The first women to vote in Canada cast their ballots 89 years ago. It was a federal election and the right was extended only to women of British descent.
It would take another 42 years – the year 1960 – before all women, including Aboriginal women, would be granted the right to vote in provincial and federal elections.
Now, 90 years after the first concession of equal status in our democracy, women are still under-represented and, often, unrepresented in Canadian politics.
According to the World Economic Forum, a Geneva based independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world, women still earn 64% less than their male counterparts and only make up 21% of the federal legislature.
Many parents want the best for their children and that includes the right and ability to be treated equitably and fairly in our democratic nation. Yet the reality is that women are not afforded the same opportunities as men – and even when they are, women are not treated as equals (as wage disparity with attest). As such, we must examine this disparity and ask ourselves: what message are we sending our children?
The fact is the gender gap -- unequal access to resources between women and men – does exist. Worse, it continues to divide our country in almost every way.
A study released in 2006 by the World Economic Forum examined 115 countries in terms of the level of equality between men and women. This study ranked Canada 14th, however it also criticized Canada’s inconsistent performance in political empowerment and the health and survival of our nation’s women.
Sadly, this report also found that no country has yet managed to eliminate the gender gap. Those that have succeeded best in narrowing the gap are the Nordic countries – Sweden at the top of the list with only 20% disparity between wage, education, political participation, and health and welfare between men and women.
While political equality appears to be attainable – any women can run for public office or choose to pursue a chosen career path – the reality is limitations continue to exist because of the gender gap.
And most of us know why the political gender gap started. Women were once considered the property of men. Women were denied the right to vote, the right to run for office, and the right to own property of their own. In addition minority women and aboriginal women were denied basic personhood. A testament to that is that well into the 1970s many women still required a husband’s signature in order to obtain a credit card and many women were denied the right to wear slacks to the office well into 1990s.
So, the question we must ask, is why does the gender gap persist today?
THE REASONS:
1. Gender roles.
Gender roles teach boys and girls, men and women ways that women and men differ. These subtle and overt lessons provide us myths about what each gender is capable and/or allowed to do – limitations devised solely on the concept of perceptions about gender. Over time our culture (women and men) internalize these messages, such as: “people like me are not good in positions of power.” A sad example of this internalized set of cultural myths that dominates are society and creates narrow gender definitions is North America’s inability and unwillingness to elect a women as the leader of a nation. In a CBS poll, people were asked if the USA was ready for a female president. From the responses, men, not women, were more likely to say yes!
2. Cultural norms.
Cultural norms are the established roles and routines we all abide by – they include what is appropriate or inappropriate for each gender and these standards are held in place by persistent and consistent behaviour patterns. For example, in a household where both partners work, the women is still responsible for the majority of household tasks, including cleaning, cooking and child-rearing. This inability to create a more equitable cultural norm – and its subsequent restraint on a woman’s time, energy and resources, helps explain why men far surpass women in the best-paid, high-level jobs. Add to this the fact that women now surpass the number of men enrolled in post-secondary schooling and the power and destruction of cultural norms takes become prevalent.
3. Sexist policies.
Many of our policies and laws hinder or hurt the poorest segment of our population. Consider first that minimum wage does not equate to a Living Wage. Then, consider that women make up two-thirds of the minimum wage earners in Canada. Now, taken these two facts, consider that a single mother of two working full-time in Canada and earning minimum wage must work at least 80 hours per week, every single week, just to reach the poverty line (according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a Winnipeg-based social-policy think-tank) and we begin to see that sexist policies persist within our nation.
4. Media representation.
This mechanism is particularly prevalent given our adherence to cultural norms and stereotypes (aka: gender roles). Why then does inequality continue to persist? For example, men three times more likely than women to play the lead in a television show. Women are more likely to be portrayed as victims, and women's lead characters are almost always younger and more stereotypically "beautiful" than male leads. In addition, the press treatment of real women continues the sexist pattern: Press stories about female politicians and business leaders are far more likely to include mention of hairstyles, shoes and shopping, while press coverage of male leaders is more likely to focus solely on substantive issues.
To assume that we are not impacted by the gender gap is to deny the history that precedes our current society. The reality is we continue to exist in a nation that actively allows gender inequality. As such, it is our duty to begin to examine our own thoughts and beliefs and to begin to teach ourselves, our families and our communities that there is another, better way. In the end, we are participate in a democratic society and we are only as strong as our weakest link – that means that by increasing capacity and opportunity and allowing us all to grasp the roles and responsibilities of an informed citizenry enables us to build a stronger, better, more vibrant society.
ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO:
1) Examine the roles you believe men and women should follow. For example, list a variety of professions and then honestly answer which gender is “supposed” to pursue that occupation.
2) Examine what messages you hold (hear, see, etc.) that describe what is “feminine” and what is “masculine.” Now find examples that go against your beliefs – find women that have been elected as leaders of nations, or men that have taken on domestic roles successfully (hint: go to the Food Network or the Home and Garden station from your local cable provider).
3) Take a favourite magazine, newspaper or online publication and examine whether or not women help to shape the news. Determine who is telling the story and whether or not they are relying on preconceived notions of gender.
4) To further this media examination go to the Center for Media Literacy and conduct a gender survey on your local newspaper, magazine or online publication (Click HERE for link to the Gender Survey)
5) Discuss the impact of language on your gender beliefs. Examine what professions use gender in their classification or description. Then examine how you perceive the profession and its ability to offer both genders equal opportunity.
6) Now look critically at how women and men present themselves in the political and corporate arenas. Are there marked differences? What are those differences? Are they based on preconceived perceptions, or not? Then answer these three questions:
• How is women’s leadership different from men’s leadership? Do you think men and women focus on similar issues?
• What is the "glass ceiling"? How does it keep women from achieving personal and professional goals?
• Is it likely that the U.S. will have a female president in the near future? In your lifetime? Why?
(This article first appeared on www.4corners.ca)
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1 comment:
While you make good and valid points, you gloss over the fact that women were not the only Canadian disenfranchised. In fact, while you mention that it wasn't until the 60s that native women received the vote, in fact that was true for all status native -- men and women.
Before Confederation, women property owners in Lower Canada (the colony that became Quebec) could vote. Lower Canada did not have the English common law tradition that prevented women from voting elsewhere in North America.
At the first election held in what is now Canada, eligible voters were far outnumbered by those ineligible to vote. Voters had to own property of a certain value, and very few settlers qualified. In 1867, just 11 percent of the population was eligible to vote in federal elections. Today, that figure is closer to 68 percent – virtually every Canadian citizen age 18 and older.
Manitoba extended the right to vote to women in January 1916, with Saskatchewan and Alberta following suit in March and April the same year. At that time, the provinces determined who had the right to vote in federal elections.
Before Confederation, women were not prevented from voting if they owned property, but few actually did, and fewer still voted, even if they could. After Confederation, though, women were legally excluded from voting. By 1918 women had the same right as men to vote in federal elections.
Native people had the right to vote in most parts of Canada after Confederation, and everywhere in Canada when, in 1920, defining the right to vote became a federal prerogative. In the case of "Status Indians" though, there was initially an important condition: they had to give up their treaty rights and registered Indian status. Understandably, very few were willing to do this. A further restriction on voting was of a practical nature: Native people often lived in remote areas and were unfamiliar with the electoral process; yet no special efforts were made to help them participate.
In 1960, after decades of debate, the House of Commons finally removed all legal impediments to the voting rights of Native citizens.
Racial and religious discrimination was permitted by electoral legislation until 1960. Notable examples over the years include the effective denial of voting rights to Canadians of Japanese, Chinese or East Indian origins, to Mennonites, to Doukhobors and even to Catholics. This was partly related to pre-Confederation prejudice, and to anti-alien sentiment that was rampant in the war-torn first half of this century.
The 1963 general election was the first in which the right to vote was truly universal. Racial discrimination was removed from electoral legislation partially in 1948 and completely in 1960. Religious discrimination was eradicated from the law in 1955. Constitutional law has protected electoral rights since the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.
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