RepresentWomen

Yesterday, Lucina Di Meco, a senior gender expert with the Wilson Center, released her report, #ShePersisted: Women, Politics & Power in the New Media World, which looks into women leaders and the double-edged sword of social media in the current world order. The report covers 28 countries, 85 women in the fields of politics, civil society, journalism, television and technology, and the impact and importance of social media for women political leaders — given the continued gender bias found in traditional media.

During my time at RepresentWomen, I look forward to adding my passion as a feminist and my skills to help with the work started by the incredible people working here. Beyond this, I hope to learn more about the status of women's representation and leadership in my home country before taking what I have learned into the international realm. 

Gender parity in the new European Commission is a huge success, as is the number of countries reaching parity for their MEPs; but, for true gender equality to exist, women must have equal access and roles in all levels of government including municipal, national and supranational.

As the UK continues to Brexit, we’ll continue to look for the women missing from the national conversation.

New Zealand’s actions for gender and Indigenous inclusion are working, it is now just a matter of ensuring Indigenous women have the same voice as their male and non-Indigenous counterparts. 

Yes 2018 marked an increase in women elected, the election of the first Transgender woman and the first Indigenous woman; but, Brazil ranks 134th in the IPU global rankings on gender parity in national legislatures, and “deeply entrenched attitudes help keep women out of politics in Brazil, despite progressive laws intended to change that.”

Of the 598 member tribes in the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) women only lead 120, roughly twenty percent, as of 2015. These statistics illustrate the continued impact of colonialism on America Indian tribal nations, and American Indian women in particular. 

While it is true that, with this election, Trudeau's self-proclaimed "feminist government" has retained power, and more women than ever before are being recruited to run for political office, Canada fails to come close to gender parity at the parliamentary level. The 2019 election results call for a more concerted and national effort in electing women at equal numbers as men to all levels of Canadian government.

In a speech to the International Council of Women in 1888, suffragette and anthropologist, Alice Fletcher said “I crave for my Indian sisters, your help, your patience, and your unfailing labors, to hasten the day when the laws of the land shall know neither male nor female, but grant to all equal rights and equal justice.” In the 131 years following Alice Fletcher’s speech, women in general have gained a great many rights, but the Haudenosaunee women have lost many of theirs, and there remains an upward battle for equal justice.

Melinda Gates is right on the money, to reach gender parity and equality in a reasonable time frame, one that is more than two generations away, it’s not enough for some women to show up and rise to the top, to create a country that represents all of us, systems need to change not individuals.