Increasing Women's Involvement in Municipal Decision-making

Nova Scotia needs more women in municipal government and stronger supports for their input in municipal decision-making.

Those are two of the conclusions included in Untapped Resources: Women in Municipal Government in Nova Scotia, the report from a research project on women in local government that was presented this week to the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities' (UNSM) annual conference in Halifax.

The report also recommends public education on the importance of municipal government in people's day-to-day lives; workshops for councillors and staff on diversity, gender sensitivity and affirmative action; training for municipal administrators on gender considerations in policy development; and an action plan to encourage women to run for elected office; a mechanism for resolving workplace conflict; and the public dissemination of demographic data on voter turnout.

"We're missing out on women's perspectives in the province, and women are missing out on opportunities to have input," UNSM president Charles Crosby said on Thursday, Oct. 6. "The recommendations we're proposing will help municipalities better represent and reflect the communities they serve."

Elected women, municipal employees and community leaders across Nova Scotia told researchers this summer why they are involved in municipal government or what has kept them from participating. Nova Scotia feedback built on research being carried out in Canada and around the world on women's involvement in all levels of government.

"Municipal governments make decisions that affect people's daily lives," said Anna Allen, chair of the Women in Local Government Project. "Without the input of women in all their diversity -- as politicians, board members, employees and citizens -- municipal leaders have too little information about how their decisions affect the people they serve."

In Nova Scotia, women make up half the population, one fifth of municipal councillors, less than one third of members of boards and commissions, and less than one tenth of mayors and wardens.

"Governments need more involvement by women and women need more of a voice in decision-making," said Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, Status of Women minister.

The Women in Local Government Project is a partnership of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities and the YWCA of Halifax, with support from Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

Highlights of the project report, Untapped Resources: Women and Municipal Government in Nova Scotia, are available on the Advisory Council on the Status of Women website, at www.gov.ns.ca/staw .