Government Women In Women in Local Government update By Councillor Karen Leibovici, President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities Did you know that the United Nations defines 30% female representation as the minimum required for policy to reflect women’s concerns? But, did you know that in Canada, women represent just 16% of mayors and 25% of councillors, for an average of 24%? That to close the gap between the reality in Canada and the UN target, 100 more women need to be elected each year from now until 2026? involvement in municipal government. The 18 month project to provide mentor- ship to young women in their leadership roles has been funded by Status of Women Canada. For more information please visit www.fcm.ca/women and click on Protégé. Getting to 30% program The Federation of Canadian Muni- cipalities and its Standing Committee on Increasing Women’s Participation in Municipal Government is committed to closing this gap. With the support of Status of Women Canada, we have launched a number of Canada-wide initiatives. Protégé Program FCM’s new Protégé Program aims to engage young Canadian women (ages 18-28) interested in becoming leaders and decision-makers in local government by providing the opportunity to job shadow and be mentored by an elected official. Protégé’s roots are in the City of Toronto’s Protégé Program, which began in 2008. FCM expanded the Toronto model to suit a diverse cross-section of Canadian communities. To do this we worked with four pilot communities from across the country – one of them from right here in Manitoba! The pilot communities selected from across the country were: Thompson, Manitoba; Edmonton, Alberta; Quebec City, Quebec; and Wainfleet, Ontario to represent a cross section of our local governments across Canada. With input from the pilot communities, the templates, guidebooks and materials developed will be relevant to diverse municipalities across Canada. 16 Municipal Leader | Summer 2012 Protégé participants gain related skills and knowledge of the role of women coun- cillors. They also gain a thorough under- standing of the work of municipal govern- ment. During and after the program, the young women are encouraged to run for positions on municipal agencies, boards and commissions. This involves them in local issues and builds capacity for their FCM’s Getting to 30% program provides women with the training and tools to run in municipal elections, with the ultimate aim of reaching 30% representation of women in local government. The program offers a series of municipal campaign school workshops, webinars and mentoring opportunities across Canada, actively recruiting women from rural and remote communities. Women who currently hold local office provide mentorship and support. Sixteen campaign workshops and 10 webinars have been held in 2011-2012 with encouraging results: almost 40% of the initial workshop participants have been elected. In British Columbia, where FCM offered eight workshops, women now make up a historic 34% of municipal councils. FCM’s website (www.fcm.ca/women) contains the Campaign Guide for Women FCM´s goal is not only to have more women run for election, but to ensure that they have the tools to win - Toronto Councillor Pam McConnell Click here to to return to to Click here return Table of of Contents Table Contents