Toward Parity in Municipal Politics
Despite constituting more than 50% of the population, women still account for less than 30% of elected positions in local government across Canada. In fact, only one fifth of Canadian Mayors are women and only a few provinces have exceeded the minimum 30% benchmark while the Yukon and the Northwest Territories have attained parity for women elected as councillors.
Here in Manitoba, 20% of elected municipal officials are female, while 21 women were elected Head of Council in the last municipal elections in October 2018. While we were very pleased to see increased female engagement and participation who ran for municipal office, there is more that needs to be done to help reach gender parity at the municipal level.
Since local governments can change communities, it is now more urgent than ever to understand and overcome barriers to gender equality and equity. As the voice of all municipalities across Manitoba, the AMM is committed to making municipal councils more representative of the communities they serve. We hope this newly created webpage will help you find ways to contribute to gender equity in local leadership.
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