Fewer women on the ballot
CBC Online News | July 21

The hours are long and the pay isn't great, but that doesn't explain why so few women are running in this provincial election.

Out of a possible 156 candidates running for the three main parties, only 27 are women.

“Instead of becoming easier for women to run I really think it’s becoming harder,” says NDP Leader Darrell Dexter.

In 1999, the three parties had 39 female candidates. The Conservatives have two more than they did four years ago, for a total of nine. The Liberals and NDP, however, are fielding fewer women candidates this election. The Liberals have nine, down from 13. The New Democrats also have nine, down from 19.

Although the NDP has held workshops to attract female candidates and it has a special fund to assist them financially, Dexter says it’s difficult getting women on the ballot. “I think they look at the job and sometimes they don’t think there’s enough to recommend itself. It’s not easy on families.”

As a career move, the job has its drawbacks. An MLA earns almost as much as the average teacher – $52,000 a year – but the phone rings more often.

Women may also lack the confidence to run for a seat in the legislature, says Liberal candidate Diana Whalen, a Halifax regional councillor who’s trying to make the jump to provincial politics.

“I do think being involved in municipal politics is a good way for women to get involved at a local level and get the experience and gain the confidence to run for a provincial seat,” she says.

Whalen is running in Halifax-Clayton Park, where there are three women on the ballot. She’s trying to unseat PC incumbent Mary Ann McGrath.

• Halifax-Clayton Park - Read about the district

McGrath’s campaign organizer agrees it’s tough getting women to run, and even tougher to get them elected.

“All of our parties are still male-dominated,” says Diana Dalton, a lawyer and veteran party organizer for the Conservatives. “They can mouth the words they want more women, but don’t make her too smart or too much of a threat to the men around her.”

Of the 39 women who ran in 1999, only a handful won seats in the legislature. By the time this summer’s election was called on July 5, only four of the 52 seats were held by women – which gave them only 7.7 per cent of the house and made Nova Scotia’s legislature the most male-dominated in Canada. The percentage of women holding seats in other provincial legislatures ranges from 15 to 30 per cent.

No one expects the numbers in Nova Scotia to spike right away. “When [women] start calling the shots,” says Dalton, “I think that kind of thing will change.”

To find out more:

Jennifer Henderson reports for CBC Radio (runs 6:28)
Kathryn Morse reports for CBC TV (runs 1:46)

Other districts where women are running:

• Cape Breton Centre
• Chester-St. Margaret’s
• Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley
• Cumberland South
• Dartmouth East
• Dartmouth North
• Dartmouth South-Portland Valley
• Halifax Atlantic
• Halifax Citadel
• Halifax Fairview
• Halifax Needham
• Hammond Plains-Upper Sackville
• Hants East
• Hants West
• Inverness
• Kings South
• Lunenburg West
• Queens
• Richmond
• Victoria-the-Lakes
• Waverley-Fall River-Beaverbank
• Yarmouth

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