No Girls Allowed? How Teaching Politics in the Classroom Makes for a Better Democracy

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No Girls Allowed?

How Teaching Politics in the Classroom Makes for a Better Democracy

If you’ve taken your class on a field trip to Parliament Hill or even watched the six o’clock evening news recently, you may have noticed something a little strange about Canadian politics these days.

Besides the occasional (or frequent) colourful exchanges across the floor during question period, when one looks a little more closely at who is participating in these debates, it becomes clear that our national politicians are mostly men. In the current Parliamentary session in Ottawa, only one in five seats is held by women. Canada can’t even boast of an increase of more women in Parliament: the number of female politicians has stagnated over the past three federal elections, sitting at around the 21% mark. In comparison with other countries, Canada ranks 31st in the world in terms of the number of women in its lower house. Countries like Cuba, Mozambique, Belarus, Viet Nam, Namibia and Mexico have more women in their legislatures than Canada. As of February 2005, Canada had a higher world ranking in per capita beer consumption than it did in the number of its female legislators. The reality today is that Canadian politics remains a man’s game.

Women’s representation is important to a healthy and vibrant polity. Having more women in government ensures that women’s perspectives are included in important policy decisions that affect all our lives. Today half of the population is inadequately represented in making policy decisions affecting health care, the environment, income, security, and issues about families like day care and marriage. Women’s representation also means better laws and public policy because it adds more voices and greater diversity into the decision-making process. Women’s representation is about fairness and equality, and making sure that our political institutions reflect the interests of all their citizens should be a goal of all democratic societies. Having more women in Parliament also provides women and girls with role models, showing them that politics can be a positive space for women.

Making a Difference in the Classroom
Combating the problem of the under-representation of women in Canada starts with education. The role that teachers can play at all levels of the education system in getting students interested in politics is vital to a healthy polity. Current research shows that there is a persistent gender gap between men and women’s knowledge of and interest in politics: males are much more likely to know and be interested in politics than are female Canadians. The lower levels with which women participate in federal politics, combined with their lack of interest in and knowledge about politics, all contribute to a democratic deficit in Canada. Women’s disengagement from politics hurts Canadian democracy because the health of any democracy requires citizens who participate and have an interest in politics. Getting girls and young women interested in politics is an important strategy in making Canadian democracy more equitable and fair for all Canadians.

Politics in the Classroom
There are myriad ways to bring politics into your classroom in a fun and engaging way. You can conduct government simulations that allow students to play an active role in learning about important topics like how issues are raised in government and how bills get passed. You can encourage your students to hone their public speaking skills by offering a debating club at your school, providing current political topics for discussion. You can invite a politician into your classroom, take your students on a field trip to Parliament Hill, to your provincial legislature, or to your municipal/city hall. You can encourage your students to go on exchanges both within and outside of Canada to learn more about the political world around them. You can also participate in national programs that are aimed at getting students interested and involved in politics. Initiatives like the Youth Vote 2004 program which encouraged students to take an interest in the last federal election are good ways to get students interested in current elections. These initiatives show students that their voice matters in politics, and that they can make a difference.

The Future of Canadian Democracy
Political and civic education is one of the first steps toward tackling the issue of the under-representation of women in Canadian politics. Educators play a unique role in a polity: they have the opportunity to shape the values of the next generation of citizens. Armed with more knowledge and interest in politics, it is possible that the next generation of women need not fall into the mistaken belief that politics is a man’s game only, and Canadian democracy will be the better for it.

Tracey Raney is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the University of Calgary. She holds a B.A. (hon) in Political Studies from Queen’s University at Kingston and a Masters in Canadian Studies specializing in Women’s Studies from Carleton University. Her Ph.D. dissertation is entitled “The Rise of the Civic Citizen: A Comparison of Political Identities in the EU and Canada”, which she will defend in Spring 2005. Her research focuses on Canadian nationalism, federalism, regionalism and women in politics.