On March 8, we will repeat how important it is to improve the condition of women, to eradicate violence against them, to improve their economic status, to combat all forms of discrimination. However, an equal and lasting presence of women in our democratic bodies is one of the most important keys to ensuring their progress in all these dimensions.
Posted yesterday at 2:00 p.m.
Following the October 2018 elections, the National Assembly now has 44% female deputies. Many of them have demonstrated progressive solidarity through fruitful transpartisan strategies such as the creation of a court specializing in sexual and domestic violence. This is a heritage that needs to be maintained and strengthened.
Parity, and all the democratic health it instills in Quebec, must become a permanent rule that cannot be reversed.
However, interest in legislated parity seems to be flagging. Bill 39, reforming the voting system which contained provisions to establish parity, was abandoned. To replace this legal requirement: a motion passed by MPs last fall, a weaker commitment in all respects. Weak since it only applies to the next elections and not to the following ones. Weak because it only concerns parties already sitting in the National Assembly – and we know that the Conservative Party of Quebec, for example, considers parity a useless adornment. Weak because nothing obliges the parties to comply with it.
Parity legislation still needed
Yet the enduring presence of women in parliament is more important than ever in this era of post-pandemic societal reconstruction. As numerous studies repeat, women bear the greatest burden of the pandemic. This has jeopardized decades of progress at their expense.
We may mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of early childhood centers this year, but the crisis we are experiencing has brought many mothers home. Their place in the work environment has been weakened. In two years, many of them had to choose between family and work, and give up their careers.
According to Statistics Canada, women have lost two and a half times more jobs than men. They occupy jobs in sectors weakened by the pandemic: catering, retail trade, while they are absent from the manufacturing and construction sectors which are benefiting from a boom. And let’s not talk about the known delays of women in the digital and virtual world where they struggle to find a place for themselves. Meanwhile, the health and childcare systems are counting on them, sometimes at the cost of their own health, to keep the liner from sinking.
Rebuilding with women
The next few years will be crucial in re-establishing the foundations of an egalitarian society. Access to quality childcare services for all parents, the rebuilding of an accessible and efficient health system, education that distributes fair opportunities to all, a qualified and valued labor force, an economy efficient and innovative, these are all projects that concern women.
They must take part in decisions not only to correct the imbalances and inequities that affect them, but also to share their vision of the future with men.
This is why we are asking the deputies of the National Assembly and all the political parties to put legislation on parity back on the table. During the next electoral campaign, this objective must be reflected in the projects of the political parties, in order to guarantee true democracy and a real and full participation of women for now and in the future.
* Co-signatories, members of the Board of Directors of the Women, Politics and Democracy Group: Marie Lavigne, Alban D’Amours, Diane Lavallée, André Forgues, Micheline Paradis, Marc Jeannotte, MarieClaude Prémont, Jean-Pierre Charbonneau, Carole Théberge and Lucienne Robillard