Are you #ReadyForHer?

Last week I wrote a blog about the Top 10 things I've learned as a trustee. This week I want to focus on the push to have more women running in the upcoming municipal and school board elections across Alberta in October. There is currently a group of female politicians touring the province to talk about their experiences as local representatives. The "Ready for Her" campaign examines the barriers to women entering politics and how some women have overcome them.

Now, I must admit, when the Bank of Canada unveiled their new $10 banknote for Canada 150 celebrations last week, I did not recognize the woman that was pictured among three men. The name sounded kind of familiar, but I didn't know who she was until the newscaster mentioned that Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of Commons in 1921. Women didn't even have the right to vote until 1916 in the four western provinces, 1917 in Ontario, and 1940 in Quebec. Women weren't allowed to hold a seat in the House of Commons until 1919. Can you imagine what it was like for her to enter those chambers full of men? She knew she was starting a movement; only, it became stalled along the way. Hopefully, her face on the $10 bill will awaken new possibilities.

Even though our House of Commons reached a new record high of 25 per cent women elected in the last federal election, it still doesn't represent the 50 per cent of women in the country. In the 2013 municipal elections, only 26 per cent of the elected seats went to women. There is no specific data for elected trustees, but I suspect the number may be higher based on the trustees I see at provincial school board events. 

When I decided to run as a school board trustee, I was a stay-at-home mom with two children, aged one and four. I felt disconnected from my community after leaving the full-time workforce and wanted to serve in some way. With the support of my family, I knocked on doors every day during the month-long campaign and beat the male incumbent by 15 votes. I still remember the phone call at close to midnight that election night. After many recounts, I was declared the winner. Now what? I had my first meeting two days later and needed to find a babysitter. 

I must say, finding childcare has been the most challenging part of becoming an elected official. It's not like it is a regular 9-5 job. Every time an extra meeting came up outside of the regular schedule, or if a meeting was running late, I was stressed. And since most of our meetings are during the day, it meant hiring someone to look after my pre-school children. Luckily, I found some sitters with flexible schedules that didn't require me to pay for a whole week or month of daycare. Board meeting days and times are voted on each fall at a board organizational meeting, and I do know of many school boards and councils that have their meetings in the evening. However, school tours obviously must take place during the day. Since women remain primarily in charge of child care and domestic labour, support in these areas is needed for women to enter politics. 

We need our elected bodies to be representative of our diverse communities. Politics is becoming more progressive. There are still some "backroom-dealing politicians" out there, and there always will be, but overall, I believe people want to see change. Are you ready to put your name forward this fall?