'Gender Parity within the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party' - Lingenfelter Policy Statement

Dwain Lingenfelter released a policy statement today on the issue of gender parity in the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party.

"In both 2003 and 2007, Saskatchewan New Democrats offered a smaller percentage of women candidates for election than either of the other two main parties – slightly more than 20%. That is unacceptable in the 21st century. We simply must do better. When women are underrepresented in the Saskatchewan Legislature, public policy suffers, because it is less likely to adequately address issues of importance to the women who constitute 50.9% of Saskatchewan’s population.

Not only is gender parity the right thing to do from a public policy perspective, it is critical to the New Democratic Party’s chances of defeating the right-wing Wall Government. A balanced team of strong and capable women and men as our candidates in 2011 will have the ability to mobilize greater support for a progressive agenda.

In a 2004 survey conducted by the Centre for Research and Information on Canada, 90 per cent of Canadians said they wanted more women elected to all levels of government. Statistics show that when it comes to elections, female candidates fare just as well as male candidates. Voters are just as likely to cast their ballot for a female as they are a male. It appears that the only reason more women are not being elected is that there aren’t enough women on the ballot. Since political parties are essentially the gatekeepers, determining who becomes a candidate through the nomination process, parties must play a more positive role in changing these circumstances.

I believe there are certain steps we should take as a Party toward achieving a more representative group of nominated candidates and people in our key leadership positions.

As Leader, I would propose to establish a Women’s Commission responsible for helping me to recruit, train and mentor women interested in seeking leadership positions within our Party, whether on constituency executives, the Provincial Executive or as candidates for nomination. I would propose to ask current and former female MLAs to join with representatives of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Women amongst others, to serve on this new body.

I would also propose an Annual Conference, facilitated by the Women’s Commission, which would bring together women from across the province to network, share knowledge and experience, team build and develop new expertise with respect to leadership and campaigning skills.

In the year following the leadership convention, I would propose to launch a special Fundraising Campaign for the Party to help finance the creation of the Women’s Commission and to help fund its work at a high level.

I continue to encourage women to consider running for our Party in the next election. These women include leaders in the business community and the trade union movement. They include key people in a variety of community organizations and the co-operative sector, as well as the professions. This work cannot begin too early, as all potential candidates need time to consider this important step, arrange their lives so they can run for nomination and, if successful, spend the time needed to campaign in their ridings to win.

I believe each of these steps will encourage more women to be willing to let their names stand for nomination as candidates for our Party in the 2011 provincial election. However, the campaign for gender parity should not be limited to our nominated candidates alone. We should work as a Party to encourage gender parity at all levels of our activities.

As I have travelled the province during this campaign, I have met many strong and capable women and have urged them to take up leadership positions on our constituency association executives and other important positions within our Party. I have set a goal of achieving gender parity on the Provincial Executive as soon as the June Convention. I also believe there needs to be gender parity on all major Party Committees as soon as possible thereafter.

While accomplishing gender parity throughout our Party will be a team effort, I understand that the example begins with the Leader. It is the job of the Leader to create an environment that encourages Party members to search for and support skilled and talented women in their campaigns for leadership roles within our movement. That’s why many of the key positions on my campaign team are held by women, including my Campaign Co-Chair and my Assistant Campaign Manager.

Throughout my province-wide tour I’ve stressed the need for our Party to present a candidate team that is much more representative of our population than was the case in either the 2003 or 2007 Provincial Elections. This is of great importance to the future of our Party and our province. I’m confident that if we act to achieve gender balance in politics, and lead by example, we will achieve gender parity not only within our Party but also within the Legislature in the near future.
Policy Statement