Female politicians head to school

STELLARTON - When Shirley McNamara first joined the Richmond County Council 17 years ago, she was a pioneer. Of the 11 councillors representing the area, she was one of only three women.

Now 17 years later, McNamara is still representing her district, and she's still a pioneer. And of 10 councillors, she's now one of just two women sitting - one less than when she started.

Fact is, women aren't well represented in politics, including at the municipal level. Richmond County's numbers are basically spot on with the province average. About 20 per cent of the representatives of Nova Scotia's 55 municipalities are women, despite women making up a little more than half of the population.

"I believe that, by and large, women have stayed at home to do the nurturing in the community and take care of families," McNamara said. "Things, have changed, and now is the time to have the statistics reflect the changes our society has made."

McNamara and more than 30 others attended a school for women in municipal government Saturday at the Nova Scotia Community College in Stellarton. Many of the attendees mentioned that municipal politics is an excellent place for female candidates due to high reported involvement in community-based activities.

McNamara herself thinks that the first step is to get more female candidates on the ballot. She doesn't believe that there are any gender-based double standards in the voter's eyes, as long as the candidate works hard.

"Respect in politics comes from the job you do," McNamara said. "It's all about hard work. If you put on a good, credible campaign, the people will respect you and they will support you. Convincing women that they have the power and the skills to sit on council is another story, and that's a matter of personal self-worth in many cases."

Barb Stegemann, author of the book The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen, was on hand to speak with the group. Her book is designed to empower women to go into business and government.

She says early role models play a large role in determining later views on government, and because there have been traditionally fewer women in politics, it wasn't a household topic growing up.

"Our mothers didn't talk to us about Adam Smith and capitalism, or Plato and other Greek philosophers," Stegemann said. "Less than five-percent of the Fortune 500 companies are run by women. We're more than half of the vote, but not at the table to make the decisions. It's surprising because these women are the nucleus of the family - they know what touches our youth, and they're involved in local fundraisers and community work."

Stegemann says change is possible - the Union of Municipalities hopes to have the number of female candidates jump to 30 per cent this fall - but more Shirley McNamaras must appear so girls see women as community leaders.

If a spike in numbers is to happen in future municipal elections, Kelly McVicar of Egerton will be among those at the heart. McVicar will run for councilor in District 1 for the first time. She said a change is needed, and she feels capable of providing good representation.

"I think a lot more women are going to run and be involved," McVicar said. "This isn't a man-woman thing, it's about balance. With more balanced numbers, we can have accurate representation."