Gendering Local Governing: Canadian and Comparative Lessons – The Case of Metropolitan Vancouver

Abstract

The United Nations Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, Rachel Mayanja recently noted the slow progress toward gender equity in political representation in the world’s assemblies: while representation of women in national legislatures is up (now at 16.4% overall), there remain areas of slower progress, and the rate of change remains distinctly unhurried. Countries such as Canada offer a basis for some comparisons; so does comparing national, provincial/state/regional and local governments. What is posed here is some evidence from the Canadian case, with brief national comparisons with a variety of other countries. Central to this examination of Canada is a study, reported here, on women in local government in metropolitan Vancouver, providing lessons in terms of Canada and more generally.