Politics As If Women Mattered A Political Analysis of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women The National Action Committee on the Status of Women marked the twentieth anniversary of its founding in 1992. Today, it is the umbrella organization for roughly six hundred women's groups in Canada. The authors of this study argue that, if women's movements are to achieve their equality goals, they must develop enduring institutions that allow women's efforts to be organized over the course of several genera- tions. The authors examine the process of institutionalization through an in-depth study of the National Action Committee. In the belief that women's movements in Canada have become more or less permanent features of the political system, operating parallel to its official structures, the authors argue the need for a feminist political science that can accommodate the study of both women's politics in their autonomous movements and women's con- ventional activities in official politics. Indeed, this book undertakes political analysis 'as if women mattered': it focuses on women's inter- ests and draws on feminist theory while remaining connected to the broad framework of political science. The book documents NAC's evolution as a 'parliament of women.' It shows how the organization moved from a fairly narrow status--of- women focus in its policies to a broadly conceived policy framework that linked such apparently sex-neutral issues as free trade, federalism, and taxation to feminism. Although the more comprehensive feminist approach to public policy proved dangerous for NAC in a conservative era, it also solidified its role and reputation as a major player in equality- seeking politics in Canada. Jill Vickers is Professor in the School of Canadian Studies, Carleton University. Pauline Rankin is an instructor in the School of Canadian Studies, Carleton University. Christine Appelle is a psychotherapist in private practice in Ottawa. Politics As If Women Mattered: A Political Analysis of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women Jill Vickers, Pauline Rankin, and Christine Appelle UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London © University of Toronto Press Incorporated 1993 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada Reprinted in 2018 ISBN 0-8020-5850-7 (cloth) ISBN 978-0-8020-6757-9 (paper) Printed on acid-free paper Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Vickers,Jill, 1942- Politics as if women mattered Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8020-5850-7 (bound). - ISBN 978-0-8020-6757-9 (paper) 1. National Action Committee on the Status of Women. 2. Women's rights- Canada. 3. Women -Canada- Social conditions. I. Rankin, Pauline. II. Appelle, Christine. III. Title. This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Social Science Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. To the women ofNAC, who have made women matter in Canadian politics .