This month, a great step toward equal representation of women in politics was achieved: Valerie Plante was re-elected as mayor of Montreal, the largest city in the province, for a second term. This win also comes with a series of other wins for women across the province. Five out of the ten biggest cities have elected women to hold the mayor’s seat, including Catherine Fournier, the 29-year-old who is now mayor of Longueuil.
As a young woman interested in voicing my concerns in the political sphere, I was encouraged by the results of this recent municipal election. But there is still much work to be done in society to actually achieve equality in politics.
While it might seem like we are getting closer as more women run for office than ever before, this does not always translate to women being elected to office. This is known as the ‘glass cliff’ effect – where women are pushed by political parties to run in ridings that they have no chance of succeeding in. In Canada, only 28.9 percent of our current sitting Members of Parliament are women (sadly – a record), and our country ranks a dismal 50th in the world when it comes to female representation in federal and provincial governments.
‘But what about her emails?’ The over-scrutiny of women in politics
Beyond the ‘glass cliff,’ women face other real barriers when entering the public sphere. It has been proven time and again that women are overly scrutinized in the media (particularly for their appearances) and more likely to be targeted by hate online. In political campaigns specifically, women are often attacked with harsher negative headlines. One of the best examples of this occurred in the 2016 American presidential race. Hillary Clinton, the only woman seeking the presidential office, was hit with the most negative headlines compared to all other candidates. This is shocking and alarming considering she was standing next to Donald Trump, a man accused of alleged sexual assault, racial housing discrimination, and having ties with the mafia, among many other scandals.
Clinton, on the other hand, was heavily accused of allegedly using a private email server during her mandate as Secretary of State – a possible violation of federal security requirements. Though her alleged email mismanagement was noted as careless, the issue at hand here is that we were completely ignoring the multiple criminal suits against Trump and focusing on Clinton’s correspondences. On top of this, Clinton was also at the centre of sexist and misogynist comments during the 2016 race. Trump supporters were constantly bombarding her with jokes and comments that sexualized her in any sort of way, which NPR qualified at the time as inevitable, but why does it have to be so?
Maintaining accountability
That said, it is important to recognize that women in politics are not beyond reproach simply because they represent a way toward gender equality. Former Canadian Senator Lynn Beyak promoted racist ideologies while holding office, and Conservative Member of Parliament Leslyn Lewis has been questioning the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccinations on Twitter, for instance. Harmful actions such as these deserve critique. True progress lies in the equal participation, treatment, and opportunities for men and women in society – and this includes accountability. We’re asking you to stop scrutinizing our appearance and stop the sexist name-calling and to start focusing on the issues we are talking about.
Nevertheless, the fight to improve representation in politics cannot stop there. Equal representation must be intersectional and inclusive of not just gender but other factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and class. Simply having more white women hold office does not solve many inequality problems facing politics. For example, in instances where racialized women have held office in Canada, these individuals have dealt with far more negative media coverage, as well as questions focused more on their identities rather than on relevant political issues. On multiple levels, the equal gender representation we are fighting for today is in need of a refresher itself.
When asked when there will be enough women on the U.S. supreme court, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a pioneer in women’s equality and representation, replied when there are nine (the total number of seats). “People are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about,” she stated. Even though Ginsburg left an incredible path and legacy, there is still so much work to do for future generations. We might never get to a point where women hold the majority of seats in any political office. But if we can put an end to misogynist comments in campaigns and the over-scrutiny of women’s competence to hold political power, we might create an environment in politics where all are welcome, to the benefit of the representation of all.
Marine Khediguian (she/her) is an aspiring ESL teacher with a passion for student advocacy and being a positive role model in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. She is currently an undergraduate research assistant with iMPACTS while she pursues her studies.
