WOMEN IN POLITICS

While women form the majority of the Canadian population, they have only begun to exercise the political roles and power that should come with gender equality. See a Government of Canada fact sheet on Women in Canada. 

The National Library of Canada provides some interesting information about women who have made political history in Then & Now: Women in Canadian Legislatures. See also an interesting site that provides biographies of Women in Canadian History. An alternative view of history can be found at Herstory. 

In the November 2000 elections, 375 women ran for office and 62 were elected; these figures represent 21% of the total of both candidates and MPs elected.  A total of 62 of the 301 MPs elected to the House of Commons in 1997 were also women. Overall, 24.4% of candidates in the 1997 election were women, compared with 22% in 1993. In 1993, 53 women were elected, which represented only 18% of the 295 MPs at that time. Look up: 

For more information about women in the 2000 federal elections in Canada, visit Cynthia Alexander's  Canadian Women's Issues Network.

Discover more about the differences between men and women voters in their observed preferences on political parties and issues at the federal level. 

Read a speech by Jocelyn Bourgon, the former Clerk of the Privy Council, on The Road to Gender Equality: Progress & Challenges. 

Connect to the federal Status of Women Canada site and find some on-line publications that deal with gender issues. 

An ongoing issue is the treatment of women in the Canadian Forces.  Read the 1999 report of the Minister's Advisory Board on Canadian Forces Gender Integration and Employment Equity and the 1998 Chief Land Staff Gender Integration Study. 

You can find more information related to women's issues in the Gender,  Sexuality & Politics section of Nelson's Government & Politics on the Web. 

WOMEN'S RIGHTS 

International documents protecting the rights of women now include: 

INTERNET RESOURCES FOR WOMEN

Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies - an organization that deals with women who experience trouble with the legal system 

CANWIN - The Canadian Women's Issues Network - information about women in politics from Cynthia Alexander at Acadia 

Canadian Women's Studies On-Line - resources from the University of Toronto 

Feminism and Women's Resources Page - a wide collection of links to women's organizations and resources 

Women'space Feminist e-zine & Women's Internet Campaign

Women's Web Guide provides Web and e-mail addresses for women's groups in Canada. 

United States Sites
Beatrice's Web Guide - an index to women's issues on the Internet; joint venture with Yahoo! 

Center for the American Woman and Politics has some useful fact sheets about American women in politics, including Women in Elective Office. (Compare these with the Canadian numbers provided at the top of this page.) 

Electra Directory of Women's Organizations

femina: Web Search for Women - an enormous index of Internet resources for women 

Feminist Majority Foundation - a site with many political and activist links, from an organization dedicated to empowering women 

League of Women Voters is "a multi-issue organization whose mission is to encourage the informed and active participation of citizens in government and to influence public policy through education and advocacy." 

Virtual Sisterhood is "a global women's electronic support network dedicated to strengthening and magnifying the impact of feminist organizing through promotion of electronic communications use within the global women's movement." 

Women & Politics - a journal devoted to women and the political system 

Women Leaders Online - "WLO is the first and largest women's advocacy group created on the Internet." 

Women's Campaign School - "The Women's Campaign School, co-sponsored by Yale Law School and the Women's Studies Program at Yale, is dedicated to educating women from all backgrounds in the key elements of political campaign skills." 

WomensNet - "WomensNet supports women's organizations worldwide by providing and adapting telecommunications technology to enhance their work." 

WWWomen! - index and searching of material on the Internet of interest to women 

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