'If you see it, you can be it': The drive to get more women involved in Sask. politics

On International Women’s Day, politicians from all levels of Saskatchewan governments are encouraging more females to get involved in decision making positions.

The R.M. of Edenwold has launched the Women in Government program in hopes of inspiring more women to run for municipal politics.

“We’re really trying to encourage women and support women to put their names forward so that they have the opportunities to participate in municipal elections and municipal government,” Ross Zimmermann, a planner with the R.M. of Edenwold, said. “If you don’t have everyone at the table, the decisions that are made are sometimes one sided.”

The program has a number of initiatives to support women, including workshops about the election process and a survey focused on collecting demographic information from the area.

Currently the R.M. has one female councillor, six male councillors and a male reeve.

Karen Kotylak, the councillor of division four, is hoping to see more female colleagues along side her in the future.

“We’re looking at ways to remove barriers and to have women join. That’s our goal right now,” Kotylak said. “Municipal governments need more diversity. Right now I’m one of eight councillors and I think women can bring some different ideas to the table.”

The Women in Government program hopes to have 30 per cent of all municipal candidates be women going forward.

“While 30 per cent isn’t parity, it isn’t 50 per cent as we see in statistics, it is the first step towards parity,” Zimmermann said. “The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has identified 30 per cent as the bare minimum for women in government and women in municipal elections.”

In 2020, Regina elected its first official female mayor in Sandra Masters.

Masters said women should continue to support each other and confront biases in their personal and professional lives, in a video posted to her Facebook page on Tuesday.

“From little victories to big milestones, we have so many things to be proud of,” Masters said. “Women play an important role in creating a vibrant community.”

PROVINCIAL POLITICS

At the provincial level, the campaign for the next NDP leader has begun.

Nicole Sarauer, the deputy leader, said the province is ready for a female premier.

“We’ve seen many female leaders throughout the world, including many in the country and even locally, step up and lead and shine,” she said. “I think we are overdue for that frankly and I’m really excited to see a woman premier in Saskatchewan.”

She has publicly announced her support for fellow NDP MLA Carla Beck in the leadership race.

Sarauer was first elected as the MLA for Regina Douglas Park in 2016. She said since then, she has noticed a shift in politics in the province.

“We’ve definitely seen a growing level of polarization and division over the past few years. Some of that has resulted in a bit of a nastier climate than perhaps even existed back in 2016,” she said.

“In the same breath, I would say there’s also a growing level of openness and acceptance to seeing more diverse faces and voices at decision making tables, including elected officials. I think people are growing even more welcoming of women in politics, including younger women.”

To make the job more appealing to women, Sarauer said it needs to be flexible.

“The bigger issue is around making sure the job isn’t built for one specific type of family structure,” she said.

“We need to make sure that this work is one that is open and welcoming for people who have caregiving obligations outside of their work structure and understands that there isn’t somebody at home tending the home fires as maybe it traditionally used to be.”

Saskatchewan Party MLA Laura Ross, the minister responsible for the status of women, was first elected 15 years ago.

Since then, she said the number of female politicians in the province has increased. She said they have worked hard to build relationships and connect with the public.

“I think before, people looked upon women who were elected as kind of stand apart, whereas we don’t do that. We’re in the community, we’re meeting with different women organizations, with girls,” Ross said. “I think that’s where we really get to make a difference.”

Throughout her career, Ross has focused on mentoring and educating young women and girls in politics. She’s also involved in programs and workshops across the province, including self esteem workshops.

“If you see it, you can be it. We encourage our girls to grow up to be strong girls, strong girls grow up to be strong women. That’s what this province needs - strong women,” Ross said. “Once we have more women sitting around those decision making tables, we get good decisions being made.”

Although there has been growth among women in politics, Ross said more still needs to be done to reach the 50 per cent mark in the legislature.

“We’ve got a ways to go,” Ross said. “I love my job. Is it the easiest job I’ve ever done? No. However, we’re up for the challenge and I think if people understand and really realize what we get to do, and the satisfaction from this job, more women would want to do this job.”