Quebec Women and Legislative Representation by Manon Tremblay, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters

Quebec women have had the right to vote and run for office inprovincial and federal forums for at least six decades, yet they occupya minority of seats in Quebec’s National Assembly and inCanada’s House of Commons and Senate. In 2005, women representedjust under one third of the members of the National Assembly and justover a quarter of Quebec’s delegation in Ottawa. To explain this situation, Quebec Women and LegislativeRepresentation examines Quebec women’s political engagementsfrom 1791 to the present. It traces the path that led to womenachieving the right to vote and run for office and then explores whywomen, who represent a slight majority of Quebec’s population, always form a minority in its parliamentary spaces. Although a numberof factors are responsible for this deficit, statistics and interviewswith women senators and members of Parliament identify two of seriousconcern – political parties and the voting system. This innovative account not only documents the significantdemocratic deficit in Canada’s parliamentary systems, it alsooutlines strategies to improve women’s access to legislativerepresentation. It will be of interest to students and scholars ofgender and politics and activists and policy makers who want to enhancewomen’s presence in politics. | Quebec Women and Legislative Representation by Manon Tremblay, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters