Opinion: Drop in women’s representation in B.C. legislature is a loss for all British Columbians

Women were among the biggest losers in B.C.’s dramatic political shift on Saturday.

Prior to the election, Canada’s westernmost jurisdiction significantly outperformed every other province when it came to gender-balanced representation. In fact, for the past six years, women MLAs made up a majority of the governing caucus, and since 2022, they constituted a slight majority of the legislature.

That was a win for all British Columbians. Decades of academic and business studies have documented the benefits to deliberative bodies — from boards and research teams to governments — of being able to draw on insights of members who bring diverse perspectives to the table.

Recent international research also finds that citizens generally place more trust in governments that reflect the diversity of the population they’re meant to serve.

B.C.’s leadership was notable in the context of Canada’s poor performance on this metric at the federal level, where men still hold almost seven in 10 seats. Under former Premier John Horgan, the provincial government’s gender-balanced caucus delivered meaningful policy gains for women.

In 2019, B.C. passed an order requiring all schools to provide free menstrual products. In 2020, the NDP campaigned on the promise of making birth control free, a policy that — since enacted — not only prevents unwanted pregnancies, but also reduces social service and health-care costs.

And in 2021, the province launched a pilot program to permit women to test themselves for HPV at home.

These policies addressed some of women’s life experiences that many, if not most, men have little knowledge of. Representation matters. But often it isn’t until a previously marginalized group has power that we understand how significant a difference they can make.

Sadly, Saturday’s election outcome means that women’s representation in the B.C. legislature has dropped from slightly over half to — as of this writing — 39 per cent.

This is largely because only a quarter of candidates put forward by the winning B.C. Conservatives were women.

Outgoing NDP Premier David Eby also bears significant responsibility for women’s declining numbers. Calling a snap election, as he did, is understood to suppress women’s participation, because life circumstances often make it much more difficult for them to run for office on short notice.

Finding alternative caregiving responsibilities, in particular, can be a huge barrier, whether the potential candidate has a primary role in raising her children or caring for an aging parent. Research also finds that the fundraising necessary is often more difficult for women, because their networks are less likely to include politically engaged people with deep pockets.