICIALS ............................................................................. 63 A. Family-Friendly and Gender-Sensitive Political Workplaces ............................... 63 1. Parental Leave .................................................................................................................... 64 2. Childcare ............................................................................................................................... 65 3. Work-Life Balance for Elected Officials ................................................................... 66 4. Rules, Procedures and Practices ................................................................................ 67 B. Gender-Biased Media Treatment of Female Elected Officials............................... 69 C. Gender-Based Violence and Harassment against Women in Electoral Politics .................................................................................................................................................. 71 1. Support for Victims of Gender-Based Violence or Harassment .................... 74 APPENDIX A: LIST OF WITNESSES ................................................................................................. 77 APPENDIX B: LIST OF BRIEFS ........................................................................................................... 81 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE .................................................................................. 83 DISSENTING OPINION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA ............................ 85 DISSENTING OPINION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA ..................... 91 viii SUMMARY Women’s representation in Canadian politics has increased significantly since 1921 when the first woman, Agnes Macphail, was elected to the House of Commons. Despite their growing political participation, women represent only 35% of all legislators in Canada,1 and remain under-represented at all levels of

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