We need more women leaders, not fewer
Cathy Bennett’s decision to step down from the provincial cabinet caught most off guard this week.
She said it was for personal reasons. This opened the door to considerable speculation about why someone with her credentials would leave cabinet after holding the Finance portfolio, arguably the most powerful in cabinet.
Of course, this is politics and speculation is a big part of that game.
What her resignation should do is push us to consider the exceptional challenges women in politics and leadership still face, the daily sexism women endure no matter the sphere of leadership they undertake.
And it doesn’t get easier. Indeed it can get worse the further up the leadership ladder a woman reaches.
Some women in leadership believe they are immune to it, inoculated from the constant barrage of sexist comments and behaviours. You push forward in spite of it.
Others believe complaining about it or pointing it out can be perceived as weakness. So they don’t.
And there are others who are frankly part of the problem, who are only concerned about their personal ambition and not the collective advancement — economically, socially and politically — of women.
And then there are the courageous women who point it out, call it out, and make it their life’s work to end sexism and the violence that stems from a sexist culture. It is why it is so very important to support and fund organizations such as the Status of Women centres in this province. Their advocacy work and voice are so very important.
Like all women, I have struggled with how to deal with sexism my entire working life. And I have dealt with it in different ways, depending on the moment, including ignoring it in order to further ideas or goals.
Afterwards, I have always felt torn for not calling it out, every single time. Questioning myself, over and over, about whether I should have handled a certain situation differently.
With leadership comes responsibility. Profound responsibility.
It’s what we do with the privilege of leadership that matters, using it to make a difference for others and endeavoring to make the world around us better, fairer and more equal.
I believe it is the responsibility of women in leadership to advance the equality of all women and it is incumbent on us to understand how we can do that and then do it.
Not all women believe this. They instead see individual advancement as the path forward.
But this is not how we achieve full equality. How we completely and utterly demolish the glass ceiling involves more.
These fundamental differences of opinion mean women will disagree. This brings me back to Cathy Bennett.
There have been plenty of issues Bennett and I disagreed on. What might surprise some people is there were also over the years important areas in which we could find common ground.
When we disagreed, we did it respectfully and based on issues.
When she was subjected to outrageous online abuse and harassment, I supported her as any woman or person should.
This week as she stepped away from a powerful cabinet position, I wasn’t thinking about the times I disagreed with her politics or policies, but rather how very difficult politics is on women.
Social media has made it more so.
Online harassment, body shaming and threats of violence are very real issues for women in the public eye. Just ask the premiers of Alberta and Ontario.
That’s bad enough. Then there is the sexism at work, whether that work is in the political arena or on the shop floor. This can even be tougher than the anonymous online harassment.
These are powerful reasons why many women don’t step forward to take on political or leadership roles.
But they are also powerful reasons why women need to and why we have to make it possible for women to be able to do so.
Changing systems, including how we elect people so our legislatures more fully reflect our populations, might be a good start.
More women in politics will help, and I would hope help change the tone of how we do politics, but more importantly advance the economic and social conditions for all women.
It’s time.