City of Greater Sudbury seeks gender balance on the ballot

During every election campaign there are headlines about the lack of women running for public office, and the City of Greater Sudbury, Ont. is now trying to do something about it.

City officials are hosting a one-day workshop for women who are considering a run for office in a future election.

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Kayla May, a 26-year-old mother of two, has a lifelong interest in politics, but has never thought of throwing her name on the ballot.

"Because I don't like politicians," the teacher's college student said.

But May said she signed up for the course so she can better understand the life of a politician, wondering if that's the only way to bring about the changes she wants to see.

"When I talk about the cracks in the system, I think, well, there's always super glue," she said. "There's always a way that you can fix something that's broken and not doing something doesn't fix anything."

Ashley Hurley, a 29-year-old dietician in Sudbury, who grew up talking politics in Newfoundland, is also taking part in the women in government workshop.

She said the main doubt in her mind is the public scrutiny that comes with being elected.

"I think female politicians face criticism not just for their work and their policies, but everything from their hairstyles, their clothing, their temperament," said Hurley.

Looking for role models

Amanda McBain, who's driving in from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. for the workshop, sees the lack of female candidates as a chicken and egg problem.

The 23-year-old sociology masters student has always been interested in politics, but sees very few female role models to inspire her.

"When I was that six-year-old girl watching CPAC, I didn't see a lot of women there. I didn't see that symbolic representation that said 'Yeah, maybe I could do it,'" she said.

I didn't see that symbolic representation that said 'yeah, maybe I could do it.'- Amanda McBain

The workshop is part of a wider effort by the city to get more women interested in politics, which legislative compliance coordinator Danielle Wicklander said was inspired by the fact that the next municipal election in 2018 falls on the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote.

She said studies show that women need to be asked several times to run for office before they put their name on a ballot, while men typically decide on their own.

Wicklander says there are 34 women signed up for today's workshop, and pointed out that the number is already more than the 23 female candidates who ran in the last municipal election.