By Geraldine O’Meara
I was shocked to see, as I viewed a picture on my television screen of our 13 Canadian Premiers recently gathered in Saskatchewan, that there wasn’t one woman among them. I thought, how can this be; it is an all-male Premier’s cohort!
The topics that the all-male Premiers discussed at that meeting were: increasing competitive economic growth, reducing trade barriers and health care. The lack of women present would surely have affected the tone of discussion, and brought about the absence of other important topics that are essential to build unity and sustain a strong, vibrant democracy in our country.
Sadly, we have gone from a highpoint of six female Premiers in 2013, to slowly dropping the numbers during the subsequent years, to no female Premiers in 2019. Because women have not been re-elected for a second term, I am left asking these questions: Have we come this far, only to find that there is still an ingrained prejudice against women in politics? Are female political leaders held to a higher standard than their male counterparts? And, is there an intolerance among men in the political parties towards women, if not done their way, or one-too-many mistakes, then they are out?
Why do we need more women involved in all aspects of the political process? In the last 15 years, new technologies have given us evidence that men and women’s brains are wired differently. Women experience and remember this differently than men, therefore they respond differently in their focus and decision making. I believe that women in politics, more than men, work across party lines, encourage citizen confidence in democracy, help secure peace, prioritize health and education, raise issues concerning women, ethnic, racial and minority groups, focus on families, quality of life and respond to citizens needs. Women, in places of power, raise issues that others overlook, tend to not tolerate deceit, often support ideas that others oppose, and seek an end to abuses that others accept.
Madeleine Albright, the Chairperson for the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI), stated, “The world is wasting a precious resource in the dramatic underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, often resulting in the exclusion of women’s talents and skills in political life.” I believe that we need a complement of both men and women in leadership in order to give us the wisdom needed in decision-making, so that we might deal with the myriad of difficult issues that we are facing in our world today.
Gender inequality has been with us on both sides of the Canada-US border, and women have had a barrage of criticism and bullying. There should be zero tolerance for that! It’s relatively new for women to be in politics. We need to welcome them, support them, respect them, encourage their gifts, and be patient as they too, as men have for centuries, learn through their mistakes. As Tiffany Gooch, a Liberal strategist, wrote in the Star, “We can take an active role in encouraging and supporting women in political leadership and building up new generations of young women leaders, who hopefully won’t be limited in the same ways.”
There’s an election coming up this year. We have time to reflect and act now. When we vote, let’s make sure we carefully consider women to be part of our political parties. Otherwise, we will be deprived of the quality of leadership that we as Canadians deserve.
Geraldine O’Meara is a writer and artist, retired counsellor, great grandmother, and a concerned and caring global citizen.
Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free newsletter here.
Good news for those who favour increased income inequality, which is the main “achievement” of conservative-type political parties worldwide.
.
History has shown that it ultimately destroys societies.
.
Unless you think men are somehow innately more qualified than women, the fact that less than 50% of our politicians are women is a result of, and hence evidence for, ingrained prejudice.
I think that more women in political leadership is a great idea as long as those women have a proven track record of accomplishments. Women need to be elected to or appointed to entry level positions in order to gain that experience. We as citizens and voters need to hold our political leaders accountable–but, to do that, we need a mass media which tells us the facts. Level-headedness in BOTH men and women in leadership is highly desirable. We cannot continue to spend-spend-spend as though there is no tomorrow when the debt will eventually eliminate ALL discretionary spending on important programs. Jobs have left Ontario AND Canada because potential employers are wary of being in places where the politicians don’t seem able and/or willing to eliminate wasteful spending. The Ontario Liberals went on an execrable spending spree (read vote-buying spree). The Liberals in Ottawa seem to be on the same track. Both have hugely inflated the number of very highly-paid, senior-level, government jobs. And now, it takes two paychecks in the average family to get by–one to support the family and the other to pay the taxes. Those who own the debt own the people.
Bob, did you mean Liberal vs. liberal? Also, note, I did qualify my comment with ‘their warts and all,’ plus ‘from across the political spectrum,’ which includes Progressive Conservatives, Liberals, United Farmers of Ontario, United Farmers of Alberta, Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), New Democrats – and I should have also mentioned Deborah Grey, first Reform MP elected in 1989, and certainly the present federal Green Party leader, Elizabeth May!
Could women mess up our country and government any worse than the men have? Maybe it’s time for a change. People who honestly represent the people and not just themselves and the party. I guess I can dream? Scott are you listening?
Kathleen Wynne .. WOW! A true liberal supporter who ignores facts and REALITY! …FYI … Just ONE opinion of many ..on Wynne … https://nationalpost.com/news/kathleen-wynne-in-the-end-ontario-election-results-live
The positive political news for Canada is that we now have 7 Conservative premiers in 7 of Canada’s provinces. Rona Ambroise, the amazing interim leader of the federal Conservatives said it well with the comment that gender should not be the determining factor in position placement but qualifications for the role. I see no evidence to support the fact that there are significantly fewer women holding political positions due to an ingrained prejudice or intolerance from men. There are a significant number of women holding significant political positions, such as Christine Elliott, Ontario’s Minister of Health, who have achieved success and served their constituents well without involving themselves in gender discrimination accusations.
We need committed and competent “PEOPLE” who are honest as our leaders. Male/Female makes no difference.
Well said, Ms. O’Meara! Just consider how much better off Ontario would be with Andrea Horvath as Premier. But last-minute fear mongering about her “union obligations” was enough to turn the tide. Did Premier Rae kow tow to the unions? Emphatically, no! As a union member at the time, my salary was reduced in order to save the jobs of my fellow union members. If he didn’t find himself constrained by the worst recession since the depression of the 30’s, I believe that he would have been recognized as a landmark NDP Premier.
.
To your list of issues better handled by women, I would add the global warming crisis and its effect on our environment. With respect to the above, our children will be the most severely affected: Plans should be developed as soon as possible to combat the increase incidence of asthma, heatstroke, and Lyme disease; which are predicted to rise exponentially in children over the next decade (as the number of days > 30 degrees Celsius trebles to 66).
With our current batch of wealthy egotistical male populists in power like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson – and yes, Doug Ford, and to a lesser extent, Justin Trudeau – it’s a no brainer, we need more women in politics with their unique feminine insights, wisdom, passion, and compassion.
Some Canadian role models – yes, with their ‘warts and all’ – that come to mind, past and present, from across the political spectrum who have contributed in many ways to our ‘common good’ over the years are: Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Agnes Macphail, Thérèse Casgrain, Charlotte Whitton, Flora MacDonald, Rachel Notley – and yes, Kathleen Wynne!
Yes, women do see things differently. However, by working together with our male gender we can and have complimented each other in decision making.