The gender gap in politics

Today’s editorial in the Vancouver Sun features two noteworthy articles focusing on the gender gap in politics. Both Barbara Yaffe and Virginia Greene reminded me of an interview with Rosemary Speirs of Equal Voice, which I recently transcribed (and will be featured in our upcoming issue!). To get women into politics requires a flexbility from not only women who choose to become involved, but also from the realm of politics itself. Whether or not women have to be flexible is the question.

Greene recognizes that though the gender gap in the general Canadian workforce is closing, politics are still male-dominated and not a career choice for women, largely due to the barriers and ‘differences’ women face (for example, their role as primary caregivers versus long hours commuting to and from Ottawa). This is not to say, as Greene puts it, that women have to ‘act’ or adopt male qualities to succeed politically, but that

any future debate about how to increase the participation of women in politics must go beyond quota-setting and talk about the things that really keep women from moving in greater numbers in this direction.

Yaffe further notes that in a time when a woman is a leading contender for the US presidency and more and more women are voters, getting women into politics is still a “battle.” Besides changing our societal attitudes towards and acceptance of female politicians, more formal initiatives are needed on behalf of government to ensure an equality of gender representation in the political arena.

Equal Voice argues, quite reasonably,

that it’s healthy for young females to have political role models. More equality on legislative benches also translates into more representative government.

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The gender gap in politics

Today’s editorial in the Vancouver Sun features two noteworthy articles focusing on the gender gap in politics. Both Barbara Yaffe and Virginia Greene reminded me of an interview with Rosemary Speirs of Equal Voice, which I recently transcribed (and will be featured in our upcoming issue!). To get women into politics requires a flexbility from not only women who choose to become involved, but also from the realm of politics itself. Whether or not women have to be flexible is the question.

Greene recognizes that though the gender gap in the general Canadian workforce is closing, politics are still male-dominated and not a career choice for women, largely due to the barriers and ‘differences’ women face (for example, their role as primary caregivers versus long hours commuting to and from Ottawa). This is not to say, as Greene puts it, that women have to ‘act’ or adopt male qualities to succeed politically, but that

any future debate about how to increase the participation of women in politics must go beyond quota-setting and talk about the things that really keep women from moving in greater numbers in this direction.

Yaffe further notes that in a time when a woman is a leading contender for the US presidency and more and more women are voters, getting women into politics is still a “battle.” Besides changing our societal attitudes towards and acceptance of female politicians, more formal initiatives are needed on behalf of government to ensure an equality of gender representation in the political arena.

Equal Voice argues, quite reasonably,

that it’s healthy for young females to have political role models. More equality on legislative benches also translates into more representative government.

My Day at the Vancouver Sun…

I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to job-shadow Valerie Casselton, Executive Editor of the Vancouver Sun on Thursday! As part of the Minerva Foundation’s Follow a Leader Program, an initiative that pairs female ’emerging leaders’ with female ‘community leaders’, I was able to be a fly on the wall at the Vancouver Sun’s offices. The very gracious Ms. Casselton told me all about her job and included me in Sun editorial meetings where I got to see first hand how editorial decisions were made!

We also had an amazing ‘power lunch’ with national political columnist Barbara Yaffe, and Sports Editor Bev Wake, where we talked about women in the newsroom, discrimination that they experienced early in their careers, and feminism!

One of the most interesting experiences was talking to Sun Editor-in-Chief Patricia Graham, one of Canada’s few female editor-in-chiefs, about feminism and the future and the history of the feminist movement. She had some fascinating stories to tell and we talked extensively about the biased coverage that female politicians sometimes receive.

Particularly interesting was a story that both Valerie and Patricia mentioned to me that truly put into context how I have felt about the need for women’s voices in the media. Apparently, when a sexist headline was run accompanying the story of the success of a female politician, both took note of the sexism and proceeded, not only to point it out, but to insist that such an oversight not happen again. It is so incredibly gratifying to know that the people in power at the Sun are cognizant of such things and passionate about creating news free of the sexism that other news outlets are prone to.

I must say that I am deeply indebted to Ms. Casselton for her time and attentions, as well as, to Ms. Graham and all the other people at the Sun who showed me around and shared their time with me. I am also particularly grateful to the Minerva Foundation, who made this opportunity possible. I encourage you to look into the Minerva Foundation, which is a phenomenal organization and to consider applying for the Follow a Leader program in 2008!

My Day at the Vancouver Sun…

I am incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to job-shadow Valerie Casselton, Executive Editor of the Vancouver Sun on Thursday! As part of the Minerva Foundation’s Follow a Leader Program, an initiative that pairs female ’emerging leaders’ with female ‘community leaders’, I was able to be a fly on the wall at the Vancouver Sun’s offices. The very gracious Ms. Casselton told me all about her job and included me in Sun editorial meetings where I got to see first hand how editorial decisions were made!

We also had an amazing ‘power lunch’ with national political columnist Barbara Yaffe, and Sports Editor Bev Wake, where we talked about women in the newsroom, discrimination that they experienced early in their careers, and feminism!

One of the most interesting experiences was talking to Sun Editor-in-Chief Patricia Graham, one of Canada’s few female editor-in-chiefs, about feminism and the future and the history of the feminist movement. She had some fascinating stories to tell and we talked extensively about the biased coverage that female politicians sometimes receive.

Particularly interesting was a story that both Valerie and Patricia mentioned to me that truly put into context how I have felt about the need for women’s voices in the media. Apparently, when a sexist headline was run accompanying the story of the success of a female politician, both took note of the sexism and proceeded, not only to point it out, but to insist that such an oversight not happen again. It is so incredibly gratifying to know that the people in power at the Sun are cognizant of such things and passionate about creating news free of the sexism that other news outlets are prone to.

I must say that I am deeply indebted to Ms. Casselton for her time and attentions, as well as, to Ms. Graham and all the other people at the Sun who showed me around and shared their time with me. I am also particularly grateful to the Minerva Foundation, who made this opportunity possible. I encourage you to look into the Minerva Foundation, which is a phenomenal organization and to consider applying for the Follow a Leader program in 2008!

‘Honour’ Killings in Canada…

The Vancouver Sun reports about the problem of honour killings in Canada but does so in such a cursory and muddled way, that they might as well have not said anything at all! The article starts off well, citing the issues…

A 14-year-old female rape victim is strangled to death in March 2004 by her father and brother because she has supposedly tarnished the family name.

In April 2004, a man brutally kills his wife and daughter after finding out that his brother had previously molested them.

A teenage girl with a Turkish background has her throat cut by her father after he learns she has a Christian boyfriend.

These are frightening stories that I personally would like to have more information about. My problem with the article is 1) It’s a very short and cursory exploration of the issue (apparently the issue does not merit attention?) and 2) I have some problems with what the authority (Dr. Amin Muhammad at Memorial University) who is cited in the article says.

Muhammad’s report contains statistics from the United Nations Population Fund which reveal that more than 5,000 women are victims of so-called “honour” killings each year.

“In different cultures, they can get away without being punished — the courts actually sanction them under religious contexts,” he said.

Along with extreme traditional beliefs, there are deeper mental health issues that need to be considered, Muhammad said.

Quite often, people who are willing to kill members of their own family to restore some notion of honour are doing so, not just because they believe it to be right based on culture, but also because they are mentally ill in some way.

“Somehow, it gets ignored,” Muhammad said, citing a lack of understanding in the West and the lack of mental health personnel in developing nations as part of the problem.

I’m not trying to denigrate mental health issues, or contend that they are not contributing factors to honour killings but who else is scared that such thinking will simply allow people who commit such acts to use a mental health defense? Also, 5000 women each year seems to be a lot of women to be killed by male relatives with mental health problems. It seems to me that much more is going on here and that this article acts to dismiss the larger cultural problems with the way in which women are valued or devalued in order to lead to such situations. But that’s just me.