Monday’s election may have seen Canadians chose a new party to lead the country, but not much has changed in terms of the number of female MPs elected to the House of Commons.
Carolyn Jack with Equal Voice BC says, of the 338 elected MPs, only 88 are women. That’s 26 per cent, an increase of only 1 per cent over 2011.
Jack says the problem starts with the number of women on the ballot in the first place. Only the NDP increased their percentage of female candidates.
She says, at a societal level, more women need to be encouraged to get involved in politics. Studies show women are less likely to consider running even if they are just as qualified as men.
Jack will be helping to lead a conversation on Sunday in Nanaimo about closing the gender gap and increasing female representation in politics. It’s happening from 1:00pm-3:30pm at the Grand Hotel.
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