More women elected on P.E.I. a good sign, but more to be done say women's groups

Groups representing women on P.E.I. are happy to see an increase in the number of women elected onMonday night,but say there is more work to be done.

According to the P.E.I. Coalition for Women in Government,the percentage of women elected to councils in Charlottetown, Summerside, Stratford and Cornwall increasedto 30 per cent from 23per cent in 2014. The new town of Three Rivers also followed that trend with women making up 25 per cent of its council.

"Although it's positive to see the numbers move in this direction, the reality is that is still well below parity," said Dawn Wilson, executive director for the Coalition.

"When we look at some municipalities, in particular Charlottetown, where we saw the number of women elected double, in fact that percentage is still the lowest among the five largest municipalities in P.E.I."

Wilson saidwhenspeaking with candidates and campaign volunteers,it was clear there are still barriers to more women running. Among them is child care, because despite changing gender roles women continue to take on the majority of home care duties,Wilson said.

And there are other factors according to Wilson. "During the 2018 municipal election we saw a number of women come forward as candidates and leave the race due to career opportunities orwork commitments, and so we know there is some work to do around that issue as well," she said.

"In addition, incumbency is another factor and we saw that in Charlottetown last night, where 8 of the 10 councillors are returning for another term."

'You can't be what you can't see'

In the mayoral races in the five biggest municipalities, Islanders had a chance to vote for women in each community.

Only one Minerva McCourt was elected in Cornwall.Despite that, the Advisory Council on the Status of Women is taking the numberof candidates for the top jobas a good sign.

"I think people were imagining the womenwho were running as possible mayors.Many of them got really strong votersupportand so I think there is an energy building there," said executive director Jane Ledwell.

"It is really important to have women visible as leaders in the community because they say you can't be what you can't see. So we don't have as many opportunities to see womenas mayors in P.E.I. as we were hoping and yet, they got an awful lot of support and they all built visibility.

"They all put themselves forward in really courageous and interesting ways and I think that's a positive sign for the future."

The P.E.I. Coalition for Women in Government is planning to hold a focus group for women who ran and also those who volunteered to assess what barriers might be in place to getting more women into office.

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