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The text below is an excerpt from the original article by Giovanna Mingarelli, published August 9, 2010 on the Equal Voice Blog.

In late July, Nancy Peckford, the Executive Director of Equal Voice, and myself had the privilege of meeting with the Ambassador of Norway, Eikeland Else Berit, and Norwegian intern, Jenny Eline Linge, at the Norwegian Embassy in Ottawa.The meeting was prompted by Ms. Else Berit, who had expressed a keen interest in learning more about Equal Voice and the status of women in Canadian politics.

According to  recent statistics from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Canada sits at 50th place internationally with respect to the number of women in elected office, where 22 per cent of Canada’s Members of Parliament are women.  According to the United Nations, in order for women to have a sustained and meaningful impact within a country’s legislative assembly, a “critical mass” of least 30 per cent women is necessary.  Despite relative improvements in the last few years, Canada’s numbers have been consistently stagnant since the early 1990s and could definitely use a boost in the upcoming election cycle.

In contrast, Norway is one of several Scandinavian countries with a star record of balanced representation for women and men in elected office at all levels.  Since the early 1980s, the country has undertaken a number of reforms.  These have included the implementation of quotas within some parties, in which it is stipulated that a minimum of “40 per cent women and men” must be elected to the country’s federal legislature.   Norway sits in 8th place internationally with respect to the number of women represented in elected office, where 39.6 per cent of their Members of Parliament are women (since their October 2009 election).

During our meeting, the Ambassador stressed Norway’s experience and relative success with respect to integrating women within their political process.  She noted that the country’s success is partly owing to the fact that women’s participation has been mainstreamed by political parties and the Norwegian electorate alike, where many Norwegians now believe that “democracy,” in its truest form, means “balanced representation for women and men.”

Read the full article on Equal Voice Blog

The text below is an excerpt from the original article by Giovanna Mingarelli, published June 27, 2010 on the Equal Voice Blog.

Samara, a Canadian based charitable organization that studies citizen engagement within Canadian democracy, recently released a report entitled: The Accidental Citizen.  Authored by Samara co-founders, Michael MacMillan and Alison Loat, the report analyzes exit interviews that were conducted with 65 Members of Parliament (MPs) who served in Canada’s 38th and 39th Parliaments (2004-2008).  It presents fascinating findings regarding how MPs chose a life in politics and their reflections surrounding their decisions to run.

Contrary to popular belief, Samara found that the path to politics was far from calculated – it was, more often than not, accidental.  The majority of MPs interviewed weren’t lawyers or millionaires; nor had they spent years in the political arena greasing their political machines before making the decision to run.  On average, the MPs were “normal”, often middle-class, recognized community leaders with educational and professional backgrounds that varied considerably.  Some were recruited to run with a political “ask” from party representatives, whereas  others were encouraged to run by family members and close friends.  They were priests, nurses, small business managers, and Grand Chiefs, to name a few.

What’s more, despite the flurry of differences as to how they got to the gate, what MPs found challenging was the chaotic and often blurry nomination process, or what the authors refer to as “The Black Box.”  In Canada, the nomination process is decided by each party and is often unwieldy and unruly.  Candidates often cited this time as the worst part of running for elected office.  However, Samara noted several benefits to the chaotic nomination process, which include: providing candidates with a platform to debate issues, exploring the finer details of community issues and policy, and providing “good practice for the general election.”

So, what does this mean in the context of Equal Voice and electing more women in Canada?  Anyone can run for office.

Read the full article on Equal Voice Blog