Interim Executive Director, Lindsay Brumwell, was pleased to speak to the Calgary Herald about the barriers to women running for municipal and local governments. To read the full article, click here.
"The continued gender imbalance this campaign is despite the efforts of various organizations dedicated to encouraging women to run for office in recent years, such as Ask Her YYC and the Calgary chapter of Equal Voice, a national charity.
Lindsay Brumwell, interim executive director for Equal Voice, said the charity has various resources and programs to encourage women to enter politics, including workshops to learn more about campaigning, political networking opportunities and a speakers’ panel.
Equal Voice Calgary [Chapter] also puts on the annual She Governs program, which exposes high-school-aged girls to municipal politics through a mock city council exercise.
National research from Equal Voice found that 58 per cent of women who are thinking of entering politics are most interested in participating at the local level, Brumwell said, including city council, school boards or community associations.
“We know there are still gaps at the municipal and local level, but we also know there’s an increased interest of women,” she said.
The most commonly cited barriers to entry for women in politics, according to Brumwell, are not knowing enough about the process, not thinking they’re qualified and the costs associated with campaigning.
One of the best ways to get women to run is to have someone in their personal network ask them to run, and then support them when they do, she added. Another way is to encourage them to volunteer for a campaign first".
